It Is Simple

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as your own possession, I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew. [Leviticus 14.33-34]

Now why would God go and do something like that?

To the understanding of most, this seems a random act. However, the more fully we understand the character and nature of God, the more clearly we will see the meaning of events like the one described here.

God is love. We all enjoy knowing this fact. But God is also just. Here is where we get all messed up in our understanding of God. In fact, my opening question reveals clearly the ignorance most of us have of God and His ways.

The reason God would go and contaminate a house with mildew is because mildew is a curse upon sin and its presence serves notice of the presence of that sin. The correct response to sin therefore is to get rid of it! Not ironically, the mildew had to be removed.

The problem most of us encounter with the "mildew" we encounter in life is that we initially fail to understand the universal spiritual principle that curses follow disobedience. If we ignore the obvious implication of a curse, the only course of action from there is to question God (an error of pride). Consequently, if we persist in our pride in this way we will draw all manner of unfounded and false conclusions about God. Such is the condition of the Church today manifested in so-called 'doctrines of suffering' that are a catastrophic failure to respond to curses in repentance.

God never intended for obedience and disobedience to be so complicated! His initial message to this end, found in His instruction to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, revealed just how simple God intended life to be: 

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” [Genesis 2.16-17]

How simple is that? "If you sin, you suffer."

However, in case the Garden of Eden account is not clear enough, we find very distinct definition of what curses and blessings are in Deuteronomy 28. Curses and blessings are clearly defined and categorized there in Deuteronomy and clearly associated with disobedience or obedience respectively.

But the problem comes when we refuse to accept God's Word as Truth and instead decide to interpret curses according to what we think (not according to what God said).

Sometimes, there is a devil behind a question... “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Father, help me - help us all - to accept Your Word without question. Help us to see that curses indicate the presence of sin, and sin, requires repentance. In other words, help us to repent as often as curses affect us.