Blessings & Curses

[larryt]

In Deut. 28:1-15, Moses describes the end result of obedience/disobedience to His Word. "If you will listen to the voice of the LORD..." The blessings will come. They will overtake you. A basic list of the blessings from this passage include:

-- Exaltation - being lifted up on high

-- Health

-- Fertility

-- Prosperity

-- Victory

-- God's favor

Every area of a persons life is described as fruitful and productive.

The rest of the chapter 16-68, goes into much greater detail about how disobedience brings destruction and curse. A summary of the curses include:

-- Humiliation

-- Inability to reproduce in any area of your life

-- Mental and physical sickness

-- Family breakdowns

-- Poverty

-- Defeat

-- Oppression

-- Failure

-- God's disfavor

It has become fashionable to suggest that the OT depicts a God of wrath and judgement, while the NT depicts a God of love and mercy. The fact is God never changes. Both testiments depict God as being, at the same time, a God of mercy and judgement. To obtain an accurate picture of God, we must always keep both aspects of His character before us.

Ro 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

LT

*(gleaned from Blessings and Curses, by Derek Prince)

[ted]

Are they Scriptual?

Are we not still under the curse of death and sin due to the sins of Adam and Eve?

Is this what you mean?

t.

[Born Again]

I understand what you mean larryt- it goes back to the fear of the Lord. So often these days, people only see God as being loving and just, not for the whole. You're right- He has never changed. We should love Him and fear Him at the same time- He deserves our reverance :il:

[larryt]

Are they Scriptual?

Are we not still under the curse of death and sin due to the sins of Adam and Eve?

Is this what you mean?

t.

Hi Ted,

Forgive me for answering you with a Q: Is it possible that some of the things Christians experience, untimely death, chronic illness, repetative accidents, etc, are the result of curses because of disobedience?

LT

[tsth]

Yes, I believe they are still Scriptural and applicable. I would go further into the study with Deut. 30 as well, it completes the instruction:

1 "Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 Also the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today.

(Below is the crossover between the OT and NT and the connection between the 2)

Deut. 30:11-20

11 "For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Romans 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[ted]

Hi Ted,

Forgive me for answering you with a Q: Is it possible that some of the things Christians experience, untimely death, chronic illness, repetative accidents, etc, are the result of curses because of disobedience?

LT

Forgive me, because I didn't totally understand your original post.

Yes, I believe many of these things can be attributed to disobedience. We bring a lot of this stuff on to ourselves, if you ask me.

Thanks,

t.

PS- Good stuff, Suzanne.

[larryt]

Why is it that we almost always have to learn the hard way?

There is a saying: The thing we learn most from history is that we don't learn from history. After Moses told the Israelites the Law he also warned them that they would turn away again and again. The book of judges chronicals the next 400 yrs(?) of cycling between worldliness and repentance.

Thank you Susan, my hand get tired sometimes of all the typing, but I am getting better with so much practice. My hope here is that those that are undergoing some terrific struggles would take the time and check to see if the problem is curse related. Eliminating the curses has been a great blessing to my family and myself.

Father I do now pray for all those that are struggling and don't know where to turn. Help us all to submit ourselves to You and resist the devil that he would flee.

LT

[Kabowd]

I think we have to be careful. I've seen ppl with diseases, illness and hardship be accused of being in rebellion or accused of being under a curse...and I find that extremely disturbing and unscriptural. Besides, if a person is a believer, indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit, can they still be under a curse? (that a genuine question) I believe that there are strongholds, and I believe that there can be oppression...but I'm not sure about a "curse". I thought Christ's blood redeemed us from any curse....?

"Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. (Jhn 9:1-3 NKJV)

[Guest shiloh357]

Tess is right...

Not every sickness or unfortunate event can be tagged to disobedience. We have to really be careful there. We can get into some major judgementalism if we start judging people's walk with God on the basis of their physical condition or the the size of their bank account.

We live in a fallen universe. We have been delievered from the curse of the Law, but not the curse of the fall. We have bodies that are still susceptable to sickness, and therefore we get sick. We live in a world of oppression. Poverty in many parts of the world, is not a curse, but rather a product of man's inhumanity to man.

Bad things happen to us, that are often out of our control. Sometimes, it is someone ELSE's disobedience that effects us. We suffer at times because of what someone else put on us and not just what we do to ourselves.

[ted]

Tess, personally, I was referring to things like self-inflicted STD's, AIDS and things like that. There's no doubt in my mind that things of that nature are curses sent by God to punish sinners. When AIDS started, there was no other way to catch it but by sin. Of course, now it has infected blood supplies and can reach out to touch babies born with it by the infected mothers, and that is tragic.

I feel human kind had a moment in time to totally eradicate AIDS. Simply, a sin had to stop and it didn't, and now we have millions infected.

t.