Utumishi Blog

A few notes and pointers on Biblical blessings and curses:

1. The foundational texts – Lev. 26 & Deut. 28 – the historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament constantly refer back to these texts (e.g. the much-used Malachi 3).
2. The blessings: Life, health,prosperity, agricultural abundance, respect, and safety.  The curses: Death, disease, drought, dearth, danger, destruction, defeat, deportation, destitution, and disgrace.  (Fee & Stuart)
3. Corporate – They are addressed to ‘you’ plural not ‘you’ singular.  If the people of God as a whole obey/disobey then the whole people will be blessed/cursed.  As we see in the days of Elijah and Elisha there were godly individuals and a godly remnant who were affected by the curse of drought and famine along with the rest of Israel.
4. Historical – As you read through the curses in Leviticus & Deuteronomy they start to sound more like prophecy of what will happen rather than an abstract threat.
   And of course they did all happen, even (horribly) down to women eating their children (2 Kings 6).
5. Relational – The point of the blessings and curses was not the blessings and curses themselves.  The blessings were tokens of his love (see Lev. 26:11-12) and the curses were discipline designed to bring his people back to himself (see Lev. 26:23).
6. Upped in the New Testament – We are in the New Covenant now – we don’t sacrifice bulls, we don’t go to a holy place, we don’t need priests.  There are still blessings and curses but they’ve been massively ratcheted up. Compare Deut. 29:20-21 with Rev. 22:18-19.  The blessing is now the joys of perfect fellowship with God in the New Creation (Rev. 21).  The curse is now the lake of fire (Rev.
   20).  These are respectively far far better and far far worse than anything in Deuteronomy 28.
7. Jesus has taken the curse of the Law on behalf of the believer (Gal. 3:10-14).  We still live in a fallen world where work, environment, health, our spirits groan under the weight of sin (Rom. 8).  We still await the wonderful day where there is no more curse (Rev. 22:3) but praise God that we are completely redeemed from the curse of the Law.  So let’s not threaten God’s people with old covenant curses or promise them old covenant blessings but instead preach Christ in whom we are (already) blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm.