The Blessing and the Curse

The Blessing and The Curse

The giving of the Law came with a blessing and a curse. Because the Law is spiritual, so are the consequences of obeying or disobeying it. Obedience to the Law evokes great blessings; disobedience to the Law brings curses. 

The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. (Isaiah 24:5-6)

When we operate under blessings, we are in compliance with the laws governing the natural and spiritual realms; we obey these laws and thrive. But when we engage in sin, we place ourselves under a curse. Then, the irrevocable Word of God is executed, making all the curses of the Bible come true in our lives. 

The giving of the Law placed Israel in a covenantal relationship with God. It came with life and death offer. The Lord took extraordinary ways to introduce it to the Israelites. Moses proclaimed and sealed with words in the ears of the Israelites the significance of accepting God’s Law: 

You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in His ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands, and laws, and that you will obey him. And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all His commands. (Deuteronomy 26:17-18) 

To further emphasize the absolute importance of His spiritual laws with their life-and-death consequences, the Lord God gave thorough instructions to the Israelites through Moses: When you cross the Jordan, half of the tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people and half of the tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce the curses of the Law (Deuteronomy 27:12-13). The blessings and the curses were part of the agreement made under God’s covenant (Deuteronomy 28:1-13). The instructions were clear: If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands you will be blessed. You will always be at the top, never at the bottom (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). The passage is a long list of the physical and spiritual blessings that will surely come with obedience to God’s Law.  

In contrast, the scripture passage describing the curses is terrifying: However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees all these curses will come upon you and overtake you (Deuteronomy 28:15). The list of physical and spiritual curses that follow is much more exhaustive than the one describing the blessings. Even more, the warnings of the curses due to disobedience of the Law are written twice (Deuteronomy 27:15-26; 28:15-68)!