Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me--Exodus 20:5
This is a key verse to Oprah's theology. She is upset by this commandment, and so her view of God is tainited. The problem is her misunderstanding of Scripture and her high value of herself and mankind versus the higher value of God. She is bothered by the parts "jealous God...and...visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon thier children..." But she does err not understanding Scriptures. What a shame, because she has to be a somewhat intelligent woman to get where she is. First of all, God is jealous "for us", not "of us". He loves us and does not want us to go chasing after false gods, because He knows that is not good for us. We can make a bag of rocks, pot of gold, keg of beer, whatever our god. God knows that none of those things will satisfy us. God is not a tyrant. He lets us chase those foolish things (freewill). But this Father knows best, hence He does not want his children bowing down and serving false-no-good-gods. God cares. Secondly, God knows as the parents go, so the children generally will go; and thus too will a nation go. History bears that out. Look how nations are known as Christian, Muslim, Catholic, etc. God does not make them that way; it is the way of their choosing and passing down. To be against God is a dangerous thing; so He warns. Is their chance for the children to turn to Him? Of course, all through the Scriptures that invitation exists. Oprah doesn't concentrate on the words "those who hate me." God's judgment does not fall on those who love him, but rather those who hate him. What does one expect when he/she disobeys authority? If you hate the Creator of the entire Universe then God says bad things are going to happen. It's not a warning, it is a promise. Only those who think too highly of themselves have the arrogance to tell God how to run his world. ---In contrast, the next verse says that God offers mercy to the thousands that love him and keep his commandments. ---Do we get mad at the stove when we touch a hot element? I dont' think so. ---This is a non-issue. The message is clear: be on the right side of God. God is jealous for you. He loves you. Be comforted in those words today.
