In 2 Kings 5:27, Elisha says to Gehazi “Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.”
Gehazi's descendants would have leprosy for his actions.
How do I harmonize that with Ezekiel 18:20, which states that the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father?
Ezekiel was writing about conditions under the new covenant under the old covenant israel was punished sometimes for generations based on tbier fathers sins that wouldn’t be the case in the new covenant but every man wouod answerr for thier own sins not the sins of others by association
under the ot
“The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.”
Numbers 14:18
foretelling the new you probably should read the entire section but you can see how the principle is different
“
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine:
the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
…But
if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly;
he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
If he beget
a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, ……shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
Now, lo, if he beget a son, that
seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, that hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, that hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes;
he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.”
Ezekiel 18:4-5, 9-17
this was huge news for Israel at the time they had been suffering for generations based on tbe idolatry of thier ancestors
now each person could repent and only be held accountable for thier own deeds and actions rather than being lumped in with thier ancestors like many Christian’s still try to do linking us to Adams transgression and punishment under the ot
“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 KJV
The old covenant was about a particular people called to be holy as the lord is holy and so the people were looked at as one people of thier leaders became wicked everyone was considered wicked . If thier qncestors we’re wicked they also were caught up in tbe judgement by association
the new covenant is about the individual believer and faith in Jesus Christ the one approved hier of God