Generational Sin

Good morning.

My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

! And it's my joy to bring God's word to you this morning.

We're continuing our series in the book of Genesis.

You'll remember that Genesis tells the origin story of God's people, Israel.

And this summer we're looking at the story of Isaac and Jacob, mostly Jacob, which is in chapters 25 through 36.

And to a certain extent we're asking the same question we asked last summer.

You'll remember we were in the Abraham story and we said, what does it look like to follow God in faith?

That question is going to continue for Isaac and Jacob, although as I mentioned last week we're going to have some new layers,

some new themes that get brought to the forefront in this part of the story.

So last week we looked at God's faithfulness to his covenant generation to generation.

There's the passing on of the blessing from Abraham to Isaac.

This week we're going to start a theme that is going to show up over and over in the book of Genesis,

which is God's work in and through dysfunctional families.

It's going to be a repeated theme.

So remember chapter 25, we had the birth of the twins, Jacob and Esau, to Isaac and Rebekah.

Now in chapter 26, we have gone back in time.

Jacob and Esau have not been born yet.

So this is back when Isaac and Rebekah were just the two of them before they had kids.

You'll remember verses 1 through 5 of 26, Isaac took on the mantle of Abraham.

Okay, that was our main focus last week.

This week, it's not the mantle he takes on.

Isaac takes on the sins of Abraham.

So that's our topic this morning, generational sin.

You'll see that the title of our sermon on page 7.

That is sin patterns that are passed down from parents to their children.

I'm going to talk about two things with that.

First, we're going to talk about generational sin in general,

the concept and idea of that.

And then secondly, we'll look at the specific sins that get passed down through Abraham and his line.

So with that, I invite you to turn with me now to Genesis chapter 26.

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

You'll find it page 7 of your worship guide.

And as we turn there, remember, Proverbs chapter 30 tells us,

Proverbs 30 · chapter mention

Every word of God proves true.

He's a shield to those who take refuge in him.

And so that's why we read now Genesis chapter 26, starting at verse 6.

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said,

She is my sister.

For he feared to say, My wife.

Thinking, lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,

because she was attractive in appearance.

When he had been there a long time,

Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of a window

and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah, his wife.

So Abimelech called Isaac and said,

Behold, she is your wife.

How then could you say, she is my sister?

Isaac said to him,

Because I thought, lest I die because of her.

Abimelech said,

What is this you have done to us?

One of the people might easily have lain with your wife,

and you would have brought guilt upon us.

So Abimelech warned all the people, saying,

Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we do thank you and praise you again this morning,

that you've given us life and breath to come before you.

You've given us the health to gather.

We thank you that you've given us your word to remind us

of your great grace and mercy in Jesus Christ.

We ask that you would be at work here and now in a special way,

by your Holy Spirit,

that you would penetrate our hearts and our minds with your word,

that would lead us to great conviction,

and even more than that,

it would lead us to great love and devotion to Jesus Christ,

that you would show us Jesus in his great beauty and glory and majesty.

And we ask all of these things in his mighty name.

Amen.

I'm not as tall as Daniel Sanchez,

so I have to bring this down a little bit.

The story is told of a young couple, a newly married.

Their first holiday rolls around,

and so the wife cooks the family recipe of the roast

that has been cooked for generations in her family.

And before placing the roast in the oven,

she cuts off the ends of the roast.

Roast comes out.

It's wonderful.

Her husband compliments it.

He says,

Honey, this is a wonderful roast.

It's the best I've ever had.

But I have a question for you.

Why did you cut off the ends of the roast?

She says,

That's how my mother did it.

That's how it's done.

So he calls up his mother-in-law and says,

Why do you cut off the ends of the roast?

And she says,

That's the way my mother did it.

That's how you cook a roast.

And the husband thinks to himself,

That doesn't make any sense.

It's an expensive cut of meat.

Why would you cut part of it off and throw it away?

So he calls the grandmother.

Why do you cut off the ends of the roast?

And she said,

Well, that's quite simple.

I had a small oven.

And that's the only way the roast would fit in the pan.

So the grandmother's solution to a temporary problem

becomes this permanent practice.

And on the one hand,

it is completely irrational.

Right?

They have larger ovens now.

They don't have to cut off the ends of the roast.

On the other hand,

it makes complete sense.

Because patterns, habits, values, quirks,

get passed down generation to generation.

And if you've been married for more than a few minutes,

of course you know this.

You don't just marry a person.

You marry their family

and the currents,

the forces that have been flowing there

for years and years and years.

You know this intuitively.

If you look at a family,

you see patterns.

You might say,

Hey, you know,

that family,

they,

they are like that.

They are generous.

They are kind.

They are weird.

They are smart.

Whatever it is.

Right?

And not just harmless patterns.

Not just quirks.

There's also sin patterns.

They are really greedy.

They are really rude.

Whatever it is,

the patterns of sin,

things that are passed

from parents

to their children.

Because that's what we see here

in this passage in Genesis.

Verse 7,

Isaac lies about his wife,

Rebecca,

out of fear.

When the men of the place

asked him about his wife,

he said,

She is my sister.

For he feared to say,

My wife,

thinking,

lest the men of the place

should kill me

because of Rebecca,

because she was attractive

in appearance.

Now,

if you were here with us

last summer,

this should sound super familiar.

Abraham did this

not once,

but twice.

Remember Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Abraham heads down

into Egypt.

He is scared,

and so he says,

His wife Sarai

is his sister,

and Pharaoh takes her.

Then,

God afflicts Pharaoh

and his household

with great plagues,

and so Pharaoh

kicks Abraham

and Sarai

out of Egypt.

If that weren't enough,

it shows up again,

chapter 20,

Abraham is in Gerar,

the exact same place

that Isaac is in now.

Notice verse 6,

so Isaac settled

in Gerar.

It's not just

the same pattern,

it's the same place,

and this,

again,

Abraham encounters

Abimelech.

Now,

whether it's the same

Abimelech,

it could be.

It could also be

that Abimelech's

what they call

a dynastic name,

which you're familiar

with with Egypt.

There's not just one Pharaoh,

but many Pharaohs.

Pharaoh is just

what you call the ruler.

So,

maybe Isaac is dealing

with the same Abimelech

from chapter 20.

It's possible.

Maybe he isn't.

Either way,

Abraham says Sarah,

because her name

has changed at this point,

is his sister.

Abimelech takes Sarah.

This time,

God warns Abimelech

in a dream,

Abimelech returns Sarah.

Abraham runs

the same play twice.

And so,

it's not a coincidence

that Isaac here

in this passage

experiences the same fear

and has the same

crafty response.

Dad,

that is Abraham,

feared man

more than God.

And so,

the son,

that is Isaac,

fears man

more than God.

Dad,

that is Abraham,

lied

rather than trusting

God.

And so,

the son,

that is Isaac,

lies rather than

trusting God.

All of this

is tied up

in this basic

principle

of reality.

And it's this.

God has designed

the world

in such a way

that the family

has incredible

power

and influence.

God has

designed

the universe.

He set it up

so that families

are what shape us

and form us.

It can be negative,

it can be positive,

it can be for good

or for ill.

Counselors will tell you

there's no more

important relationship

in your entire life

than the relationship

you have

with your parents.

That's the way

God's made things.

And so,

our parents'

practices

become our

path

of least

resistance.

The stories

that your parents

lived by

become the default

stories for you

to live by.

Now,

don't hear what I'm

not saying.

Those things are not

your destiny.

This isn't set in stone,

but they're your default.

How did your parents

deal with pain

or stress

or fear?

That's often

going to become

the way that you

deal with pain

or stress

or fear.

Not your destiny,

but your default.

pain

You'll see this

on page 8

of your worship guide,

a quote from

a woman named

Steffi Wagner.

Pain

travels

through

families

until

someone

is ready

to feel it.

Now,

I'm going to

rephrase that

for us.

As Christians,

we might put it

this way.

Sin

travels

through

families

until

someone

is willing

to repent.

Abraham's

line

is going

to continue

to be

crafty

and conniving

until

someone

is willing

to feel

vulnerable

and trust

God.

Abraham's

family

is going

to continue

to be

a family

of schemes

until

they're willing

to let

their grasp

go

and trust

that God

is in

control.

Now,

this isn't

saying that

we're not

responsible

for our

own sin.

We are,

all of us.

It is saying

our parents'

patterns are

going to

determine

which sins

are easier

for us,

which are

more tempting.

It's possible

to take this

too far.

It is a

principle.

It is not

an unbreakable

rule.

But it's a

powerful principle.

You see on

page 7

of your

worship guide,

I've shown

you guys

this quote

before.

Communities

have their

own stories

and those

stories

are

contagious.

Families

have their

own

stories.

Those

stories

are also

contagious.

Contagious.

do you

know

the story

that your

family

has been

telling?

Do you

know the

story

that was

handed to

you

by previous

generations?

Do you

understand it?

Can you

name it?

Do you

know what

has been

passed along?

Do you

know your

inheritance?

For good

or for

ill?

If you

don't know

it,

and if you

can't name

it,

you have

some homework.

Because whether

you know it

or not,

it is

there.

Now some

of it, I'm

sure, is

really good and

positive.

We've talked

about this

before.

Everyone's

made in the

image of

God.

Everyone has

something good

and beautiful

about them.

I'm

confident that

your parents

have passed

on something

good to

you.

Some of

it is not

so good.

And God

is calling

you to

repent of

those things

and to

turn away

from them.

the question

is, do

you know

what places

those are?

Do you

know the

story your

family has

told?

what you

have

inherited?

I want

to talk

for just

one minute

about what

you're passing

on because

of course

there's a

bit of a

warning here

for parents.

Robert

Murray McShane

who is a

Scottish pastor

in the

19th century

said this,

this is on

page 8

of your

worship guide,

what your

people need

from you

most

is your

own

personal

holiness.

Now he's

speaking to

pastors,

so we'll

change this,

what your

children

need from

you most

is your

own

personal

holiness.

That's part

of their

inheritance.

That's part

of what you're

passing on.

Are you

passing on

a story

of trusting

God and

his providence?

Are you

passing on

a story

of righteousness

and holiness?

Is that

what they're

receiving?

That's more

important than

money and

experiences

and getting

into a good

school.

Those things

aren't bad,

they're just

not the most

important.

Look with me

for a minute

on the back

of your

worship guide.

there's this

haunting quote

from Richard

Rohr.

By the way,

I don't

recommend this

book or

Richard Rohr

necessarily.

I'm just

giving you

this quote.

If we do

not transform

our pain,

we will

most assuredly

transmit it.

Usually to

those closest

to us,

our family,

our neighbors,

our coworkers,

and,

this is the

hard part,

invariably

the most

vulnerable,

our children.

And I'll

change this

quote as

well.

If we do

not repent

of our

sin,

it will

become

baggage

that we

hand off

to our

children and

they will

get to

unpack.

It will

that we

your sins

become

your

children's

default.

And they

will have

to choose

whether to

accept it

or to

repent

and head

in a

different

direction.

What

story,

what baggage

do you

want to

pass

along?

what your

people

need from

you most

is your

own

personal

holiness.

I told you

we would

talk about

two things,

generational

sin in

general and

the specific

sins of

Abraham's

line.

We've

talked about

generational

sin,

so we're

going to

pick up

the story

of Abraham.

Abraham,

verse 8

tells us

when he

had been

there a

long

time.

Commentators

make a

big deal

out of

that phrase

because what

they say

what this

tells us

is that

Abraham

had this

fear,

he had

this fear

that people

were going

to head,

or sorry,

not Abraham,

Isaac had

this fear,

Isaac had

this fear

that people

were going

to go

for

Rebecca,

right?

He's

there a

long

time and

what's

happened?

Nothing.

No one

has made

a move

for

Rebecca.

Isaac's

fear

was

a

fantasy.

He made

it up.

They had

all this

time.

They had

all this

time to

head after

Rebecca,

and no

one did.

There was

a study

that came

out in

2019

about people

who experienced

generalized

anxiety

disorder,

and they

tracked all

the things

that they

worried

about to

see if

they

actually

came

true.

91.4%

of worry

predictions

did not

come true.

The most

common

percentage

of untrue

worries

per person

was

100%.

In other

words,

they're

worrying

about all

these things

that are

not going

to come

to pass.

The same

thing here

happens

with Isaac.

He's

put all

this work

into controlling

the world

and protecting

himself

for nothing.

Of course,

it reminds

me of that

line from

Crime and

Punishment,

which is on

page 7

of your

worship guide.

Your worst

sin is that

you have

destroyed and

betrayed

yourself

for nothing.

Isaac has

gotten all

worked up

about something

that's not

real.

He lies

about his

wife.

He's

sneaking

around.

He refuses

to trust

God.

All for

a fantasy.

That takes

us to

verse 8

again.

Abimelech,

king of

the Philistines,

looked out

of a

window and

saw Isaac

laughing with

Rebecca,

his wife.

Now,

we can tell

from the

context here,

laughing is

a euphemism.

Laughing is

apparently

something that

brothers and

sisters never

do.

Verse 9,

he says,

how could

you do

this?

In other

words,

even the

pagans know

this is a

terrible idea.

Verse 10,

you could have

brought guilt

on us.

And so,

there's this

rich irony,

the same

irony that

was in

chapter 20

with Abraham.

The pagans

are more

righteous than

the patriarchs.

They have

a clear

moral compass.

They know

what is good

and wise

more than

Abraham

and Isaac.

Why?

Why does

Abraham,

why does

Isaac do

this?

Well,

he tells

us,

verse 9,

because I

thought,

lest I

die because

of her.

Of course,

we knew that

already,

right?

Verse 6,

he feared

to say,

my wife.

And so,

the point

is this,

Isaac fears

man more

than God.

Isaac trusts

his own

schemes,

he trusts

his own

cleverness

more than

God's promises

and protection.

Isaac has

decided

there's only

one person

who can get

things done

and it's

him.

Families

have their

own stories

and those

stories

are

contagious.

And the

story of

Abraham's

family

is this,

it is

100%

up to

me

to protect

myself.

if I

don't

make sure

it gets

done,

it won't

happen.

The ends

are going to

have to

justify the

means because

God

will not

show up.

It's my

cunning

and my

schemes

that will

make

things

happen.

That's a

very different

story

story

than the

story that

we're told

in the

gospel.

The story

of the

gospel is

not that

it is all

up to

you and

your

cunning

and your

schemes

that you

have to

hold the

world

together

by white

knuckling.

The story

of the

gospel is

very different.

It's the

story of

Hebrews

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

that God

holds the

world

together

by the

power

of his

word.

It's the

story of

Psalm 23.

The Lord

is my

shepherd

I shall

not

want.

And for

Isaac

in this

moment

that

story

loses.

Isaac

forgets

or does

not believe

what we

saw last

week.

Remember

the blessing

is passed

on.

What does

it say?

Chapter 26

if you're

reading with

your Bible

look back

on verse

3.

God

has made

Isaac a

promise.

He doesn't

have to

figure it

all out

on his

own.

He doesn't

have to

scheme

and connive.

He doesn't

have to

lie

and

sulk

around

hoping

that no

one

catches

that him

and

Rebecca

are

married.

Now if

it were

just a

promise

from God

it would

be one

thing

but it's

actually

even worse

than that.

It's

more

staggering

because Isaac

has seen

with his

own two

eyes

how great

God is.

Last

summer

chapter 22

what happens?

God

saves

Isaac

from being

sacrificed

and he

provides

a ram.

If

anyone

at this

point

in the

history

of God's

people

has seen

how great

and powerful

God is

it is

Isaac.

And yet

the story

of his

family

wins.

Brothers

and sisters

even

more

than

Isaac

we

have

seen

how

great

God

is.

And

we've

seen

how

great

God

is

in

the

death

and

the

resurrection

of

Jesus

Christ.

Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

what did

we finish

with?

He

who

gave

you

his

son

will

he

not

also

with

him

give

you

all

things?

How

could

we

doubt?

How

could

we

believe

that

it's

all

up

to

us

when

God

has

given

us

Christ?

And

yet

we

do.

Isaac

did

as

well.

That's

our

hope.

That's

the horizon

line we

set our

eyes

on.

That

God

has

saved

his

people.

That

he's

given

them

a

glorious

future

in

heaven

with

him.

And

of

course

he

will

give

them

all

they

need

along

the

way.

!

Now

some

of

what

I've

said

this

morning

about

generational

sin,

about

passing

things

from

father

to

son

and

mother

to

daughter,

some

of

that

I

could

have

told

you

if

I

was

a

Muslim.

There's

a

certain

common

sense

wisdom

to

this.

Of

course

we

know

families

have

patterns.

Of

course

they're

powerful.

What's

different

about

the

gospel,

what's

different

about

the

story

that

the

Bible

tells

us

is

this,

that

in

the

midst

of

the

mess

that

we

have

made

in

and

with

and

through

our

families,

God

intervenes.

The

family

is

powerful.

Hopefully

I made

that point

in the

first half

of the

sermon.

It

has

incredible

power.

God's

grace

and his

commitment

to his

covenant

and his

steadfast

love

are much

more

powerful.

The

story

of Abraham

and Isaac

and their

generational

sin

does

not

have

the

last

word.

Christian,

no

matter

how

messed

up

your

family

is

and

it

is

because

you

live

east

of

Eden,

God

is

more

powerful.

Jeremiah

23,

God's

word

is a

rock,

excuse

me,

a hammer

that breaks

a rock

into

pieces.

What do

I always

say?

It means

there's

nothing

so

powerful

that

God's

word

is

not

more

powerful

still.

There

is

nothing

that

has

happened

in

your

family

or

that

you

have

given

to

your

children

that

God

is

not

more

powerful

still.

Genesis

is a

story

about

a

wildly

dysfunctional

family

and this

is just

the start.

Okay,

buckle in.

It's

going to

get worse

in coming

weeks.

And

God

works

his

covenant

promises

through

them.

All

these

people

show up

in the

genealogy

of

Jesus.

God's

grace

is

more

powerful.

God's

grace

has

the

last

word.

Family

is a

painful

topic.

If

you're

paying

attention

this

morning,

my guess

is it

stirred

things

up

in

you.

Whatever

it stirred

up in

you,

that's

not

the

end

of

the

story.

It's

not

too

late

for

something

new.

And

that's

not

because

of

some

therapeutic

healing

journey

that

you're

going

to

go

on

through

another

country.

No,

it's

not

too

late

for

something

new

because

of

the

steadfast

love

of

the

Lord.

God

is

more

powerful.

Isaac's

sin

doesn't

have

the

last

word.

God's

covenant

does.

Next

week,

I should

have

included

next

week's

verses

in this

week's

reading.

Next

week,

it starts

out,

our passage,

it starts

like this.

This is

verses

12 and

13.

And Isaac

sowed in

that land

and reaped

in the

same

year

a hundred

fold.

the

Lord

blessed

him.

In

the

midst

of

Isaac's

stupidity,

in the

midst

of

his

fear,

in the

midst

of

his

sin,

God

is

still

at

work.

Praise

the

Lord,

his

mercy

is

more.

Stronger

than

darkness,

new

every

morn,

our

sins

they

are

many,

his

mercy

is

more.

Let's

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven,

we do

praise you

and thank

you again

for your

word.

Thank you

that you

present

us

in the

Bible,

not with

stories of

people who

are scrubbed

and polished,

but with

people who

are messy

and dysfunctional,

just like

us.

You show

us in

the midst

of that

your

great

grace

and

mercy,

which

gets

the

last

word.

We

ask

that you

would

remind

us

of

that,

that it

would

become

our

great

hope

and our

confidence.

We ask

these things

in Jesus

name,

amen.

Amen.