Today’s meditation is taken from Deuteronomy 11:26-28, "Today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse--- a blessing, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; but a curse, if you disobey these commands and turn away to worship other gods that you have never worshiped before. (GNB)
We are studying about the church, and we recap that the church is blessed by God. The church is not a building made of stones, but a people chosen by God to be separated unto the Lord. To be separated for God means that we remain distinct from those around us, and do not do all the sinful things that those around us indulge in. This difference should be noted in our families, our work place, and in our interaction with society. Sometimes we are different when in church, and are different when out in the world. Being separated for the Lord might mean we will feel lonely and left out at times. The thought we should bear in mind is that it is far better to be with the Lord, and have the world reject us rather than have the world with us, and forfeit the Lord’s presence in our lives. God is more than enough for us and He is all we need.
The church is built up by Lord and His word, and not by the strength or efforts of any man. We also realize that the church is blessed by God which means that each one of us are blessed by God. If the blessing of the Lord are upon us, it means that His riches rest on us, and there is nothing we will need.
We also saw that blessings and curses are the words spoken by God or people who have been endowed with authority from God. These words of blessings will bless us and build us up, or the curses pronounced can tear us down. In the passage of scripture in Deuteronomy 11:26-28 the Lord declared that both blessings and curses were placed before the people of Israel and the blessing would be theirs if they obeyed God or their disobedience would incur God’s curses on their lives.
Often when something good happens to us we take the credit for the same, and when something goes bad we blame it on others. The fact is that only when we walk in obedience to the Lord, understanding His will, we will have His blessings on our lives. Whenever, we disobey God’s word, and go against the will of God, we will only receive curses.
God has given us the freedom to choose
Adam and Eve had the choice before them. From the very beginning of creation God has given man the free will to make choices. God will never force anyone. I have heard some people argue that God should have prevented them from making wrong choices or going the wrong way. God will never do that, for He has given us the freedom to make our own choices. The word of God explicitly tells us what is right and what is wrong. It is up to us to make the right choices. Remember Adam and Eve had the freedom to either eat or not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
For example, those who are in church had made a choice to get ready, and be there on time. There are others who did not make that choice. Based on our choices we either bring blessings on ourselves or the curses as God has clearly told us about.
The choices people made
Lot too had such a choice to stay with Abraham, the Father of faith or to walk away on his own. We know that Lot decided to walk away to Sodom because it appealed to his eyes, and ended up in a place that was cursed by God.
So also, Judas Iscariot had a choice to either be loyal to Jesus or to take the side with the religious leaders who were against Jesus. Judas had been with Jesus for three and half years, but he went after tradition, money and ended up a failure.
As children of God, we can be sure that based on our choices we will either be blessed or cursed. Sometimes, people regret for a choice they have made many years later, but can sadly never undo the consequences of the choices they made. When the blessings of God are on our lives, our lives will be built up, but when curses are on us, our lives will be a constant struggle.
We read in Exodus 20:5-6, “Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the LORD your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation. But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my laws.” (GNB)
To those who love God and obey His commandments, His love and blessings will remain on them for thousands of generations. We understand then that the blessings and curses of God can come down from generation to generation. When we make right decisions and choices, the blessings of God are not only on us, but also on the generations to come.
We read in Exodus 20:5, “Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the LORD your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation (GNB) that God detests idolatry and wherever people choose to worship the things that their hands have created, and whenever they make gods for themselves, and worship the created instead of the creator, the Lord will punish them to the third and fourth generation. It is interesting to note that the God who blesses does so for a thousand generations, and the God who judges, punishes only does to the third and fourth generation.
We are going to try to understand what is generational blessings and generational curses. Here are some examples of those who received these in the bible.
The blessings of Abraham on his descendants
In Genesis 26:4-5 we read, I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give them all this territory. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. I will bless you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all my laws and commands.” (GNB)
This is the words of God to Isaac, and we see that God’s blessings rested on Isaac and all their descendants because his father Abraham obeyed God, and walked in obedience to God, and to all of His law and commandments.
Let us look at another passage where we see that the curses of God can also be passed on from generation to generation.
The curses of Gehazi passed on to his generations
We read in 2 Kings 5:27, And now Naaman's disease will come upon you, and you and your descendants will have it forever!" When Gehazi left, he had the disease---his skin was as white as snow. (GNB)
Gehazi was the servant of the prophet Elisha. Naaman the Syrian Commander had come to Elisha, and by obeying the word of the prophet had been cleansed of his leprosy. On receiving the astounding miracle, Naaman wanted to give many gifts to Elisha, which the prophet refused because God did not approve of it. However, when Naaman left back to his country, Gehazi the servant of Elisha was filled with greed, and did not want to miss the opportunity to take some of the gifts that Naaman offered to Elisha. Unknowns to Elisha, Gehazi pursued Naaman and took some of the money and gifts from him, hid them in his house, and stood before the prophet Elisha as before. The Lord revealed to Elisha that Gehazi had taken the gifts from Naaman, and the consequence was that Elisha declared that Gehazi would be infected with the leprosy that Naaman was cured of. Naaman obeyed and was cured of his leprosy, but Gehazi disobeyed and got infected with the leprosy that had left Naaman. Note that this curse was not only for him, but for his descendants as well.
There is no doubt that based on our choices we either have blessings or curses based on what our ancestors did.
What are the reasons for the curses in our lives?
Sometimes there are people who are confused and unable to progress in their lives, or some others are faced with continuous troubles or still others work hard, but never get to eat the fruit of their labor, and there are some who have a particular ailment that they struggle with for many long years. This could mean that there is something that needs to be set right in our lives, so we can bring about a change in this cycle.
When we are in Christ these things should change, and we will learn how.
If the government was to roll out a scheme whereby those who are below a certain income level are eligible to receive a certain sum of money every month to assist them, if a person who was eligible would just sit at home in ignorance they would never benefit from it. That person must firstly hear about the scheme, secondly they must believe in it, and thirdly must take needed initiative and steps to receive the same. Only when one does all of the above, will they receive the benefits of the scheme.
So also, God the Father did all that He could through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ in order to redeem sinful mankind. We can either ignore it as something that we have heard from childhood and hence as something of no consequence to us. The other thing we can do is to take it seriously and believe that it is time for things to change in our lives, believe the word, confess it and act on it so that there is total transformation in our lives. None of this will not happen automatically, but we have to hear, believe and receive it.
Here are some of the causes for these curses
1. Idolatry – worshipping the things that we have created with our own hands. We read that this could lead to God’s punishment right to the third and fourth generations. Idolatry does not mean the worship of statues only, but could be anything that we idolise more than God. To some it is their work, for others it is money, or their children. Anything that comes takes priority over God, and things pertaining to God (like attending church) is a sure idol in our lives. This means that we also do not expose ourselves to any kind of fortune telling or entertain any kind of objects in our homes with the thought that they will remove misfortune from our home. When we give room to any of these we can be sure that we are opening the door for Satan to bring in all of the curses into our lives.
2. Not honoring parents – There are many children who curse their parents these days. Recently I heard of a young girl who took her parents to court because they gave birth to her and she had no desire to live. If we hurt our parents and disrespect them, it will turn out to be a curse on us. Remember, a majority of parents say things to their children only because they love them, and genuinely care for their well-being.
3. Sexual sins – When a man and woman don’t confine their love and affection to the bonds of marriage and try to find this pleasure outside of marriage, they will bring curse into their families. When husband and wife unite God will be honored, and when two unite out of wedlock, Satan will have the upper hand. Remember, God builds and unites while Satan divides and destroys.
4. Taking what belongs to God - When we take the glory, honor, time, money that belongs to God, we will bring in the curses upon our lives.
What are some of the common indications of these curses?
• Emotional instability – Many people are struggling with emotional issues. One of the most common symptoms people talk about today is depression. Even small children are depressed these days. As parents we must discipline our children, and teach them to handle the pressures of life the right way.
• Chronic sickness – Some people struggle with an ailment for long period of times. All the tests and medical examinations will prove otherwise, but they will constantly struggle with some health issue.
• Frequent Abortions
• Financial lack and want –some people earn a lot of money, but will have no idea how the money is spent, and will be in want way before the month ends. The Psalmist David on the other hand declared, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want.’ Notice how Jesus and His disciples never went around asking for money but they were always well taken care of. This is the way God will lead his children. If we have a purse with holes, then we must analyze to see what is wrong.
• Frequent accident – Some people are prone to all kinds of accidents which take place over and over again.
• Suicide and unnatural deaths
• Problems in relationships – Some families will have constant quarrels and fights either between husband and wife, or parents and children or amongst siblings
When things mentioned above happen to others, we should not judge others as being cursed. Remember, God’s word is for each one of us to take personally and closely examine our own lives.
What is the solution to this?
We read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.” (GNB)
Also in Galatians 3:13, But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, "Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God's curse." (GNB)
The solution lies in the cross of Jesus Christ. Anyone who hung on a cross was considered cursed. Jesus took this curse on Himself. He was whipped with thongs that had iron and animal teeth embedded in them, He was falsely charged, despised and ill-treated beyond human understanding. We know that Jesus took all of this, and God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we can share in His righteousness. We can define sin as our wrong choices, and Jesus took our place on the cross for all of them. The soul that sins deserved death, but since Jesus took that death on Himself, all of our sins and the punishment for our sins fell on Jesus so that His righteousness could come upon us.
We don’t need to live in fear because everyone who believes in Jesus has been given the right to be called the children of God. Since Christ died for us on the cross on our behalf, when God the Father sees us, He looks at us through His Son Jesus Christ. Also the Father loves us, and hence He will discipline us and fashion us and through it all the fact remains that we are His children.
We read in Galatians 3:13, But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, "Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God's curse." (GNB)
Jesus became sin for us, and hence He redeemed us from our sin. This means that even for the wrong choices we have made, and the sins that we committed, Jesus paid for it all, and has set us free so that they will not have an impact on us any longer. As a child of God all of God’s blessings are ours, and moreover He has also clothed us with His righteousness. God has also given us the power through Jesus to cancel all of the curses and irrespective of what was done in generations past, we need not worry because Jesus bore all of those curses on the cross for us. None of these curses will come upon us or upon our children. We must pray and conquer all of these curses, and God will surely give victory over all those things that keep troubling us over and over again, be it our financial losses, our health issues, all of our emotional instabilities and anything else that troubles us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us, so that all of His blessings can be poured out upon us. May we enjoy and see the blessings of God being poured out on us and our children.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
