Blessings & Curses

"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. " (Genesis 3: 14-19)

"And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed." (Genesis 5: 28, 29)

"And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done." (Genesis 8: 21)

Sin has brought man under God's curse. The entire race of man is "cursed" because of his sin and rebellion against God and his rule. Not only is man himself cursed by God, and by his law, but also man's dwelling place, the earth, has likewise been "cursed."

God has "cursed" the earth, the land, for the crime of man. He has also cursed man in all that he does in his fallen condition, a condition that is characterized by unbelief, and disobedience, and impenitent and hard heart against God and the things of God.

The bible says "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11: 6) and that "whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14: 24) and that whoever does NOT believe in Jesus is "condemned already" (John 3: 18) and has the "wrath of God abiding on him." (3: 36) This is why the wise king said - "the plowing of the wicked is sin." (Proverbs 21: 4 KJV) All that is done without faith is sin, no matter how "good" it might be otherwise.

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known." (Deuteronomy 11: 26-28)

This is what Lord God basically said to Adam and Eve when he said -

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat (blessing): But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (cursed)." (Genesis 2: 16, 17 KJV)

It is also what God has said in his law to men since the fall of Adam and Eve. He has implanted his moral laws in the nature and conscience of every man and when a man sins he transgresses and violates that law written on his heart. (See Romans 2: 14, 15)

God also gave a moral code to Moses, in ten basic commandments, which Jesus reduced to two, to love God supremely and one's neighbor as himself. Every time a man violates that law he is further cursed. However, when he obeys he is blessed.

"Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments." (Psalm 119: 21)

By the descriptive term "the proud" the Psalmist alludes to every lost sinner. In contrast to him, the true believer in Lord God and in his Son the Lord Jesus Christ are "the humble." The "proud" are under God's "curse," but the "humble" are under God's "blessing."

"The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just." (Proverbs 3: 33)

Again, every lost unsaved soul is by legal definition a "wicked" person, one who stands "condemned" under God's law. As such, they are without the grace of humility before God. In their hearts the ego reigns, pride rules and controls. In the hearts of the righteous, however, Christ and his word and Spirit reign. God has removed the curse and replaced it with blessing, on for the sake of Christ and in recognition of humility.

Every sinner is a "cursed offspring" (child) (II Peter 2: 14). He is cursed for his sins, for his unbelief and impenitence. On the other hand, one who has become a "child of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3: 26) is a "blessed offspring" of God.

"For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment." (Isaiah 34: 5)

The "people of my curse" are the "cursed children" of whom Peter spoke. They are those among cursed humanity who remained under the curse, and did not avail themselves of salvation and justification in and through Christ.

"For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off." (Psalm 37: 22)

The "blessed" of God will eternally "inherit the earth," but the "cursed" of God will be eternally "cut off" from the earth, and from every joy and blessing.

"Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them." (Lamentations 3: 65)

Oh the horror and evil of this thing called "depression" or "sorrow of heart"! How widespread is this malady among sinners! Even among some Christians! What a great "curse" is such a disease of heart, soul, and mind! Oh that men would cry out to God in Christ to deliver them from this curse, and to replace it with a blessing! For God to take away the depressed mind and spirit, the "sorrow of heart," and replace it with a joyful and hopeful heart, with a "blessed" heart and mind!

"If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart." (Malachi 2: 2)

Oh the fruit of sin! The sad consequences of rebellion of heart and soul against God! It is the chief characteristic of sin for sinners to refuse to "listen," "hear," or "pay attention to" Lord God and his word, to not "lay to heart" the things God warns him about, nor "give glory (credit and praise) to" the "name" of God, Lord of hosts. Because of this, Lord God says that he will "curse your blessings." Far better to have Lord God to "bless your cursings," as he said to Abraham - "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12: 3), and as he actually fulfilled, for instance, when Baalim attempted to utter words of cursing upon Israel but found instead that only words of blessing came out of his mouth! (See Numbers 23)

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3: 10-14)

This is the "good news," the blessed "gospel"! Christ has "redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us"! He was cursed with the curses designed for us, in order that we might be eternally blessed.

All one has to do to have his curses turned into blessings, is to regain favor with God. This cannot be done by any method of self atonement or reconciliation, but only by trusting in and relying upon the sacrifice and work of Christ in bearing the curse for unworthy sinners. As long as one is an "unbeliever" in Jesus, he is "condemned" by the law, under its curse, having the "wrath of God abiding upon him," and is an "enemy" of God, and not "at peace" with him. But, when one by faith receives Christ and trusts in his atonement for sin, in his becoming a curse for the cursed, he is then blessed, blessed with a new heart and life, and with the promise of eternal life and immortality.

"And there shall be no more curse..." (Revelation 22: 3)

This evil world is filled with curses of every kind, some general to the human race, and some special to particular individuals. Sin brings the curse of God. But, that curse can be lifted and replaced with blessing. The Lord promises to Christians a coming world where there will be "no more curse."

Death is a "curse," but in the world and eternal ages to come, there will be "no more death." There will be no more "sorrow of heart," but only joy and a healthy mind and state of being. Oh that we could all be assured of our "right to enter" into that coming reality!