Genesis 31
This is the account of Jacob taking his wives and children and setting out to return to the land God promised to Abraham's descendants. It describes Rachel stealing idols from her father's house, hiding them from him and her husband, and lying to keep from being discovered.
What stands out to me today is the progression of sin and how it compounds faster than interest — and the consequences multiply as well. The theme of deception in their family continues and brings to mind the concept of generational sin.
Sin is not passed down like you would inherit the gene for a deadly disease, though. Its primary means of passage from one generation to the next is through learned behavior. It may not be the exact same behavior that is continued in the next generation, but the root character trait (like deception) is taught.
What a great reminder of the need as parents to seek the conviction of the Holy Spirit constantly and to respond with confession (recognizing it for what it is) and repentance (turning away from it).
Hiding our sin and covering it up allows the next generation to find it. We see this example in Jacob’s life: Abraham’s habit of deception regarding the identity of his wife was passed down to Isaac, who also lied about his wife’s identity, and then to Jacob, who deceived his father about his identity and who reaped the harvest of his deception. Now his beloved Rachel has also embraced this habit of half-truths and deception.
This is the account of Jacob taking his wives and children and setting out to return to the land God promised to Abraham's descendants. It describes Rachel stealing idols from her father's house, hiding them from him and her husband, and lying to keep from being discovered.
What stands out to me today is the progression of sin and how it compounds faster than interest — and the consequences multiply as well. The theme of deception in their family continues and brings to mind the concept of generational sin.
Sin is not passed down like you would inherit the gene for a deadly disease, though. Its primary means of passage from one generation to the next is through learned behavior. It may not be the exact same behavior that is continued in the next generation, but the root character trait (like deception) is taught.
What a great reminder of the need as parents to seek the conviction of the Holy Spirit constantly and to respond with confession (recognizing it for what it is) and repentance (turning away from it).
Hiding our sin and covering it up allows the next generation to find it. We see this example in Jacob’s life: Abraham’s habit of deception regarding the identity of his wife was passed down to Isaac, who also lied about his wife’s identity, and then to Jacob, who deceived his father about his identity and who reaped the harvest of his deception. Now his beloved Rachel has also embraced this habit of half-truths and deception.
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