BLESSED BEYOND THE CURSE

Monday 10 February

Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. Numbers 23:20 (NKJV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Romans 12:14 (NKJV)

Blessing and cursing. Where did they both begin? In the garden of Eden. When Adam fell ‘sin entered the world and death by sin’. Now there had to be a punishment for sin. So who did God punish? Nobody. He clothed Adam and Eve and He cursed the ground.

‘Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.’ Genesis 3:17

So what came first? The blessing of God. The curse was the result of sin that came after God’s blessing.

Understand this truth. No person was ever cursed by God, is ever cursed by God or will ever be cursed by God. Cursing man is not in his nature.

Question: apart from His nature, why was it impossible for God to curse man? The reason is simple: God had already blessed him!

‘Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28.

Later on, Noah built an altar to the Lord after the Flood and God even removed the curse from the ground.

‘And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.’

Not only did God not curse man, but in His mercy He took away the curse from the ground for the sake of man because He loves man.

If this is true then why do we see words of blessing spoken in Mount Gerezim and words of cursing spoken on Mt Ebal? Put simply, it was under the direction of Moses and not God. Because Israel had rejected God at Mount Sinai, they were going to have to choose to walk in blessing or cursing. It was their choice. ‘Choose life or choose death’ Joshua told the people.

Another instance of the blessing upon God’s people is the story of Balaam and Balak. Read the full account in Numbers 22-24. Every time Balaam was in a position to curse Israel, he always ended up prophesying blessings over them instead. He makes the striking statement ‘He has blessed them and I cannot reverse it.’

Just in case you still think that God has something to do with cursing man; in comes Jesus. He is the ‘express image of God’s person.’ He says ‘bless those who curse you’. This shows God’s stance on cursing and therefore He instructs us to bless in kind.

So sin brought the curse of separation through Adam’s disobedience which disconnected man from God. Jesus brought the blessing of restoration through His obedience which re-connected man to God. Above and beyond this God has blessed everyone by giving generously to all without finding fault in the natural sense.

Spiritually speaking, those who are in Christ have the same generosities afforded them along with the greatest blessing anyone could ever receive. Eternal salvation in Christ. Outside of Christ you are affected by sin’s curse. As a believer, you are blessed beyond the curse!

Galatians 3:13a says ‘Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us’ He became the curse so we would become the blessing!

APPLICATION

Have the daily mindset that you are ‘blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus and therefore have become uncursable in Him.