Anakalypsis / Unveiling the Word

Theme · narrative

Blessing and Curse

God blesses creation and then blesses humanity with fruitfulness and dominion. After the fall, blessings and curses become intertwined with obedience and disobedience. God blesses Abraham and promises that through him all families of the earth will be blessed. Deuteronomy's covenant ceremony on Mounts Gerizim and Ebal dramatizes the two paths: blessing for faithfulness, curse for rebellion. The rest of Israel's history illustrates both. Paul makes the radical claim that Christ became a curse for us by hanging on a tree, so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through faith.

Passages expressing this theme

  • Deut 11:26 — Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
  • Deut 11:27 — A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
  • Deut 11:28 — And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
  • Deut 28:1 — And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set
  • Deut 28:15 — But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shal
  • Deut 30:1 — And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD
  • Deut 30:19 — I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
  • Eph 1:3 — Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
  • Gal 3:13 — Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
  • Gal 3:14 — That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
  • Gen 1:28 — And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over ever
  • Gen 3:14 — And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the
  • Gen 3:17 — And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sak
  • Gen 9:1 — And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
  • Gen 12:2 — And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
  • Gen 12:3 — And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
  • Gen 22:17 — That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enem
  • Gen 27:28 — Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
  • Gen 27:29 — Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
  • Gen 49:25 — Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of t
  • Jer 17:5 — Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
  • Jer 17:7 — Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
  • Josh 8:34 — And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
  • Matt 5:3 — Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  • Matt 25:34 — Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: