Exo 20:5-6 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Exod 20:5-6: 20:5-6 jealous God: God is passionately opposed to our prostituting ourselves with false gods (see Josh 24:19-20 ). • in the third and fourth generations ... for a thousand generations: It is important to keep both sides of this equation together. God does not punish children for their parents’ sins. Rather, he is saying that our sins affect future generations of descendants. But he is also restricting the natural effects of those sins to three or four generations, while graciously extending the effects of obedience to a thousand generations (see also 34:6-7 ; Deut 7:9 ). • reject (literally hate ): The Hebrew words commonly translated “love” (Exod 20:6 ) and “hate” are difficult to translate into English because they include an act of the will as well as the emotional element we are familiar with. In biblical thinking, to “love” is to choose something and to act consistently in accord with that choice. To “hate” is to reject something and to act in ways consistent with that choice. The choice is connected to emotion: Feeling expresses itself in choices, and our choices show how we really feel.

a20:5-6►

bJosh 24:19-20►

c34:6-7►

dDeut 7:9►

eExod 20:6►

‏ Exodus 20:5-6

Summary for Exod 20:5-6: 20:5-6 ^a jealous God: God is passionately opposed to our prostituting ourselves with false gods (see Josh 24:19-20 ^b).

• in the third and fourth generations ... for a thousand generations: It is important to keep both sides of this equation together. God does not punish children for their parents’ sins. Rather, he is saying that our sins affect future generations of descendants. But he is also restricting the natural effects of those sins to three or four generations, while graciously extending the effects of obedience to a thousand generations (see also 34:6-7 ^c; Deut 7:9 ^d).

• reject (literally hate): The Hebrew words commonly translated “love” (Exod 20:6 ^e) and “hate” are difficult to translate into English because they include an act of the will as well as the emotional element we are familiar with. In biblical thinking, to “love” is to choose something and to act consistently in accord with that choice. To “hate” is to reject something and to act in ways consistent with that choice. The choice is connected to emotion: Feeling expresses itself in choices, and our choices show how we really feel.