Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. –Deuteronomy 7:9, NIV, emphasis mine
Another definition is “a group of individuals having contemporaneously a status (as that of students in a school) which each one holds only for a limited period”. For example, this year’s graduating class is part of a different generation of students, and next year’s graduating class will be radically different to ours.
But the Hebrew word used for “generation” is dowr, which could mean either “period of time”, or even “characterized by quality, condition, class of men”. Keeping this in check, we could say that God’s love will extend for generations. But a thousand…
We get to barely see even three or four generations in a normal lifespan! And even Moses declared, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures (Psalm 90:10)”, and that’s even the beginning of our ayes! However, there is something else: this promise is for “those who love him and keep his commandments”.
Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” The promise of God’s grace will extend to those who love and wait for Him. Even in Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
God promised Israel that if they kept His commandments, God will follow His love through a thousand generations. And what do you know-God’s blessings will follow us, and our families, and our grandsons, and our great-grandsons, too.