Two Things We Need To See

Say to the people of Israel: Those who curse their God will be punished for their sin. [Leviticus 24.15]

The punishment prescribed here was death by stoning. Why? Because the man with an Egyptian father and Israelite mother, in the heat of a fight, cursed (blasphemed) God.

There are two very important things we need to see here. One is that there is a universal law of reciprocation that God has established. In essence it says, what you do will be done back to you.

We all love the scriptures that promise us blessings when we bless others. But not often - well, really, never at all - do we consider that when we curse others, we call curses upon ourselves. This is exactly what occurred to the man who cursed God - he was cursed back in return with death.

It is not ironic then, that we find these well-known scriptures following this passage:

“Anyone who takes another person’s life must be put to death. “Anyone who kills another person’s animal must pay for it in full—a live animal for the animal that was killed. “Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted— a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind. “Whoever kills an animal must pay for it in full, but whoever kills another person must be put to death. “This same standard applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.” [Leviticus 24.17-22]

What you do will be done back to you is the deal. What you give is what you are given in return. This is why Jesus made very clear that His followers distinguish themselves as His by doing what He did: forgive.

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. [Matthew 6.14-15]

There simply is no salvation (forgiveness) available to the person who refuses to forgive. Judging others is cursing others which is not forgiving them.

Again, we all love the law of reciprocation when it yields good to us - when there are blessings in store. However, we tend to ignore curses upon our lives as such and, instead, stubbornly deny the implication that we have obviously deserved those curses. We deny curses as curses by attributing their occurrence to mere scientific phenomena.

The other very important fact to see in the subject scripture of this writing is that the man from an Egyptian father and Israelite mother cursed God instead of the man with whom he was fighting. Why did he do that? Well... Why does anyone curse God for their own stupid mistakes? The answer is simple: we get ourselves in trouble with people and then blame God for the outcome in a ridiculously proud denial of responsibility. Say it isn't so all day long, but it is.

We MUST understand that to blame God in these self-inflicted situations is to curse God - it is blasphemy.

We might be wondering at this point, "How do I avoid such tragedy?" There is something to be said here and now for humility and repentance. The Word of God very clearly explains God's attitude about this:

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. [Psalm 34.18]

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. [Psalm 57.17]

Curses serve to remind us to repent. Proper acknowledgement of curses before experiencing them will (or at least, should) steer us clear of them - especially those curses of death! But when we view curses merely as scientific phenomena, there is no hope of our being broken hearted or contrite about them - there is no consideration at all of repentance. In fact, most believe it is preposterous to assume guilt over a common cold even though every sickness is clearly defined in Deuteronomy 28 as the result of disobedience.

“If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. [Deuteronomy 28.58-61] (note my bold emphasis)

Blasphemy is serious business. If we can see it, we blaspheme God when we deny curses as such and instead attribute them to science... Who made "science" in the first place? God!

Father, forgive me for my arrogant presumptions that I am innocent in the curses I experience. For all the physical, material and emotional loss I am experiencing right now, please forgive ME. Forgive ME for cursing others (even if only in pointing out their faults).