Blessings and Curses

“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it” (Deut. 30:15-18).

Yahweh had spoken His Law to the people through the prophet Moses. These Commandments would direct them in knowing the difference between right and wrong, truth and error, light and darkness. They gave the children of Israel a new identity as a sanctified people of God. They would form the spiritual fabric of their society, which would allow them to thrive in the promise land. If they rejected God’s Word, then they would not be able to survive as a people.

The Israelites were told,

Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God…

Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out (Deut. 28:1-6).

Conversely they were warned,

But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. (Deut. 28: 15-19).

The Word of God would be for the Israelites the source of their greatness and stability as a nation. Moses taught that if they kept the Word, they would live and prosper in the land; however, if they forsook the Word, curses would come upon them, and they would be expelled from the Land. The Commandments, for example, taught them to use fair business practices (Deut. 25:13-16). If they engaged in honest trade, they would reap economic growth and stability. If, however, they became corrupt, their economy would suffer. Why should anyone want to thrive and produce in their business if in the end they are systematically robbed by corrupt neighbors, businessmen, and magistrates?

All throughout the Bible when God’s people wandered from the truth they received warning by prophets to return or face the consequences. In many cases they suffered hard. Eventually, the people fell so deep into corruption that they were ultimately expelled from their promise land.

The Bible is still the source for transforming and building nations. Unfortunately, many reject the Bible, severing themselves from their source of greatness. It is no surprise that many problems have come about on account of this, and we are often haunted with news of a person or a group fallen into some sort of scandal. It may that we need stricter “checks and balances;” however, the problem is deeper. It is an issue of the soul. If there is not a change of heart, then social transformation becomes impossible. Regulators may be established to insure businessmen do fair business, but corrupt businessmen can still continue in their shenanigans if the regulators are themselves corrupt and willing to take a bribe.

All hope is not lost, since there is a way for God to change hearts. The Lord says; “Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!” (Ezek. 18:30b-31a). Moreover, He says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezek. 36:26-27).

Even the apostle Paul understood the transformative power of God’s Word when he wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Peter, likewise, wrote, “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2). We cannot forget James who taught us that the “one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (Jas. 1:25). The New Testament writers understood that God’s Word would bring people to Christ, and Christ could transform their hearts. It was the changed lives of the Christian community that ultimately turned the Roman world upside down.

The change that this world needs will neither come by making more legislation, nor by promoting better education. It begins with our repentance and divine transformation of the heart. We must turn to God. It is only then that the moral fabric of society would be strong enough to keep us from falling into the pit of evil.