The commandment to honor parents is the first one with a generational promise, and which the apostle Paul points to (Eph. 6:2–3). But it is not the first commandment with a generational rider. The Second Word says this — that those who bow down to images are guilty of “iniquity,” and that their hatred of God will be visited to three and four generations (Ex. 20:5). In our worship of the Lord, we delight to include our children together with us in our worship, and this includes bringing them to the Table. But it is not enough to just include your children. What are you including them in? We do not bring them into a worship service with graven or painted images in it because we do not want a millstone tied around our stiff necks (Matt. 18:6). We do not want to be thrown into the depth of the sea. We want to present ourselves to the Lord at the last day, together with the children He has given us.
Douglas Wilson