May you see your children's children.

Last week I posted this picture of myself and my grandson, Jayden, on the "Who We Are" page of fearjah.com. That got me thinking about my five children and my four grandchildren, which led me to searching the Scriptures on the topic of children and grandchildren. I found three interesting passages on the subject. All three are in the book of Psalms. And all three make reference to the fear of the LORD being the reason for JAH's favor.

First there is Psalm 128 NKJV, which highlights the blessings of home-life for those who fear JAH: "Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD. The LORD bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!"

Then I found Psalm 103:15-18: "As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them." Amen!

Psalm 112:1-3 was my final and most favorite find: "Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever."

Wow! That's a powerful Word! Notice how the "fear of the LORD" is linked to the Word of the LORD in Psalm 112 and 128. The man who fears the LORD is the same man who delights greatly in His commandments, who walks in His ways. If you want to know what it means to fear the LORD, this should help. It means to delight greatly in His Word, and to walk in His Way - as outlined in His Word. So if we claim to fear JAH, the fruit of that confession is delighting in His commandments and obedience to His Inspired Word.

God promises: "Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways." JAH is gracious, and righteous, and full of compassion. His mercy and righteousness extends from everlasting to everlasting to those who fear His name. Therefore, I'm blessed, my children are blessed, and my children's children are blessed as long as we delight greatly in His commandments and remember to do them.

"The generation of the upright will be blessed." Each generation of the upright is blessed. My generation, my children's generation, and my children's children generation is blessed as long as that generation walks in the fear of the LORD. JAH is no respecter of persons. I am not blessed because my parents walked in the fear of the LORD, I am blessed because of my own walk. And by the same token, I am not chastened or punished because of my parent's sin, I am chastened because of my own sin. Each individual is responsible for their own walk of faith. And each individual is responsible for their own personal sin. The Bible states in Ezekiel 18:1-3:

The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? "As I live," says the Lord God, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel."

JAH states His people are not to use this proverb. Why? Because it's not true. It's a false proverb. The people of Judah rationalized their fallen condition by using this proverb, "Our fathers sinned against the LORD (ate sour grapes) but we inherit the bitterness" (teeth set on edge).

I encourage you to read the rest of Ezekiel 18 to see how God refutes this false proverb that His people used to shift blame and sidestep responsibility. JAH is no respecter of persons. "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself." Ezekiel 18:20.

It's reassuring to know that the same God who watches over me as I walk in the light of His Word, is the same God who promises to watch over my children and my children's children as they also walk in the light of His Word.

"Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever."

This wonderful promise from the inspired Word of God is true for us today, it's true for our children, and it's true for our children's children. Praise the LORD!

Grace, Peace and Jahspeed!