Now, all of these problems can have a variety of causes, but if they are repetitive problems, they tend to be generational. For example, if someone came to me and they’re suffering from tormenting nightmares, I would ask: “Tell me what is the problem. How is it affecting you. When did it first start?” “I’ve had it all my life” - that would suggest it is family or generational. Or they could answer – they’ve got another problem, “I’ve got these allergies”. “How long have you had them?” “All of my life” “Did anyone else in your family have them?” “My mother had them, and her mother had them.” So you see a repeated kind of pattern, and you realise there’s something operating down the family line.
So you’re looking for repeated patterns - something that’s crooked and twisted. There’s a power operating behind it. I’ll give you a few examples in the Bible, where clearly either iniquity or curses are operating. You can quite easily see that actually, the two are connected, but you can usually easily see which is which. We’ll have a look at a few of them now.
Let’s look at King David. 2 Samuel 12:10 – these are the words of Samuel: “Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.” So what does that sound like? Sounds like a curse - the sword shall never depart from your house. So what did David do that caused this problem in his family? He committed adultery and murder. Here’s the first question – did David get forgiven by God? Yes he was forgiven. However, the consequence, or iniquity, went down his family line. So, if you follow David’s family, you realise there was adultery, there was rape, there was bitterness, there was betrayal, and one of the brothers killed the other brother. So looking at David’s family line, you see many problems, which had a generational root.
I’ll give you another example from 2 Kings 5:27. You remember Gehazi and Elisha. Remember how Gehazi coveted the money and goods that came from Naaman the Syrian. This is what Elisha spoke to him (2 Kings 5:26 - 27): “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever”; and he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.
You notice that his sin was that there was coveting, or greed in his heart. He lied - he deceived, in order to manipulate someone to get some possessions in gold. In doing so, he ruined the strategic alliance between Elisha and Naaman, who was a high military person in Syria. Elisha did not want anything from Naaman the Syrian, even though he was an extremely wealthy man. He wanted to leave this man in debt to him, and to operate free of any requirement of him - this would give him power to speak into his life. If he took money from him, if he charged for his services, it would undermine his authority and the strategic relationship.
Just to give an example of that, there are times when I minister to some very highly important people in Taiwan. It’s always important that when I go to them, I never ask or want anything from them. That I go, what I give is free. That keeps then, the ability to keep my heart clear, and to have influence in these people’s lives. This is because the moment I was to show any signs of greed, they would pick it straight away.
Authority in their life depends on being totally free from a hidden agenda; so this greed in Gehazi’s heart was very serious - it undermined Elisha’s reputation. You notice that the result was leprosy - physical sickness. Notice that it was ‘cling to you and your descendents’. His sin opened the door for a generational leprosy in the family line.
Think of some other ones. In Genesis 12:10-13, remember how Abraham lied about his wife Sarah? In Genesis 26:7, Isaac his son lied also, about his wife. In Genesis 27:19, Jacob lied - pretended to be Esau - lied and deceived his poor blind dad. Then in Genesis 37:33, the whole family lied, when they covered up the death of Joseph. This is an example of an iniquity - a tendency towards dishonesty – lying in the family line. Notice the sins get worse and worse.
Another example would be Eli – 1 Samuel 3:12-14 and 1 Samuel 2:30-33 Remember he was unfaithful in his priesthood, and the curse came upon him and his family. Let’s just have a look at what the curse was - 1 Samuel 3:13 – “I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.” So notice there, verse 14 says – “Therefore, I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
Now we find out exactly what it was - go back to chapter 2, verse 31: “Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.” Verse 33: “But any of your men, whom I do not cut off from My altar, shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart; and all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age.”
Basically what he’s saying is: the generational legacy of worshipping God will be removed from you, and there’ll be premature deaths in your family. He said – there’ll be constant grief. What he’s saying is that there is a generational curse coming, and it can’t be removed.