Blessing

Blessing of Abraham

Ken

“I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3 NKJV). 

If blessings are expressions of God promoting our happiness and welfare, why hasn’t God already blessed the whole world from the beginning? 

He has. 

“He gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). 

Would you rather believe nothing Big Banged into something, evolved into you, and now you have all that you have?  

Why would He give such a magnificent promise to Abraham about blessing and cursing? 

Because Abraham believed God.  

Same as you and I must do. 

You knew Abraham begat Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and the humanity of Jesus? 

This is how all the families of the earth would be blessed. 

Here is the good part, by faith, you and I are the children of Abraham. Yes, there still is a prime place for Israel in the current fulfillment of Bible Prophecy; but, in the meantime, we do inherit claim to the blessing and curse of Abraham. 

“6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:6-7 KJV). 

Just a moment. The blessing and curse of Abraham? 

If blessings promote someone’s welfare and happiness, then curses take away from one’s welfare and happiness. 

If you are not being blessed, then you are being cursed. That is thoughtful and logical. 

God said He would “bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you” (Genesis 12:3 NKJV). 

You can reasonably understand spiritual salvation would be part of that blessing, but does it extend to the physical or non-spiritual realm? 

Yes. 

After Abraham passed his test about his willingness to sacrifice Isaac and have him resurrected from the dead, the LORD repeated His promise to Abraham. 

“Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:17-18). 

Nearly immediately, all of Abraham’s near relatives began to have children. 

“Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah” (Genesis 22:20-24). 

Yes, physical blessings were included in God’s promise to Abraham. 

What about the curse or curses of Abraham? 

Since Abraham died not too long after, we must wait for a considerable time later, when the sons of Abraham were coming out of bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt. 

The story of Balaam illustrates the curse of Abraham. 

Israel was on its way to Canaan and had moved in upon King Balak’s territory of Moab (Numbers 22-24). They were only passing through, but Balak saw them as a threat. He asked Balaam to put a curse upon Israel. Balaam was a prophet knowledgeable of the God of Israel but willing to be hired by Balak. 

“Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed” (Numbers 22:5-6). 

This is the Balaam, whose donkey saved Balaam’s life by refusing to move, only to be beaten. “Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” (Numbers 22:28). Balaam arrives for Balak and determines he cannot curse Israel. He announces to Balak a truth about cursing Israel, which is true about us, as well. “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?” (23:8). 

Jehovah would not allow any enemy to succeed in cursing Israel, when He had not cursed them. This is not only true, because Balaam said so, but it is true because Jehovah promised Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). 

What happened to Balaam? After failing to give King Balak an acceptable cursing of Israel three times, Balaam was sent home. However, Balaam figured out how to be paid by Balak to bring a curse upon Israel. He encouraged the Moabite women to seduce Israel with prostitutes and idolatry, so God Himself would bring a curse upon Israel. “Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD” (Numbers 31:16). 

The LORD rewarded Balaam for his exceeding treachery against Israel and Himself. “The children of Israel also killed with the sword Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, among those who were killed by them” (Joshua 13:22). Verily, Balaam received his reward, but not what he thought. “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled” (Isaiah 5:14-15 KJV). 

Is it necessary to remind the LORD to judge the wicked? 

Apparently so. 

“O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (2Chronicles 20:12 NKJV). 

God takes especial delight, when His people look for Him to act. We have not been commissioned to exact God’s vengeance. “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). 

Sometimes, judgment alone will satisfy the LORD. When we are battling for the LORD, it may not always be possible for the LORD to exercise mercy, since mercy is entirely God’s decision; otherwise, all would automatically be saved. “O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2). 

We supplicate for God to show mercy, but God cannot always wisely prevent sin. “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes” (Matthew 18:7). 

God sovereignly curses whom He wills to curse and blesses whom He sovereignly wills to bless. 

“13 As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. 19 You will say to me then, Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will? 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, Why have you made me like this? 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:13-23). 

Yes, we can pray blessing and cursing based upon the promise of the LORD to Abraham. 

LORD, bless those who have been a blessing to us. 

LORD, will Thou not judge them, when they come against us to destroy us and we know not what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee. 

Father, we pray that Your Church would apprehend understanding of Your Word that we may call down blessings from Your Word. May we never exercise the meaningless authority of our name to accomplish Your work. May You alone receive the credit for blessing and cursing. May we be as Your prophets of old calling down fire to consume the sacrifice upon the altar. Restore to us the certainty that the one we bless, will be blessed. And, if we must ever ask You to judge them, they will be judged. LORD, accomplish all Your will in the earth. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your all powerful name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

Generational Blessings and Curses

Ken

Are children blessed or cursed because of the conduct of their parents? Every godly parent certainly hopes for blessing upon their children, just as we do not like to think we can inherit curses from previous generations. But, isn’t inheriting a constitutionally sinful nature consistent with the sins of the parents being visited upon the children? No, not actually, because if we can argue before God we are sinners because of our parents, then we could also plead we are righteous because of our parents. And, since neither is true, then we need another basis to evaluate Generational Blessings and Curses. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him” (Ezekiel 18:20 KJV). 

What is a blessing but good will being pronounced upon another, which is considerable, if you are being blessed by God? “And God blessed [male and female humanity], and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Happiness is the blessing of producing successive generations of promised godly children. “Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:5). Likewise, what is a curse but ill will being pronounced upon another, of which Satan’s ill will pales in comparison to God’s wrath? “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him” (Luke 12:5). Sadness and hopelessness are only byproducts for anyone, whom God has cursed. “24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence” (16:24-26). 

The Original Blessing for Obedience to God’s command was, “And God blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion” (Genesis 1:28), which was contrasted to the Original Curse for Disobedience to the LORD’s command, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (2:16-17). Both blessing and cursing would be passed on to successive generations of obedient and disobedient ones. Remember, this is a Spiritual Passing Down, not necessarily tied to physical proximity associated with interaction between parents and children. Why? Because this is God’s promised blessing or cursing, which of interest, can be countered by a change in obedience to disobedience or the reverse. 

Viewing the genealogies of Genesis, the godly offspring of one parent became increasingly more consequential and less random, when successive generations duplicated the obedience of previous generations and strengthened the probability of godliness in future generations. Is this only chance randomness forced into a Generational Blessing in retrospect? But, the genealogy of Adam to Christ indicates a Generational Blessing, which illustrates the truth of a Spiritual Passing Down from one generation to the next. “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations” (Matthew 1:17). Unbroken sinlessness for 42 generations? No, but the Eyes of God followed a pattern of good for 42 generations, where only His opinion really matters, that this proves the truth of Generational Blessings. “4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6). And so, Generational Curses are as real as Generational Blessings.

Q: If under the New Covenant, the legal curse was removed by Christ — “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13) — then, how can a Generational Curse still exist? 

A: Because humanity’s sin occasioned the Curse, God will not remove it until He has accomplished all the good it must accomplish for humanity’s benefit, i.e., “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:17). A Generational Curse still affects the Body of Christ, while we are in the flesh and until the Curse has been lifted at the New Heavens and New Earth as we proceed into Eternity. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him” (22:3). 

Explaining the Curse

First, a curse is passed on through personal disobedience, i.e, Moral Depravity, which is the act of sinning. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). 

Second, a curse is precipitated through the transmission of our decaying physical constitution, i.e., Physical Depravity, which is not sin itself, but the occasion for sinning. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). 

Third, Christ’s death on the Cross redeemed us from our Personal Curse of not having kept the Law of Love, cp., Galatians 3:13. “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Galatians 3:10). 

Fourth, redemption from our Personal Curse came through repenting and believing Christ. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). 

Fifth, deliverance from our Generational Curse comes from repenting of the Corporate Sins of our fathers (Daniel 9:5-6), which has nothing to do with our personal acceptance by God, but everything to do with clearing our Adversary’s accusations against us (Job 1:9-11; 2:4-5), which hinders our Paraklete’s ability to deliver us (Daniel 10:12-14) in the Divine Council (Psalm 82:1 ESV). “20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so” (1Kings 22:20-22 KJV). 

Sixth, why does the Almighty allow this Supernatural “Wickedness in High Places” (Ephesians 6:12), sometimes even addressing it in conjunction with His Divine Council (Psalm 82:1 ESV), or sometimes addressing it in scenes of the Courts of Heaven (Daniel 7:9-10)? It becomes apparent the Almighty’s vast scale of time, resources, and His own Son, though they are given for His Beloved Israel and His Son’s Bride the Church, His Glory and Faithfulness to Himself must take precedence over everything (Romans 11:36; 1Peter 5:11; 2Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:6). “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

Seventh, so long as there is a curse, then we will have our adversary the devil prowling about to devour us (1Peter 5:8), except during the Millennium where he is imprisoned in the Abyss (Revelation 20:3) after which he is released, deceives the nations, defeated, then eternally damned to the Lake of Fire (20:10) — excising the last bit of poison of rebellion against the Most High God. Then, it will be said, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). Thus, the High and Lofty One That Inhabiteth Eternity will secure the holiness and happiness of His Dwelling Place and those that dwell with Him, forever and ever. 

Punished for Our Great Grandparents’ Sin?

Ken

Great grandparents can live long enough to see the results of their sin upon their great grandchildren. “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them [idols], nor serve them [false elohim]: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:5 KJV). Though a just God punishes us for our own sins and not our parents’ sins — “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father” (Ezekiel 18:20) — the evil example of the parents most likely will continue to the children. Generational curses like generational blessings are not easily lifted, for they are enforced by an Unseen Realm of demons and angels. Understanding of the Almighty must be elevated for the Rahabs and Ruths to be raised to the congregation of the righteous. “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). LORD, be merciful to us in learning about You. Teach us Your ways, and let not any evil way be named among us. Return quickly and deliver us. In Jesus’ name, amen and amen. 

Happiness Promised From Revelation (Revelation 1:3)

Ken

Happiness is promised to those who read, hear, and obey the Book of Revelation, because its timing is now, at any moment. It must be understandable to be obeyed. “Blessed [Greek, makarios, blessed, happy] is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Revelation 1:3 KJV). It cannot be simply historical, or it would have little, but allegorical value at best. Take Jesus at His word, and expect happiness to result from reading, hearing, and keeping the Book of Revelation. LORD, You are the source of our happiness. How could Your future plans not bring us happiness? Return quickly, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Prayer and Fasting

Ken

Diogenes looked for an honest man, but can one be found without the baggage of past sins? Jesus diagnosed His disciples’ failure to cast out a demon. “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29 KJV). Forgotten wrongs by family members, church members, community members, or members of a nation, must be acknowledged, confessed, repented of, forgiveness given (if being withheld), and restitution made (where possible), before God can bless. “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6 KJV).

Canary in the Coal Mine

Ken

Just as canaries warned of dangerous levels of carbon monoxide gas in coal mines, antisemitism on American college campuses in support of Hamas and condemning Israel in the wake of the 2023 attacks against Israel from Gaza predict a future hatred for Christianity. Jews were initially targeted in Nazi Germany, but next Christians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer were silenced, too. “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3 KJV).