What God Considers A Curse As Defined In The BIble

Bible's Definition Of  A Curse

Before going further to understand about God’s view on death since the time of the Risen Christ, (meaning after the resurrection, as opposed to the Old Testament days, and before Christ’s death and resurrection) let’s see what the Word itself have to say. Personally, I wholeheartedly believe that although much of the legalism of the Old Testament doesn't apply to us, in this time and age, the Word of God still reigns true—today, yesterday and forever. How God defines things still stand. For instance if the Bible says a particular passage or description is an imagery, then it’s an imagery. If the Word says this is what actually happened (meaning it’s history) then so it is.

When it comes to blessings, most of us, believers and unbelievers alike, can pretty much agree. Good health and peace of mind, for instance are certainly blessings. After all, do you know of anyone who truly enjoys living in anguish…and doesn't consider this a blessing?

But when it comes to what is a curse, it’s not so easy to define.

What is a curse, what is considered a curse?

As a  Christian, I want to know what God defines as a curse and since His word remains true, yesterday, today and tomorrow, I’d like you to examine, God’s own definition of what a curse is as defined in the Bible.

Before you feel this is being simplistic, let me remind you that Jesus’ disciples for the most part were simple folks, fishermen, and  villagers and they were not theologians. (In fact, Jesus often rebuked the theologians and religious experts of His day, if you recall.) Jesus himself said that salvation is so simple that even a child should be able to understand.

Deuteronomy 28 lists out what God considers a curse:

15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thine hand.
33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

Before we go on, let's really prayerfully consider what each of these mean.

Take verse 22, for instance:
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

I hope we can at least agree that "consumption" or tuberculosis, and illnesses that includes fevers and/or inflammations, etc (disease) are considered curses.. at least that what verse 22 says.

So, the question arise, would God curse us? Does God still judge us New Testament believers? Especially on those days we slip and fall short of even one of the commandments? (Bear in mind, even just ONE unholy thought is considered as falling short--for all have fallen short, the Bible says.) Would God still curse us and spew His wrath upon us--for those of us who have been paid for and purchased by the blood of Christ?

Psalm 103:12
New King James Version (NKJV)

12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

And in Isaiah 54, God promises and swears by His name this:
9 “For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee.
10 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed,” saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

As a Believer living on the risen side of the cross, it appears from these scriptures that God has neither remembered our transgressions and neither will He curse us, all because of what His son did for us.

But what about death? Does God bring down death upon Believers? (God calls "death" the last enemy to be defeated.) God's view on death to learn more.

To learn more about Emma Right visit here.

The Best Back Cover Synopsis

 John desperately wanted to read this book.

What do you expect from the synopsis on the back cover of a book? Do you want it to be an excerpt from the book? Perhaps an introduction to the characters and issues they face?

I have read book covers, that made me laugh, intrigued me, disgusted me, and made me excited to read more. Some I merely skim, others I read with baited breath. And still others I put back on the shelf after a few sentences.

But, I have never read a book synopsis that made me cry because I wanted so desperately to read it. Can you imagine reading a back cover that made you desperate to crack the binding and dive into its pages. What would you do if this book was sealed tight and you couldn't get into it?

There is a book cover that had such a profound effect on the Apostle John. Listen to this...
Revelation 5:1-5 (NASB)
"I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?'
And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.
Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;
and one of the elders said to me, 'Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.'"

Okay, so this picture doesn't have the writing on the outside, but you can get an idea for what it may look like.

Did you know that Revelation is the only book that promises that you will be blessed if you read, hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things written in it? (Rev 1:3) Okay, I know it’s a difficult book to understand and many of us shy away from it but, it is God’s word. Isn’t it worth trying to understand it?

Now I’m not talking about listening to every TV evangelist and what he or she has to say about the book of Revelation, but studying it for yourself, with some guidance. Precept ministries has written an inductive study of Revelation. It’s not without its flaws, but I promise you that you will understand Revelation much more than you do now.

I’m not going to lie to you, it was one of the most frustrating studies that I’ve done, but well worth it. It took my women’s Bible study one and a half years to finish all four parts of the study. I recommend that you find a Precept Bible study that is studying Revelation and join it. Give yourself permission not to understand everything and much of the frustration will fade away. 

John really wanted to hear what was in that book. Do you?

That's Not Fair! - Part 1 of 3

Why did God take the kingdom away from Saul? 

The next few weeks we will look at why Saul, a seemingly good guy, loses his kingship over Israel. I will include excerpts from The Presence of Shadows. Keep in mind that this is a young adult fantasy so, Samuel is a dragon and Melek is the name that I chose for God; it is Hebrew for “King.”

 The history of Yisra’el (Israel) is told by Brehane’s uncle, Mihret. So let’s see how Saul started out his reign.

The Presence of Shadows

Copyright ©2014 by Kara Howell

When Uncle Mihret finished his dinner, he said, “I will tell you why the town was in an uproar when Saul reached it. Let’s see… ah, now I remember.

“An elder of the city stomped up to Saul. Anguished and enraged, he said, ‘Nahash the Ammonite has besieged Jabesh-gilead. When the men of Jabesh requested a treaty, they were told a treaty would be made on one condition, that every man would have his right eye put out with a hot poker. They will be ashamed among us.’

“The women burst into a new wave of cries.

“‘The men of Jabesh have been given seven days to seek help from us before the Ammonites take the city,’ an older man explained.

“Saul felt the Spirit of Melek surge up within him. His eyes blazed with anger. He took the yoke off his oxen, cut it into pieces, and sent it throughout the territories. This message accompanied it: ‘Anyone who does not join with me to aid Jabesh-gilead will be cut into pieces like this yoke.’

“A messenger was also sent to Jabesh-gilead to inform them that help would arrive the next day.

“The dread of Melek fell on the people so that they came to Saul as if they had one mind. They met at Bezek where Saul numbered the men. They were 330,000 strong. Saul saw the fire of battle in their eyes. Their allies had been threatened and they were all ready to come to their defense. Stomachs were sick and jaws were clenched when they thought of the terrible threat to put out the eyes of their neighbors.

“When the men of Jabesh-gilead listened to the message from Saul, they went out to the Ammonites and proclaimed, ‘Tomorrow we will come out to face you in battle. You may do whatever you want to us.’

“They were confident that they would be spared from the threat before them. However, the Ammonites believed they had already won the battle.

“The Yisra’elites were not a trained army. They were only farmers, herdsmen, winemakers, and weavers. They had only the tools of their respective trades to fight with. The Ammonites might wonder if the Yisra’elites thought they were ogres, with all of the pitchforks pointed at them.

“At first light the next morning, Saul split the men into three companies and gave them these instructions: ‘Do not kill any man who surrenders or is captured alive.’

“The Yisra’elites fought the Ammonites with a ferocity that surprised their enemy. Yisra’el slaughtered them until the sun was high in the sky. Saul, mounted on horseback, was a fearless commander who charged into battle without hesitation and called his men to do the same. No foe could stand before his sickle as he swung it at neck level. Any man who had been afraid that their new king would faint in battle was glad to be proven wrong. Saul had the ability to rally the men’s morale while he mowed down any threat in his way.

“By midday the Ammonites ran for their lives! In the confusion, they scattered in all directions.

“After the survivors were gathered, they were brought before Samuel.

“Some of the men under Saul’s command wondered why they had been instructed not to kill all of the Ammonites. ‘Who is this Saul who pretends to reign over us?’ some of them spat with contempt. ‘Let us kill all of the captives!’

“From behind them Saul spoke in a loud voice. ‘Not one man will die today, because Melek has given us this victory over our enemies!’ His intense gaze showed his conviction.

“The men raised eyebrows in surprise at his nerve. Had they looked closely they would have seen the mark on Saul’s forehead glow brighter than usual.

“Samuel stood just behind Saul. He spoke with pride in his deep voice. ‘Everyone must return to Gilgal so that we may affirm Saul as king, for he has shown his ability today.’ When he spoke, his hot breath washed over those who would have denied Saul the kingship. They decided it was best for them to do as he suggested.

“Saul succeeded in winning the allegiance of most of the people by his leadership in the battle at Jabesh-gilead.”

Now, if you must be king, that’s not a bad way to start out. So far, Saul is listening to the Holy Spirit and leading the nation with wisdom. Next week we will look at what Saul did to lose the kingship. His sons could have ruled Israel forever, but his disobedience changed that. Week three we will discuss why Saul’s choices had such devastating consequences. Since were human, we like to compare people, so we will also look at why God didn’t remove David from the throne when he sinned.

Click here for Part 2  or Part 3

Did Jesus Claim He Was God? Does The Bible Claim Jesus Is Yahweh?

Sometimes I get the question, where does the Bible claim that Jesus is God? Or “Does Jesus ever claimed that He’s God?”

I thought I’d tackle this by drawing attention to the name of God commonly used in the Old Testament, (and by the Jesus in the Bible,) even until today: Yahweh.

Have you ever wondered if there was any significance to the name YHWH? (Pronounced as “Yahweh.”) 

And why did the Romans. On nailing Jesus to the cross decide to put the words “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”—the acronym to which is YHWH?

^{Matthew 27: 36} Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. ³⁷ And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Or in Hebrew: Yeshua HaNazararei VMalech HaYehudim

Look at the reaction of the Jewish leaders to this:

^{Matthew 19: 21} Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

What difference did it make if the sign read: ‘He said, “I am…”’ or if it were “This is Jesus the King of the Jews?”

If you looked at ancient paintings that translated this to Latin you’d see: INRI

But in Hebrew the acronym was written above Jesus’s head was: YHWH.

Yahweh!

The sign post above Jesus said “Yahweh”, since the Jews tended to place significance on the beginning letters of each words. Which was why the chief priests were so upset. It was just as Jesus said:

^{John 4:10} Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

So who was it that asked the woman—Give me a drink?

Jesus. He was the speaker, and he was the “I Am,” as in this passage in John 8.

Hint—look at the reaction of the Jewish religious leaders in this conversation they had with Jesus:

^{John8: 56} Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

⁵⁹ Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple,^[b] going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

And when Jesus was crucified they placed the sign post “YHWH” above his crucified head, further affirming what Jesus claimed of himself. Is it any wonder that the religious leaders reacted so vehemently and wanted the sign changed?

 And what does YHWH mean anyway? Also known as the Tetragrammaton, the Ancient Hebrew is written as in the image below.

Its literal meaning is: Exists and Exists He. This ties in with “I Am That I Am” generally shortened to “I AM”.

You probably already know that each alphabet in Hebrew has a meaning with a corresponding picture linked to it. The equivalent of the letter “A” for instance, which is “Ox”, “Strength” or “Leader”.

So if you string the alphabets YHWH together what picture do you get?

Y is “Yod”

H is “Hey”

W is “Vav”

H is “Hey”.

What sort of picture was God trying to paint using these alphabets—if you, like I do, believe that each letter and jot or tittle is crucial to understanding the Word of God, that is.

This is the full picture:

(Yod) Arm or Hand, (Hey) Lo! Behold or Look!  (Vav) Nail or Peg, (Hey) Look!

It sure seems like God wanted the Jews (and us) to draw attention to, and behold, the hand and the nail. Of whom?

This ties in to the doubting Thomas story:

^{John 20:25}  The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he (Thomas) said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas,^[a] because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

So, today, if you have not beheld what Jesus did, did not beheld HIS nail pierced hands/arms and what He did on the cross, would you not consider it for once? Ask Jesus to come into your life and see HIS goodness all the days of your life.