If the Bible says the sins of the parents are not inherited by their children Then why did God also destroyed all the innocent children and all unborn child in His Deluge?

Answer 1

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; Deuteronomy 24 : 16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. ; 2 Kings 14 : 6 But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. ; Jeremiah 31 : 29-30 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity. ; Ezekiel18 : 20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

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: ; While all of the above verses most certainly relate to individual responsibility, it is important to gather all the relevant information. Since the question relates to the judgment meted out through the worldwide flood of Noah's day, these passages below form the second part of the answer.

== == And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. Genesis 6 v 5 - 6

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. and God looked upon the earth and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. Genesis 6 v 11 - 12.

Thus we see an important lesson from the story of Noah. The Bible teaches that there was very good and sufficient reason for the flood of Noah's day. At times there come into the pages of history individuals who seem to be unspeakably wicked, violent, and vile. The Bible record here indicates that all of mankindwas that way! It also teaches us that sin is serious, and that a righteous God who is the maker of all has the right to expect certain behavior.

Especially when we remember that Noah was called a 'preacher of righteousness' in 2 Peter 2 v 5 the persons who perished in the flood were without excuse as they heard Noah's message and no doubt saw or heard about the Ark while it was being built. The parents certainly heard of Noah and his message but rejected it.

Certainly it is a fair question to inquire how all of this relates to children. I believe the answer has two parts to it. Firstly, in the Genesis 6: 11-12 passage we need to see the totality of the corruption of mankind. It has been suggested by some that this is evidence of a lack of 'government' of any kind, one of the functions of which would have been to restrain evil and create order. Whether this is true or not, it is clear that the corruption was total. Since God has perfect knowledge it can be assumed (since to argue this here is another subject altogether) that He had perfect knowledge of the direction every life would take in the future. We know even today, that children tend to follow their parents example for good or ill. Thus God saw that 'all flesh had corrupted his way'. Then as now all means all. Yes, and obviously the unborn had not yet sinned, but elsewhere in scripture we are told that God knows everything, certainly including the decisions and future actions of children including the unborn. Else He would not be God. (this again is another topic) Hence He knew that all these would grow up to oppose Him especially since their parents had heard the 'preacher of righteousness' and rejected his message.

The second part of this is the fact that (again another area) God is just. We may not like what He says and does, and indeed find it abhorrent from an outsiders perspective. But, it indeed is mingled with mercy in saving Noah and his family to keep mankind alive as well as the opportunity He gave for people to turn away from their violent lifestyle through the example of obedience set by Noah and his family as well as his preaching.

Most certainly God's attitude to all of this is made clear. It was not at all like that of Joseph Stalin who, following the theory of evolution which degrades people's worth, stated that 'killing a million people is no different to mowing a lawn'. By contrast, we are told '..it grieved Him at His heart.' Genesis 6:6. Maybe God make a mistake on His first creation and would like to start anew.

Genesis 6:6 And it repented the LORDthat he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

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