Sour Grapes

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."

This passage is describing the dreaded generational curse.  For those outside of Christ, it is still in effect.  But for Christians it was defeated at the cross.

This curse is still talked about in the Church today as if it were still our heritage.  Not so!  It is Old Covenant.  Aren't you glad we don't live under the old anymore?!  

It used to be that God would not clear the guilty of wrong doing but visited the wrong doing of the fathers upon their children and grandchildren who did no wrong.  How horrible! As a grandparent myself it's terrible to think that my precious children, grand and great grandchildren could suffer deadly diseases because of something I did.

But that's the way it was.  Read for yourself in the passage below:

"And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7 NKJV)

God said He would,"by no means clear the guilty," AND He would "visit" punishment on your offspring.  

The problem was, God loved His people!  He only wanted to bless them, not visit curses on them and their children.  That is why He "found fault" with the Ten Commandments and wrote the passage below in Hebrews 8-7-12.  He was instituting a New Covenant signed and sealed by the precious blood of JESUS!

"A New Covenant
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, {the Ten Commandments} then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them {the Ten Commandments}, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 NOT ACCORDING TO THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; {the Ten Commandments} because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.

"10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I WILL PUT MY LAWS IN THEIR MIND AND WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

That means NO MORE VISITING PUNISHMENT.  NO MORE GENERATIONAL CURSE!

So why the reference in Ezekiel to "sour grapes?" To show that we have Jesus' signed, sealed guarantee of the above statement.

Q. What do sour grapes produce?
A. Sour wine.
Q. What did Jesus drink on a sponge on the cross?
A. Sour wine.

He reversed the GENERATIONAL CURSE by His very last act on the cross.

HALLELUIA!!!  

No more will the children's teeth be set on edge because their fathers have eaten Sour Grapes!