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.
Related doctrines
Passages expressing this theme
- 1Chr 4:10 — And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may
- 1Chr 29:10 — Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
- 1Kgs 3:14 — And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
- 1Pet 3:9 — Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
- 1Sam 1:11 — And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man ch
- 1Tim 4:4 — For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
- 2Chr 17:5 — Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.
- 2Cor 9:6 — But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
- 2Kgs 5:15 — And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray t
- 2Sam 9:7 — And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table cont
- Acts 3:25 — Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
- Acts 3:26 — Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
- Acts 9:36 — Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
- Acts 10:4 — And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
- Acts 10:31 — And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
- Acts 14:17 — Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
- Deut 4:26 — I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shal
- Deut 4:40 — Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon
- Deut 5:16 — Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
- Deut 5:29 — O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
- Deut 10:8 — At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
- 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 12:7 — And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.
The Church Fathers on Blessing and Curse
"Bless, and curse not," (says your apostle.
"These two things have befallen you," that is, they have befallen you because of your sins. You have abandoned God, and you have followed the idols; that is why two punishments have come over you, "famine and sword," because "devastation" comes from the sword and "destruction" from famine.
Behold, the wondrous benefit of observance and the wondrous calamity of transgression. Whence the Lord through Moses: "Behold, I set before thee blessing and curse: blessing, if thou shalt keep My commandments: curse, if thou shalt not keep them." The Lord places us in the middle and works with us wonderfully. When…
The binding is therefore to be understood in a double sense: one, as directed to God alone, in the manner of being unattainable by all or by many; the other, as imposed upon all creation and upon the holy incorporeal powers and alien to God, as assigned to the Devil, because of the alienation of the good in purity;…
Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. The Apostle, pursuing the moral topic more broadly, orders the deeds, the mind, the purpose, and also the very mouth and tongue of the disciples. He does not wish those who believe in Christ to bring forth a curse out of their mouth, but to speak well, to…
Verse 11. "'And (the curse) has come upon us drop by drop.'" That is, Thou hast not poured out upon us all of Thy wrath, for we should not have been able to bear it, but Thou hast poured forth a mere droplet of Thy fury, in order that we might return unto Thee once we have been immeshed in Thy snare. "'The…