Word In Life Study Bible
CORPORATE CONFESSION
Lam.1:18
In thinking about the sins of one’s ancestors, a common tendency is to resist the sense of personal responsibility. “I’m not to blame for what happened back then. I wasn’t even born yet! My forebears may have committed various evils, but they have to bear responsibility for those, not me.”
While that argument is not totally without merit, the Bible teaches that there is such a thing as corporate sin—an entire group of people being held accountable for the sins of some of their members. And if there is corporate sin, then there is a need for corporate confession.
Lamentations offers an example of corporate confession. Jeremiah speaks in terms of personal sin and sorrow: “I rebelled… . Behold my sorrow” (Lam. 1:18). Likewise, “I have been very rebellious” (1:20). But clearly Jeremiah was identifying with his people. His first-person statements reflect a sense of collective guilt for what the nation of Judah as a whole has done.
God’s people today also bear corporate responsibility. We may not have contributed directly to wrongs committed in the past, but just as we inherit benefits from our predecessors, so we must accept legacies of sin. Like Jeremiah, we can humbly make confession and seek healing for what “we-as-a-people” have done, and recognize the consequences that may still be with us as a result of past sins.
In addition, we do well to think carefully about how we conduct our own lives, knowing that today’s choices may affect our children’s children.
Study notes from the Word In Life Study Bible, copyright 1993,1996, by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. The study notes from the Word In Life Study Bible appearing at this web site are for personal use only.
Print
Email
