In all of the Ten Commandments, perhaps the statement that causes the most concern to modern readers is “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” (Exodus 20:6). Most concerning is the idea that innocent children should suffer for the sins of their parents. And yet the reality is that sin does great harm to subsequent generations, beginning with the sin of Adam and Eve but continuing even today. In evil societies, it is the children and the vulnerable who suffer the most from those who do evil.

Some might also question how to reconcile the idea of a jealous God with the last of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). The Hebrew word for “jealous” is qinah, which is almost always used in the Bible of God’s attitude toward His wayward people but occasionally of a husband in regard to an adulterous wife. The Hebrew word in the tenth commandment is chamad, which means to “covet, delight in, desire.” The difference is that God’s “jealousy” is based on demanding faithfulness from someone who belongs to God (the Israelites accepted the covenant that God offered at Sinai, just as Christians have accepted a covenant with God through Jesus Christ), while “coveting” is desiring something that belongs to someone else.

But that still leaves us with the issue of God punishing sin to the third or fourth generation. This statement was made to inform the Israelites about God’s holiness and justice. God was telling them that there were very serious consequences to sin and that those consequences would affect not just those who sin but also other people. Later history shows that the Israelites’ sins (idolatry, murder, theft, oppression, sexual sin, etc.) harmed many innocent people. God’s stark statement was meant to shock the Israelites—and also many people today who gloss over sin and don’t take God’s justice seriously.

This statement also needs to be understood in the context of the rest of the statement: “But showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” The point is that God is holy and just but that God’s mercy is even greater, hundreds of times greater. We need to fully understand the seriousness of sin and God’s justice. Only if we do so can we recognize the awesomeness of God’s mercy, for which we should be grateful every day. God’s mercy is marvelous but only and especially in light of God’s justice. If sin were not so terrible, we would not need God’s mercy. This message is repeated often in the New Testament: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5); “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3); “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).