God's great revelation of Exodus 34:6-7 emphasizes his gracious, merciful nature. But God's justice is also included. Verse 7 states that God will "by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation."
What does this statement mean? First, it does not mean that God will hold anyone legally responsible for the sins of an ancestor. As Deuteronomy 24:16 states, "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin."
I have heard this statement explained in a couple of different ways. First, our sins often do have effects on our lives and those of our descendants. When we are forgiven for wrongdoing, we still may experience some consequences of that wrongdoing.
Second, one common effect of our sins to have our descendants repeat them. Commentator Douglas Stuart explains that this is what is described in Exodus 34:7. This statement "describes God's just punishment of a given type of sin in each new generation as that sin continues to be repeated down through the generations."
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