AVOID THE CURSE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Do not slander a servant to their master, or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind.

Proverbs 30:10-14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Avoid the curse.

That’s the theme of God’s guidance to us from today’s words from Agur as he speaks to Ithiel in the 30th Chapter of Proverbs. Look at them again here:

Do not slander a servant to their master, or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind. Proverbs 30:10-14

In both instances, whether slandering a servant or dishonoring your parents, the main concern of the perpetrator should be the resultant curse. We could break it down to a simple directive:

Do not curse or put yourself in a position to be cursed. That’s how you avoid the curse itself,

Now, before we go much further, we need to define the curse in Old Testament times. The following explanation comes from the website, Bible Study Tools:

In the Old Testament being cursed includes loss of everything significant and a lowering to the most menial of positions. The serpent must crawl on his belly and eventually be crushed (Gen 3:14-15). Cain can no longer farm and must become a vagabond (Gen 4:11). Canaan becomes the lowest of slaves (Gen 9:25).

Nowhere in the Bible is the state of being cursed portrayed in more graphic terms than in Deuteronomy 28:16-68. The curse follows its victims everywhere, extending to progeny and all means of livelihood. It includes incurable diseases, slow starvation, abuse by enemies, exile, panic, confusion, and eventual madness.

Curses are usually imposed by persons in authority for major breaches of the Torah that might threaten collapse of society. Thus in Deuteronomy 27:15-26 people who practice idolatry, incest, misleading the blind, ambush, disrespect for authority, and subversion of justice are cursed.

The curse is totally under God’s control. It is his power, not magical forces, which brings about the curse. His sovereign decision alone decides who merits being cursed (1 Kings 8:31-32). He cannot be forced into action by proper wording or ritual. Thus a curse could not be used capriciously as a weapon against one's personal enemies.

So in sum, when we sin and violate the commandments of God, we place ourselves in a position to be cursed or held accountable in some way by God for our actions.

In our scripture passage, the curse first came as a result of slandering a servant to their master, that is, lying to a servant’s master in order to place that servant in a bad light. In spreading mistruths about a person to another, one would be breaking the following commandment given by God Himself to His people as they advanced toward the land God promised them:

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16

With this, the curse one would fall under would not be exacted by the servant who was slandered but rather by the God who issued the broken commandment. The servant would only bring the matter to God’s attention by prayer when calling for justice to be done.

In the other instance, there is a stern warning for anyone who would choose to disgrace or dishonor their parents. God’s word characterizes these wicked children with some identifying qualities:

First, they are self righteous and unable to self assess their sins because they see nothing wrong with themselves (“pure in their own eyes and yet not cleansed of their filth”).

Second, they are full of pride, seeing themselves as above others. They lack respect for anyone outside of themselves, including the parents who brought them into the world and raised them (“those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful”).

Finally, because they are so filled with pride, they have no care for anyone outside of themselves (“those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind”).

Hopefully, none of these character traits describe who you are. For if they do, then you will find yourself under God’s judgment, the God who hates sin just as much today as He did back in Old Testament times.

Avoid the curse.

Anyone with any intellect will do it because they will allow the Lord to lead and guide them through life and thus live in His righteousness, not their own. They will follow His commands in obedience and humility, all out of respect for a Lord who demands us to respect and care for one another. They will love one another as the Lord loves them and thus love their neighbors as themselves.

Want to avoid the curse? Don’t avoid God and the amazing influence He can and will have on your life.

It’s as simple as that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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