The Curse and the Cure

THE GENESIS OF CURSE

A curse is a cause of misfortune and it is the opposite of blessing. A curse is one of the deadly products of man’s tongue. Curses come to the life of man as a fruit of judgment through a course of unrighteous acts that one undertakes or through invocation of evil wishes that results from a heart filled with vengeful anger. A Curse is a devastating option in the clause of the law of God. God does not want anybody under bondage. Hence, He never imposed His law upon humanity. From the beginning of creation, God has set both life and death before man, leaving man a free agent, to choose which ever he wants. “See I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28) The advantages of doing the Lord’s will is a fulfilling and blessed life and the consequences of forsaking the will of God is a series of judgment that bring forth the wrath of God. God does not curse man; however if a man chooses the path of destruction, it is no longer God that curses the individual, but the path that the person chose triggers off the judgment of God and makes him to be under a curse instead of blessing from God. Blessing is the will of God for the obedience and judgment is also the will of God for the disobedience. “And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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. (Genesis 2:16-17) Adam forsook the law of God and reaped the consequences of the judgment of God. The fact that the Serpent (Satan) deceived was not enough excuse. The hammer of judgment came down heavily upon Adam and Eve.

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 3:16-19 Genesis 3:16-19
16. 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.
17. 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;
18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19.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. )

In the list of judgment of Adam, the Bible says: “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”That was the turning point in the life of man. The immortal nature of man became tainted with sin. Man lost eternal life. The land was now cursed because of his sin. Consequently the land can no longer yield with its full force. Man was living in the abundance of divine provision in the garden planted by God before but now he has to till and toil the ground before he has his daily bread. However, Satan did not go scot-free. “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 they belly shalt thou go, and dust shall thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her see; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

Wherever we find the word “command” among the instructions of God to humanity, let us substitute it for “you are strongly advised in your own interest to abide by the law of God” in order that we may understand the gravity of its importance. As we all know, the best way to do the will of God is to follow His commandment. Whenever God commands man to obey His law, there is a blessing attached to the statute of God and the consequence of its disobedience is damnation. We always face with the same choice today. If we choose our own selfish way we are traveling on a dead end road, but if we choose the way of God we shall have life eternal. Brethren, it is very clear from above that curse came to the life of man through sin.

CURSE, ACCURSED AND THE CURSED

One causes of curse that was deliberately left out in the first subtitle is when evil incarnate people cast a spell of curse upon their victims. Curse is one of the deadly instruments in the hand of people with familiar spirits – the witches, wizards, occultist, powers and principalities, rulers of darkness, spiritual wickedness in the high places. Curses are an ancient form of warfare. When one country prepares to attack another, an environment of hostility would be created and each country would be at each other’s neck and wish evil upon another. A curse and a blessing work in the same way but in opposite directions. When one with righteous heart invokes a blessing, an impulse of blessing is sent into the spiritual realm that will come to pass at the appointed time of God. The same way curse works in the opposite direction. In the modern day warfare, you do not need to curse your enemy today and wait years for its manifestation. All the military personnel of a country needs is a super gun or warplane with nuclear warhead to physically deliver the misfortune to the other country. This was the experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the advent of atomic age.

Balak, son of Zippor, the king of Moabites, embarked on the ancient warfare against Israelites. Balak did not consult his evil magicians. He looked for somebody who, in his own conviction, was holy and was very close to God to do the dirty job of cursing Israelites, the people of God. Balak said of Balaam, “for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.” (Numbers 22:6) Be watchful! The enemy can manipulate anybody to do evil, even the elects that think they stand. With enticement and gifts, Balaam son of Boer was hired to curse Israelites. Brethren, we have to bear an important principle in mind about a curse: “. . . an undeserved curse does not come to rest” (Proverb 26:2) Please pause and meditate on this. This is a rider over the evil effect of a curse. If a man does not deserve a curse that enemy wished him or her, it will not have any effect upon him or her. When Balaam opened his mouth to curse the Israelites, he could not. It became physically impossible for him to curse the Israelites. Instead he was pronouncing blessings upon them because God intervened and caused him to do so. He attempted several times before Balak became so frustrated and sent Balaam away. But before he left, he did a devastating damage against the Israelites. Balaam advised the Moabite women to entice and seduce the Israelites into sexual relationships and make them to bow and worship before Baal of Peor, the idol god of Moabites because he knew that sin was the only way the people of God could suffer calamity. Israelites swallowed the bait. This kindled the anger of God against the Israelites. What a curse cannot do, the judgment of sin did in that 24,000 Israelites died in a sin-caused plague. “Have you allowed all the women to live,” he asked them. They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and were the means to turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people.” (Number 31:15-16) A lesson to learn here is that sin opens and corrodes the shield of spiritual protection around the children of God.

Accursed property is like a virus; anybody that comes in contact with it will be infected. Any one that takes possession of an accursed thing will become cursed. Joshua warned the Israelites according to the Lord’s commandment, before they conquered the city of Jericho: “And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed things, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.” (Joshua 6:18) But Achan set aside the law of God and took two hundred shekels of silver, a wedge of gold of fifty shekels and goodly Babylonian garments and hid them under the ground of his tent. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but lose his own soul. Achan did not value his own soul not to talk of the soul of others. The sin of covetousness of Achan brought a curse upon the people of God, and the presence of God departed from them. A tiny city of Ai defeated the Israelites in battle. The hearts of the Israelites were troubled. They sought the face of God, and the Lord told them that someone brought an accursed thing into the camp of Israel. An investigation revealed the evil of Achan and he was stoned to death along with his household.

The sin of Saul was similar to that of Achan. Disobedience was the sin of Saul. Remember that we learned at the beginning of this topic that a sin triggers off a curse. A curse is opposite of blessing and an alternate option for those who do not operate under the fear of God. God judged the Amalekites and commanded Saul to war against them. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destry all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep camel and ass.” (I Samuel 15:2-3) Saul partly obeyed God but he spared Agag, the king of Amalekites, and brought the sheep, oxen and lambs and all things that were considered vile before God to the camp Israel. The anger of God was kindled against him. Samuel the prophet of God told Saul, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (I Samuel 15:22-23)

There was a law in Israel – anybody that committed a sin worthy of death shall be hanged on the tree. “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree. His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shall in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” (Deutronomy 21:22-23) He that was hanged is accursed of God. Relating this law to the type of death of our Lord Jesus Christ may be it can shed some light upon the price that Jesus Christ paid for our salvation. A sinless Son of Man was hanged on the tree because of our sins, and he became an accursed of God in exchange for our salvation.

CURSED GENERATION

There is no difference between the outlook of a blessed man and a cursed person. A cursed person can be handsome, pretty and can become a chief executive officer of a company. A cursed person can have family, could be wealthy and achieve many good things in life. He could be a respectable individual and become a force to recon with in the community. He can attain the highest echelon in the public life but the tag of curse will still stick upon him. The tag of a curse is not physical; it is an evil spiritual label. A cursed person may not know that he is accursed. The sequence of disastrous events in his live will point him out that he belongs to a cursed generation. If it is possible to trace the history of cursed generations they have something in common. Usually the cursed generations mentioned in the Bible did one abominable thing that brought the curse upon them.

A generational curse may come into existence due to an insignificant incidence but the resultant of it may be so devastating. We learned from the Bible that Ham, the youngest of the three sons of Noah saw the nakedness of his father, Noah, when he was drunk and asleep. We may not think this was not a serious issue but their culture differed. In the culture of the people at that time, it might have been an abominable issue. We do not know exactly what happened in this matter. But what ever it was, the act of Ham deserved the curse of Noah. When Noah woke up and discovered what Ham has done, he cursed the youngest son of Ham. “When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, ‘cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.’” (Genesis 9:24-25) Ham had four sons: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan.(Genesis 10:6; 15-20Genesis 10:6; 15-20
6. The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
15. Canaan's oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Hittites,
16. Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,
17. Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,
18. Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.
19. Eventually the territory of Canaan spread from Sidon to Gerar, near Gaza, and to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, near Lasha.
20. These were the descendants of Ham, identified according to their tribes, languages, territories, and nations.)

Please note here; the youngest son of Noah, Ham, did an abominable thing, Noah did not curse him but instead, he cursed the youngest son of Ham, Canaan. And curse became permanent in the entire generation of Canaanites. Noah was a friend of God, whoever Noah cursed became the enemy of God. This generation became the enemy of God as well as the enemy of the people of God, Israelites. This does not make God a partial Father as some might have thought. God had earlier given authority of dominionship unto man; whatever way the friend of God judges in fairness and in good faith within the permissible authority of his dominionship is acceptable unto God. The lesson to learn here is this: Do not do anything that can merit a curse from a righteous man of God. The generation of Canaan never experienced peace since then. Their land became a covenanted gift to the Israelites the generation of Abraham. “So I have come to rescue them (i.e. Israelites) from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8) They were always engaged in one battle or the other. They were always facing defeat in battle and became plunder in the hands of their conquerors.

After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his two daughters settled in the mountains in a cave. An evil thought arouse in the mind of the older daughter one and said to the other, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father.” Their evil plans materialized negatively. Both of them became pregnant through their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab (from father), and the younger had a son and named him Ben-Ammi (son of my people). Moab became the father of the Moabites and Ben-Ammi became the father of the Ammonites. Genesis 19:30-38 Genesis 19:30-38
30. Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.
31.One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There isn't a man anywhere in this entire area for us to marry. And our father will soon be too old to have children.
32. Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will sleep with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father."
33. So that night they got him drunk, and the older daughter went in and slept with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
34. The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, "I slept with our father last night. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him. That way our family line will be preserved."
35. So that night they got him drunk again, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
36. So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.
37. When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites.
38. When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.

Incest is a sin and it is an abomination even in our day. Lot did not curse his two daughters nor their sons, Moab and Ben-Ammi, but this did not removed the fact that the sons were products of abomination. The sin of abomination goes along with its own curse. Sin sets up a wall of demarcation in a relationship of man with God. The fact that Lot came out with Abraham to Canaan and the divine intervention in the deliverance of his family in Sodom and Gomorrah was enough a reason to erase the unrepented sins of his generation. The Moabites and Ammonites became engrossed in idol worshipping and prostitution. The Moabites women enticed the Israelites and seduced them into sexual relationships and made them to worship and bow before Baal of Peor, the idol god of Moabites. The Ammonites worshipped the abominable god of Chemosh

Through out the journey of Israelites in the wilderness God commanded the Israelites not to meddle with nor attack the Moabites and the Ammonites. Israelites kept the commandment of God. The Ammonites became so powerful and they became a threat to the Israelites. Jephthah led the first defeat the Ammonites suffered in the hands of the Israelites. Jephthah was rejected among his kindred because he was an illegitimate son of Gilead. His father was Gilead and his mother was a prostitute. (Judge 11:1) The elders of Gilead sought for Jephthah, and he accepted to lead Israelites in the battle. But before he went, Jephthah sought the face of God and the Spirit of God came upon him. Brethren let us look at this scenario from different perspective. It was a battle between righteousness and unrighteousness. Ammonites were the product of abomination incest and the Jephthah was also a product of abomination of adultery because he was an illegitimate child. The difference was that Jephthah broke the curse that sin brought to his life when he turned to God. He became a powerful instrument in the hand of God to judge the unrepentant abominable generation of Ammonites.

A curse can be generalized. Anybody that commits the accursed deed will be tagged with the curse. The Jericho city wall was one of the so-called insurmountable walls that Israel came across in their forty years journey in the wilderness. The fortified wall was eventually brought down by the divine power of Almighty God. After the fall of Jericho, Joshua pronounced a solemn oath: Cursed before the Lord is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: “At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundation; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates.” (Joshua 6:26) Many wondered and asked, “Was this curse necessary after the fall of Jericho?” Let us consider the recent history to provide an answer to this question. After the whole world defeated the Hitler’s German Army, the Germany was demilitarized. They were prohibited from having organized military personnel. The same measure was applied to the Japanese after their defeat. The world does not want the history of horror of certain war to be repeated. The same way Joshua made the pronouncement of generalized curse upon anybody who might ever try to build the city of Jericho in order to deter the rebuilding of the city. Despite this curse somebody committed the accursed deed and rebuilt the city of Jericho and the tag of the curse stuck upon him. “Heil of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son, Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.” (I King 16:34)

 

WHAT IS ABOMINATION?

Abominations can be defined as an evil acts against the law of God and moral law of nature that carries the consequence of curse upon the culprit and set the perpetrator apart for destruction. One of the detestable abominations that God hates with passion is idolatry. God abhors idolatry and does not want anybody that connects with Him to have any connection with idolatry. God specifically wanted the Israelites not to touch the gold or silver on these idol gods so that they will not be ensnared by it. Accursed things must not be brought into the homes of believers because it will set apart the home for destruction. “The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shall not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shall utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.” (Deuteronomy 7:25-26) It will be ironic today, if a minister of God should tell his congregation not to adorn themselves with gold and silver. But if one is to go by the word of God in this passage, nobody knows the paths and the processes that the jewels have undergone before it was finally purchased by the consumers. Who knows whether some of the gold and silver that had been dedicated to the idol gods and placed on the evil altars eventually found its way to the workshop of goldsmith. Who knows whether the smith had molten it and mixed it together with other metallic alloy and then shaped to different kind of jewels. Actually, there is nothing wrong in wearing jewels but do you know the source and possible combination of contaminated jewels you are wearing?

 

DETESTABLE PRACTICES

When thou at come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer or times, or an enchanters, or witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God. For these nations, which thou shall possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners; but as for thee the Lord thy God has not suffered thee so to do. Deuteronomy 18:9-14

Detestable practices are abominable evil behavior of people that do not know God or have disregarded the law of God. Abominable practices is not only limited to idolatry. There are other wicked human behaviors that constitute abomination before God. “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)

In this passage, there is one important thing we should bear in mind. God always cultures His people in righteousness and He wants everybody that comes to Him to dwell in holiness. He cultured Adam and Eve in righteousness in the Garden and gave them a commandment within which they were to operate. At the cool of the day, God would come to the Garden to fellowship with Adam and Eve. Have we ever wondered why God specifically put man in that beautiful garden? The reason would not be far fetched; the Heavenly God was extending the heavenly spiritual culture of holiness and righteousness in the Garden. The same was the reason God carved out Abraham and his descendants, the Israelites, from the then adulterous generation to be His people. The Israelites were given the law to guide them in all direction of their lives. In Israelites transition from one settlement to another during the forty years of sojourn in the wilderness in different new environment, God expected them to remain righteous. He did not want them to change their righteous ways to abominable ways of their new environment like the chameleon changes to the color of its environment.

When we establish a new relationship with God, it is like we have transit from one place to the other. In fact, we have been delivered from the power of darkness into the marvelous light of Jesus Christ. The implication of this change is that we have decamped from the kingdom of Satan; we have accepted the culture of righteousness and holiness that exists in the Kingdom of God. We are now operating under the rules and regulations of salvation that is in the constitution of God. We are expected to stand out clearly in the culture of righteous God. The clear message here is that, the fact that you are in a new environment does not follow that you should lose your righteous qualities. God does not expect you to yield to the evil influence of your environment and change to the wickedness of the people of the land. The disciples of Jesus Christ in Antioch made an impact in the lives of the people around them. They kept the faith and they also kept the culture of love and righteousness that Jesus Christ left behind. They separated themselves in righteousness – like a nation within a nation. People around them noticed this and coined a name for them, ‘Christian’. The popular parlance that says, ‘when in Rome, do like the Romans’ does not apply to the children of God. The intention of God concerning our way of life is to change the people around us to righteous people. That is the purpose of the metaphor of ‘salt and light’ in the sermon of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5:13-16) Therefore our names should not be mentioned among the people that participate in evil sacrifices. We must not practice divination or sorcery. We must not subject ourselves to the interpretation of omens or stars. We must not engage in witchcraft or cast spells. We must not consult a medium or a spiritist (occultism)

There are many evil feast and activities in our days that people assumed to be fun. The annual celebration of Halloween in America has become billions of dollars celebration in terms of sales of Halloween costumes for the innocent children that do not know what they are getting into. An exchange of candy gift during the Halloween might constitute an initiation into witchcraft and occultisms. In our land today, the beautiful outlook is giving way to scary outlook. The scary outlook had been interpreted as unique and superb in our society today. But note; scary outlook goes along with scary characters and monstrous behaviors. The mask they wear during this occasion had been styled and shaped after the ugly evil idol gods they worship. Think of it brethren, these costumes are not just creative artwork; they are products of evil ideas from the evil hearts of the evil designers. “Out of the abundant of hearts . . .” Perhaps some of the costumes have undergone some evil rituals on the altar of the idol gods before they were distributed to the stores that offer them to the consumers. The innocent hearts may be unwittingly setting themselves apart for destruction as a result of ensnaring effects of these abominations. In Italy people engage in annual feast of tomato throwing day where multitude of people are throwing tomato at each others. In some part of the world, the days set apart for celebrating Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter have been turned into a free for all period of idol worshipping. Some people mounted various masquerades displaying their idol gods around the street and dancing in their evil costumes on the supposedly holy days of Christian celebrations. The Chinese celebrate their new year with a masquerade image of dragon. Idolatry is not unique to a particular part of the world, in Africa, in Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America. It is all over all the continents of the world.

I Samuel 5:1-12I Samuel 5:1-12
1. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2. When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the temple of Dagon  and set it by Dagon.
3. And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again.
4. And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it.
5.Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6. But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors,  both Ashdod and its territory.
7. And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god."
8. Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" And they answered, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath." So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away.
9. So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them.
10. Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!"
11. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
12. And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The sin of the idol worshipping Philistines was that, when they capture the Ark of God and they coexisted the holy monument with their idol god of Dagon. The Philistines did not know God; neither did they know what the Ark of God, the presence of God represented. The altar of God and the altar of darkness do not rub shoulders. They do not have anything in common. Besides, light and darkness does not co-exist. "To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?" Isaiah 46:5 Their ignorance was not spared. The hands of God came down heavily upon the people of Ashdod, they were heavily devastated and afflicted with tumors. That was the first place I learnt of the dreadful disease of cancer in the Bible. There was a great panic in Ashdod as the city was striken with terror. "The ark of God of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god," they said. The Ark of God was taken to Ekron. The same terror and panicking was the portion of the people of Ekron. They protested and said, "Send the Ark of God of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people." Your body is the sanctuary of God; the abominable articles are from the sanctuary of Satan so also are the abominable practices. The two does not match. The combination of good and evil on your body and in your heart would corrupt your person and destroy your life. It would bring forth the devastating judgment of God. The hand of God is a comforting hand to all who know Him and keep His commandments. It is also a consuming fire and terror to those who do not know Him nor keep His commandment.

 

WHY GOD FORBIDS INTERMARRIAGE OF
ISRAELITES WITH FOREIGN NATIONALITIES

God is the creator of the whole universe. He does not encourage discrimination. He created different species of mankind – Asian, Chinese, Arabians, Europeans, Black Africans, the Pigmies of Congo, the Aborigine of Australian and the host of other species all over the world for His glory. God does not have problems with the color of our complexions; it is the ugly color of our hearts that irritates Him. He created a clean heart in every one of us at the beginning, but the evil path some people choose makes their hearts to become darkened before God.

God loves unity. He encourages righteous unity between husband and wife, between the children and their parents, and within the community. He also encourages His children to dwell together in the unity of the Spirit of God. But the fact that we should bear in mind is that God does not encourage the association of good and evil. The evil spirits that are warring against righteousness spirit cannot work together in harmony because of their incompatibility. This is the basis of separation that God stands for. (II Corinthian 6:14-17) Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. (Isaiah 52:11)

God carved out Israelites from the then crooked and wicked generation through the covenant He had with Abraham, so that they may be His people and He their God. The eye of the Almighty God was upon this precious people and He was keeping them in the hollow of His hands. The presence of God was with them in all their ways; theirs was victories unto victories because God was leading their battles.

Exodus 34:11-17Exodus 34:11-17
11. Obey what I command you today, I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
12. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you.
13. Break down their altars, smash their scared stones and cut down their Asherah poles.
14. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous is a jealous God.
15. Be careful not to make treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.
16. And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
17. Do not make cast idols.

The popular saying, “When in Rome, be like the Romans,” does not apply to the way children of God should live. Environment is not supposed to change the children of God; we are to change the environment with a beautiful life in the Lord. When God dispossessed enemies and gave Israelites their lands it was like God was telling Israelites: “Possess the lands and the wealth of the heathens but do not possess their way of life.” Earlier in this study, we learnt that abomination is like a virus: anybody that comes in contact with it will be contaminated with its evil consequences. The curse of Noah upon the generation of Canaan, the youngest son of Ham, and idol worshipping are the abominable labels upon the enemies of Israelites. This was the reason why God abhorred intermarriage between the Israelites and the Canaanites.

II Kings 11:1-8II Kings 11:1-8
1. King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter – Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
2. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
3. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
4. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.
6. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.
7. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.
8. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

There is a blunt truth we must know about marriage. When a man and a woman are joined together in marriage, they are joined in the generational blessing or generational curse (as the case may be) that exists in each of the family before the marriage. Solomon, the wisest man on earth, disregarded the wisdom of God he got himself entangled with strange women against the commandment of God; his heart became turned to the abominable ways of life of the strange women. His wisdom could not deliver him. He lost the divine favor of Almighty God and he incurred the judgment of God.

We are not called to conform to the world but to be transformed by continuous renewal of our minds and living each day in an acceptable and perfect will of God. Brother Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1-2) (Matthew 5:13-16Matthew 5:13-16
13. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.) The Bible described the children of God as a light in the environment of darkness. Let your light so shine before men so that they may see your good work and glorify God. We are the salt. Salt always make a remarkable positive difference in taste, let us be noted for having a positive impact in our relationships with others. This admonition is not an invitation to pitch our tent with the abominable people of our time. Separate yourself from them. Being nice and reaching out to our loved ones who are yet to see the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ should not be misconstrued to be an association with unbelievers. In fact the Bible warned: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (II Corinthians 6:14)

BREAKING THE GENERATIONAL CURSE

Disasters abound in our days; both natural and unnatural. When we compare the two words 'curse' and 'cure' critically, we discover that letter ‘s’ makes a remarkable difference between the words. Remove ‘s’ that represent ‘sin’ in the word ‘curse’ it becomes a ‘cure.’ The same way if sin could be removed from the accursed individual, the person would be cured. The acronym of ‘cure’ is ‘Christ unlimited redemption endures.’ We do not know the cause of the natural disasters and we do not know what triggers off the unnatural ones. We have heard of the extraordinarily brilliant young man and the only child of a family who died in a disaster on the day of his graduation. This could be a curse against his achievement. We have heard of a story that a grandfather of a certain man died in a prison. The father of the same person is currently in the prison and the behavior of the person in the community relates to somebody that will soon be convicted into a prison term. Does this person need to be told that something is wrong within his lineage? We have heard of the bride or the groom that passed away in a motor accident a day before their wedding. This might have been a curse against ever raising a family of his or her own. We have heard about an organized attack that involved the assassination of an important figure in a community. We have seen businesses that started off well and with a very bright future prospect, then all of a sudden the business operation flopped and the business went down the drain. This could be a curse against a successful outcome of one’s undertaking. A well known, and a prominent family in America was believed to be under a curse in the way they were passing away one by one through tragic accidental death at the prime of their age. If anybody ever told this family before that they were under a curse they would discard the statement with a wave of their hand. In all the scenarios mentioned above, I am sure, many people would say it was a mere coincidence. But why is the disaster of a curse a mere co-incidence but a latter rain of blessing is not?

Who is to be blamed when the judgment of God comes down heavily against the sinner? “ . . . 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. And shewing mercy onto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:5-6) Generational righteousness can bring about generational blessing. The blessing of David had this effect upon Solomon. “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men; But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, who I put away before thee” (II Samuel 7:12-15) Generational sin can bring about generational judgment. The sin of Solomon did not have effect upon him because of the covenant of blessing that God pronounced upon David his father:

I Kings 11:9-13I Kings 11:9-13
9. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,
10. And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.
11. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
12. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.
13. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

God stirred the hearts of the adversaries of Israelites and the enemies rose against the kingdom of Solomon. It became degenerated and divided into twelve kingdoms. Ten tribes were given to Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant. “And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee. (But he (Solomon) shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) (I King 11:31-32) David lived a life of righteousness and his generation had the divine blessing of God. Solomon, however, David’s son, chose to commit sin against God; he reaped the consequence of his sin. He lost the kingdom that he should have handed down to his own generation.

Who is to be blamed when the effect of a curse of evil minded people became manifested on the generation of the intended target? Many have been sentenced to death in the spiritual realm under generational curse but they ignored the solution. Many are affected but they do not know that they are bearing the labels of the evil curse that they know not. They ignored the merciful God who bore their curse. They ignored the offer of salvation through grace, which should have given them the access to the Throne of Grace. They could not seek the face of God to avert the evil effect of the curse because the connection was not made.

One may wonder why it is necessary for generational curse to be broken. It is necessary because it is not the will of God upon your life. If the curse is not broken, it remains active in the generation forever. All the generation of Abraham from Isaac, the immediate son of Abraham to the present living generation of Israel even their children yet unborn are bearing the covenant blessing of Abraham. The present generation of Abraham cannot say they did not know when God made covenant with Abraham; therefore, they are not a part to the blessing. The same way a generational curse works in an opposite direction.

The jinx of generational curse can be broken. We must bear the following principle in mind. A wrong choice triggers off abomination or sin and the consequence is judgment or a curse. A right choice triggers off the mercy of God and the consequence reverses the effect of abomination. A wrong choice of choosing sinfulness or disobedience triggers off a curse. A right choice of choosing the righteous path or obedience to follow the processes of salvation breaks the clutches and the teeth of generational curse. This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16) You remember the abominable beginning of the Moabites. Ruth was a descendant of this abominable generation. Ruth and Orpah the Moabites were the wives to the two sons of Elimelech, the husband of Naomi. Elimelech the husband of Naomi died. Soon after that the two sons of Naomi, Mahlon and Chilion, also died. Naomi decided to return to Judah and she advised Ruth and Orpah to go back to their people, the Moabites. Orpah kissed her mother in law and left but Ruth hung in there. Naomi again urged Ruth to go back to her people and her god. But Ruth, in the depth of her anguish, said to her mother-in-law: “Intreat me not leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for wither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17) I don’t know why Naomi made the god of Moabites as one of the objects of persuasion in asking Ruth to go back. Whatever might been the reason, God of Israelites was also one of the object of the clear-cut choice of Ruth in following Naomi, even when it seemed that her future was hopeless and bleak. Ruth left her people and the god of Moabites to follow Naomi and her God to Judah. When one crosses the brink of an abominable life to follow God, the mercy of God reverses the effect of the abomination and the blessing of God takes over the person. Ruth found favor in the sight of God. She fell into the plan of salvation of mankind, as she became one of the great grandparents of Jesus Christ. Boaz gave birth to Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse and Jesse gave birth to David.

When a man secures the friendship of God he can dwell in the shadow of His protection. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1) Enter into a deep and sincere relationship with Jesus Christ. By the establishment of this relationship, your life will come under the covenant of Abraham, the blessed, through the blood of Jesus Christ. The principle is that if you are a friend of God by the special adoption of salvation through Jesus Christ, your enemies will become enemies of God. When the enemies are invoking evil misfortune against you, God will pull the carpet under them if you ask in prayer. “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel . . .” (Number 23:23) Yes, enchantment and divination have no effect upon the Israelites because they are people of God and the Almighty God is their God. The same will be your portion.

Everything in the city of Jericho was cursed but Rahab the prostitute who had earlier entered into a covenant of peace with the children of God was preserved with her household. Considering the degenerated and sinful life that prostitutes live, one may wonder how Rahab could cut such a precious deal? Let us consider the way she escaped the curse of destruction of Jericho. (Joshua 2:8-14Joshua 2:8-14
8. And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
9. And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
12. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:
13. And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
14. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.) She was not ignorant. She knew the winner. She pitched her tent with the winning side. There are so called “wise” men in our time. They cannot even perceive the direction of the wind, talk less of wondering about it source. They reason only in the flesh but they do not see with the eyes of God. But Rahab was different. She had the facts. She had the records of the magnificent power of God regarding the miracles of deliverance of Israelites in the Red Sea. She had the records of victories of the victorious children of God over the kings of Sihon and Og. She knew that God was behind the continuous trend of victory of the Israelites. She knew that courage and strength had departed from the men of Jericho. She also knew that God would deliver Jericho into the hands of the Israelites. She perceived that salvation could only be found in the Lord and she decided to pitch her tent with the people of God in a deal of salvation. I described this as a deal of salvation because the two Israelite spies said, “Our life for yours . . .” Israelites upheld and honored the covenant they had with Rahab. “And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her fathers household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” (Joshua 6:25)

The wealth of knowledge of the word of God and knowing your right as the beloved of the Lord is very important in breaking the generational curse. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . .” (Hosea 4:6) The knowledge of the word of God reveals that “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry.” (Psalm 34:15) If the watchful eyes of God are upon you, the evil eyes of enemy cannot see you because the focus of God is different from that of enemy. The servant of God who knows his right before the Lord stands the right to reject the evil that his enemies wished him. The Bible taught us how a servant of God can refute the evil that his enemy wished him: “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemned. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17)