Would God really curse His people?

In these next few chapters of Deuteronomy Moses explains to the nation of Israel that God expects them to obey His commands. This is not a new concept that Moses is describing. But starting here Moses explains that there are benefits and consequences to the response of the Israelites. Within these chapters God explains to the people that there are great blessings to be experienced through obedience and that there are terrible curses resulting from disobedience. That is very graphically described in Deuteronomy chapter 28.

For some reason people have a hard time believing that God would curse them. Their view of God is that He will only bless and would never curse someone. There is no basis for that viewpoint in Scripture. God’s blessings are a result of our obedience and God’s curses are a result of our disobedience. This can become complicated because we can also experience the blessings or curses of someone else’s obedience or disobedience. A great example of this is the people Moses is talking to in this text. These are the children of the people who refused to obey God and enter the Promised Land at Kadesh-Barnea. As a result of that disobedience their children were forced to wander around in the wilderness for forty years until all of their parents had died.

But even though the children were experiencing the curse that was brought on by their parents, God used this time to teach them to obey His commands more readily. During this time God caused them to become a great nation that was feared and respected by every other nation around them.

Our role as leaders of families, ministries, or churches is to guide people through their wilderness times. Everyone, including those in leadership will experience those times; either self-inflicted as a result of sin and disobedience or as a result of someone else’s disobedience. We need to show them the path that God has laid out for them through the wilderness time. We need to help them to see their sin and disobedience so that their wilderness time can be as short as possible. And we need to help them to see the lesson or lessons that God is trying to teach them through this time.

And if we will be faithful to do those things God will bring praise, honor, and renown to us. This is not the reason why we do these things; it is one of the fruits that you look for so that you know that you are doing it the way that God wants you to. God’s promises are faithful; we can trust them no matter what. If our lives are marked by blessings then we can feel confident that we are being obedient. If our lives are marked by curses; then we need to examine our lives for disobedience in our lives or the lives of those around us. Jesus, help us to obey your commands not just for the blessings but because we love You.

Read: Deuteronomy 26:1-27:26; Luke 10:38-11:13; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 12:15-17