Securing Generational Blessings & Breaking Generational Curses
Through Abraham we see that we have generational blessings, but we are also given examples of generational curses throughout the Bible. As men, what do we do with this information? How do we break the curses and create the blessings?
We don’t think much about generational anything as moderns, let alone blessings and curses. But in antiquity, and particularly in Biblical history, blessings and curses not only informed their world view, but impacted their daily lives. This is articulated best in Deuteronomy 28:2 & 15, “…all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God… if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.”
A blessing is the promise of favor and benefit. And according to those verses in Deuteronomy, there is a blessing reserved for obedience to God. A curse therefore is the opposite, it is the promise of disapproval and detriment on account of disobedience. Within that framework, we can now answer our question.
We reap what we sow
Blessings and curses are spiritual, but they are not magic spells. And they are not karma, which is little more than cause and effect. We are not the sum of our decisions, for which we must always pay. Rather, we reap what we sow.
Consider the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs 22:8 - 9. “Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.”
Or the seminal text on reaping and sowing, Galatians 6:7 - 8. "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
The practicality of which is seen in verses 9 - 10. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
In other words, there is a certain amount of blessing, of divine benefit that comes from simply doing the next right thing. This is not to say that grace can be earned, or that our place in the Kingdom can be achieved through moral accomplishments. To be true to the question, there is reward for doing good. So, if we want to secure God’s blessings in whatever way possible, then we need to actively be doing what God says.
Grace Abounds
Israel had sinned greatly in making the golden calf. Their idolatry would rob them of God’s guiding presence on the way the Promised Land. But when Moses ascended Sinai for the second time…
“The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.” (Exodus 34:5–8).
When the Lord proclaims His Name to Moses, He speaks of steadfast love for 1000’s. He speaks of mercy and grace that far outstrips the punishment promised to the guilty. This is a promise that Moses would repeat in intercessory prayer during the rebellion of Numbers 14.
Here is my point, when we are considering generational blessings and curses, we need to remember where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20). Out of His kind and gentle heart, out of the goodness of His character, God is gracious. He extends favor and bestows benefit upon those who do not deserve it.
Gospel Perspective
One more thing to consider as we answer the question presented to us: “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In Christ we are not who we once were. All that would have cursed us has been swallowed up by the cross, where Jesus became a curse for us so that we could receive the promise by faith (Galatians 3:13 - 14). He who knew no sin, became sin for us, so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Christ and His gospel are more powerful than any curse. He is the greatest blessing. He is King and He is Lord. To have His blessing, and to break sin’s curse, we must surrender the rule of lives to Him and trust Him enough to do what He says. To hand this down, we must model and teach the same to our children and to our grandchildren, trusting that God will indeed show steadfast love to 1000 generations.
We don’t think much about generational anything as moderns, let alone blessings and curses. But in antiquity, and particularly in Biblical history, blessings and curses not only informed their world view, but impacted their daily lives. This is articulated best in Deuteronomy 28:2 & 15, “…all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God… if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.”
A blessing is the promise of favor and benefit. And according to those verses in Deuteronomy, there is a blessing reserved for obedience to God. A curse therefore is the opposite, it is the promise of disapproval and detriment on account of disobedience. Within that framework, we can now answer our question.
We reap what we sow
Blessings and curses are spiritual, but they are not magic spells. And they are not karma, which is little more than cause and effect. We are not the sum of our decisions, for which we must always pay. Rather, we reap what we sow.
Consider the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs 22:8 - 9. “Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.”
Or the seminal text on reaping and sowing, Galatians 6:7 - 8. "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
The practicality of which is seen in verses 9 - 10. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
In other words, there is a certain amount of blessing, of divine benefit that comes from simply doing the next right thing. This is not to say that grace can be earned, or that our place in the Kingdom can be achieved through moral accomplishments. To be true to the question, there is reward for doing good. So, if we want to secure God’s blessings in whatever way possible, then we need to actively be doing what God says.
Grace Abounds
Israel had sinned greatly in making the golden calf. Their idolatry would rob them of God’s guiding presence on the way the Promised Land. But when Moses ascended Sinai for the second time…
“The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.” (Exodus 34:5–8).
When the Lord proclaims His Name to Moses, He speaks of steadfast love for 1000’s. He speaks of mercy and grace that far outstrips the punishment promised to the guilty. This is a promise that Moses would repeat in intercessory prayer during the rebellion of Numbers 14.
Here is my point, when we are considering generational blessings and curses, we need to remember where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20). Out of His kind and gentle heart, out of the goodness of His character, God is gracious. He extends favor and bestows benefit upon those who do not deserve it.
Gospel Perspective
One more thing to consider as we answer the question presented to us: “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In Christ we are not who we once were. All that would have cursed us has been swallowed up by the cross, where Jesus became a curse for us so that we could receive the promise by faith (Galatians 3:13 - 14). He who knew no sin, became sin for us, so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Christ and His gospel are more powerful than any curse. He is the greatest blessing. He is King and He is Lord. To have His blessing, and to break sin’s curse, we must surrender the rule of lives to Him and trust Him enough to do what He says. To hand this down, we must model and teach the same to our children and to our grandchildren, trusting that God will indeed show steadfast love to 1000 generations.
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