The idea of a generational curse can be daunting

From the sound of it, somebody does something deemed bad or evil and the response to that action is to strike their children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and so on with some dark and even sinister retaliation. Such treatment reeks of injustice, revenge and nastiness. The problem here is that in the Old Testament, God has pronounced generational consequences, but they are often interpreted as generational curses. There is a massive difference between the two. Such a gross misinterpretation of Scripture results in a serious misunderstanding of God’s character.

How do we know this is the case? How do we know God isn’t cursing generations of people for what they didn’t do? It all comes down to understanding what curses mean in the Bible, beginning in the Old Testament. This is no easy task. In the Old Testament alone there are over a dozen words that are translated “curse.” To really know what the Jewish Scriptures teach, we need to gain a comprehensive understanding of who cursed what, to what end result and what it really meant.

The first curse

The best place to start this investigation into Old Testament biblical curses is at the beginning. The first curse pertaining to humanity was when God pronounced the curse upon the ground for Adam’s sake. While this was a serious consequence, it is also critical to remember that this curse was proclaimed within the context of God’s previous blessing. The key thought here is that God was proclaiming a consequence for sinful actions and not “cursing” Adam in the sense that pagan beliefs would have us believe.

Check out our September 20, 2021 podcast, “Am I Living Under a Generational Curse? Curses Series (Part II)” for more. We examine several different accounts of God’s “curses” in the Old Testament and see exactly what they were intended to accomplish. Putting all of this in order ends up being a fascinating journey of discovery. We learn the thinking behind God’s procedures and consequences. We uncover a level of wisdom and justice on the part of Jehovah God that rises high above the typical idea of revenge that people say God has. Join us; there is much more to this than meets the eye. Did you miss Part I? We laid a lot of groundwork worth exploring.