14 Bible Verses About Generations

Family Legacy

14 Bible Verses About Generations

by Bill High

In our Western world, we tend to think about the here and now—the immediate. It’s so much about job, career, taking the next step.

There was a time, however, when people used to think beyond themselves. They had to think about generations—the people that would come behind them. Farmers would clear a field with the consideration that their children would farm it.

Modern Americans tend to think of our own life and—if marriage and kids are part of the picture—our children and perhaps grandchildren.

But God thinks in terms of generations, a much longer view. Here are 14 verses to encourage us to think about family in terms of generations, generations of influence.

  1. Genesis 9.12: And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations.
  2. Genesis 17.7: And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
  3. Genesis 50.23: Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph’s knees.
  4. Exodus 3.15: Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
  5. Exodus 12.14: This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.
  6. Leviticus 23.43: …that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
  7. Joshua 22.28: Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’
  8. 2 Kings 10.30: And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”
  9. Esther 9.28: …that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.
  10. Psalm 22.30: A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation…
  11. Psalm 49.11: Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, Their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
  12. Psalm 78.4: We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
  13. Joel 1.3: Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation.
  14. Ephesians 3.21: …to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

 

Generations and God’s Perspective

These verses demonstrate an important aspect of God’s character. He is the Lord of history, the Ancient of Days who is weaving together the stories of individuals, generations and nations into His eternal purpose.

He sees our lives in the context of the big picture. His purpose and plan are greater than any individual and continues from generation to generation. That perspective might be hard for us in our individualistic Western culture to swallow! But it may provide a necessary corrective to our natural way of viewing ourselves and our world.

In Psalm 90, a prayer attributed to Moses, the psalmist meditates on the fragility of human life before the everlasting God. But he concludes with humble hope, asking that God will establish his people’s work to endure: May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands. 

May we also seek to live and work in ways that will outlive us, building a legacy of good for those who come behind.

 

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Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.
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Published February 5, 2020

Topics: Family Legacy

Biblical LegacyFaithGenerationsMulti-Generational

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Comments 10

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      I don’t know anything about that site (and there’s no About Us page explaining who built the site and what their purpose is). That being said, that site offers generally accepted observations about the different generations. They’re common generalizations. Depending on what you’re looking for, that site may be adequate or you may need to look elsewhere for more detailed information or formal studies of generational differences.

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  4. As concerning the Word of life, Luke 10 section 25-28 says: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
    Luke 18 section 18-25 says: A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
    Matthew 5 section 43-48 says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
    In Old Testament, the Jewish people and their ancestors were given the Law to observe. First, What Adam and Eve should observe was that they could not eat the fruits from the tree of wisdom. Then, their son Cain was told that he should not kill. As sins became increased, the laws were also added more. Up to the generation of Moses, the Law in Old Testament was given to Israelites. We know that the Law is good and the Law is used to punish people who commit sins, but people cannot obey the Law because the sinful spirits are in people. Even that we know stealing and giving false testimony are sinful, but greedy and pride spirits in us drive us to do sinful things. So as Old Testament prophesied we need to get rid of our sinful nature from our spirits.
    Jeremiah 31 section 31-33 says: “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
    Ezekiel 36 section 24-27 says: “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
    The prophecies are fulfilled when Jesus begins to teach love. The two greatest commandments are ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” Love is above the Law and if people have love they are free from the law of sin and death. People who are full of love will not think about stealing or giving false testimony but are merciful and they feed hungry people or give thirsty people something to drink or invite strangers in or clothe people who need clothes. The Law is for people who commit sins. Nobody will say that he will get reward because he does not steal before. But love is the grace we get. And with love we will get eternal life.
    Romans 13 section 8-10 says: Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
    Luke 17 section 20-21 says: Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say,’ Here it is,’ or ‘ There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
    John 4 section 23-24 says: Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

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  5. Thank you for this great needed history, reminder to us and to the future generation. I appreciate what you are doing. God bless.

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  6. It is very interesting and blessed. I would love to live a blissful life in the very ever-presence of God. I know Jesus loves me and is holding me all my life.

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  7. i am bless to understand about this Generation
    thank you in all verses giving me to understand more and more.
    Keep safe and also keep healthy and God bless to everyone,🙏❤
    from Philippines,,,,

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