As per Old Testament law anyone who hangs on a tree is considered a cursed person. But the Son of God never sinned in His thoughts, words or deeds but bore our sins and curses on Himself on the cross and became accursed. Through faith in this redeeming work of Lord Jesus, we can also be absolved of all our sins and curses and walk into our new life of blessings. Nobody has ever been able to nor achieved salvation through his/her own efforts and it only comes through the grace of God.
Common causes of curses- Unscriptural associations or relationships – God blessed the Israelites with the Promised Land but cautioned them not to make any covenant with the people already living there, nor with their gods (Genesis 23:32). They were warned by God not to allow them to live in the land with them ‘lest they make you sin against Me’, for then it will be a curse for you.
Tribal rites of initiation and certain ceremonies like cuts on the body, application of ashes of dead animals etc bring curses through surrender to the demonic forces. Since blood is life, any ritual using blood in any ritual is not normal and even the blood discharge of a woman is used to invoke curses. In certain sections gifts are given to the intended victim after invocation of certain curses and whoever uses that will suffer.
Satanic agents like certain tantric or witchcraft practitioners invoke power of evil forces to bring curses on the intended victim. Goliath cursed David by his gods but David refused to acknowledge that and said, ‘I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied’ (1 Samuel 17:43-45). The key to live free of curses, is to meditate on the word of the LORD God and live in obedience and total dependence on Him alone.
Generational curses – AS per the genealogical account there are 14 generations listed in each group from Abraham to David, from David to Babylonian captivity and from captivity to Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:17). God does not look at only one individual but sees in terms of generations and families. After taking his son Isaac to Mount Moriah for offering as a sacrifice and then offering the ram provided by the LORD, the promise of God to him was, ‘Blessing, I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice’ (Genesis 22:17-18).
In like manner God blessed King David with his descendants also for blessings from God run along blood lines. Curses also follow blood lines and God’s warning to the Israelites not to follow false gods. The warning is, ‘You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments’ (Exodus 20:5-6). The word used here is inequity which means to have a leaning toward a certain sin and such leanings carry on in the next generations also for these become habits. Scriptures further identify this, ‘Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their inequities’ and even the deeds of the dead ones affect the living (Lamentations 5:7). The 54 verses listed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 contain a list of these generational curses.
How does a curse develop in one’s life? – Facing temptation goes to thinking about it, on to continuous meditation on it and then develops into a desire for fulfillment and thereafter planning for the act starts. Up to this it is a secret hidden within thoughts only. From here onwards execution starts and an opportunity is sought for commission of the sinful act which progresses to repeated action. At this stage one starts to delight in this and seeks more ways to perform the deed which then becomes a habit. Habit becomes our god, demanding to be served and needs sacrifice of time, money and relationships thus leading to slavery. All along our conscience or the Holy Spirit continues to urge us to stop. Because habits are difficult to break, the sinful living continues and science has now identified DNA changes taking place due to this that cause diseases and sickness in next generations. God warned the people, ‘You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And those of you who are left shall waste away in your inequity in your enemies lands; also in their fathers’ in equities which are with them, they shall waste away’ (Leviticus 26:38-39).
The basic reasons for this situation in one’s life are; first, disobedience, for Adam and Eve disobeyed God and all of mankind and the earth were cursed. Second, any violation of the first two commandments brings a quick retribution from God and anyone worshipping any god other than Yehowah or making an image to worship will suffer (Exodus 20:3-4). Third, self pronounced curse for future generations – Pontius Pilate washed his hands off the sought after crucifiction of the Son of God by the Jews but ‘all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children’ (Matthew 27:24-25). Many believe this statement resulting in the persecution of the Jews and destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and since then it continues to this day. But God did not send His Son to condemn anyone and our Lord’s first saying on the cross is to seek forgiveness for these Jewish people, ‘for they do not know what they do’ (John 3:17). It is however presumed that their sin was forgiven but the consequences of that remain and can only be removed through individual repentance and seeking forgiveness.
Fourth, sexual immorality –Adam and Eve were deemed to be joined to each other ‘and they shall become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24). Sexual union with anyone establishes soul ties between the two which results in opening the door for the evil spirits in one to also have access to the other. Also any curses operating in the one become effective in the other where the curses from disobedience of the Commandment of God prohibiting adultery. A generational curse comes through the bloodline of an individual and can only be cancelled through the blood. This is as per the law as given to Moses by the Lord which confirms that ‘according to the Law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission’ (Hebrews 9:22).
The blood of Lord Jesus was shed for redeeming us from all sins and iniquities. Our Lord has taught about repairing an old garment by not using an unshrunk piece of cloth ‘lest the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse’ (Mark 2:21). In the same way adapting a change in our sinful nature also needs the care and help of our Lord Jesus.
Getting freedom from curses – It is only possible through the blood of Lord Jesus Christ for all sinners are ‘being justified freely by His (God’s) grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness , because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed’ (Romans 3:23-25). The first word of preaching by John the Baptist and Lord Jesus was ‘repent’ (Matthew 3:2 & 4:17). The Greek word used is ‘metanoeo’ where ‘meta’ means change of mind and ‘noeo’ means think differently. Repent means to think differently about sin with the ‘inner man’ being changed with reference to accepting the will of God.
The will of God is taken as ‘visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation’. But the Scripture provides another view of God on this ‘Fathers shall not be put to death nor their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin’ (Deuteronomy 24:16). Also ‘The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son’ (Ezekiel 18:20). An innocent person will never suffer under a curse and God will send His angels to protect them. The curse of fathers passes on to the next generation only when the attitude or habit is accepted and adopted by them. Any generation that stands up to and renounces the sinful nature of their parents escapes the effects.
The way of escape and release from a curse of any type must be based on strong Scriptural authority only. WE know that Lord Jesus became a curse for us through His crucifiction and redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13-14). Also, that ‘We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace’ (Ephesians 1:7). That Savior Lord has given us authority over ‘all the power of the enemy’, and in His name we use that to destroy the works of the devil (Luke 10:19). We must always resist all efforts of the devil to trap us into an evil way. Confess your faith in the Lord and live under His control and in obedience to His word. Confession of sins of our own and unknown sins of the ancestors is essential, for though we may not be guilty of those sins but are affected.
Forgive others who have wronged you in the past in any way – The most significant barrier to unforgiving is ‘surely the Lord will understand the way this person has afflicted me’. David was pursued by King Saul out of sheer jealousy to kill him but despite getting chances to retaliate, David waited for the Lord to act. David not only restored all the land and property of Saul to his grandson Mephibosheth but also granted him the privilege to eat at his table everyday and have direct access to him, just like his own sons (2 Samuel 9:7).
Get rid of cursed objects – These are clothes, replicas or figures of some worship objects used by others, written texts given by someone from another faith as a blessing or any such item on which someone has invoked the power or authority of some deity other than the LORD God. Also release yourself from the presence of that power in the name of Jesus the Savior.
Confess, claim and expect the blessings of Abraham, especially the promise, ‘I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you’ (Genesis 12:2-3). The Holy Spirit administers the blessings of God; honor Him and do not doubt His presence in you. Make a u-turn in your life and start thanking God for releasing you from the curses and wait in faith for the manifestation of the result of redemption in your life and in your family.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that You are the Son of God and the only way to God; and that You died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead. I give up all my rebellion and all my sin, and I submit myself to You as my Lord.
I confess all my sins before You and ask for Your forgiveness—especially for any sins that exposed me to a curse. Release me also from the consequences of my ancestors’ sins.
By a decision of my will, I forgive all who have harmed me or wronged me—just as I want God to forgive me. In particular, I forgive. . . .
I renounce all contact with anything occult or satanic—if I have any “contact objects,” I commit myself to destroy them. I cancel all Satan’s claims against me.
Lord Jesus, I believe that on the cross You took on Yourself every curse that could ever come upon me. So I ask You now to release me from every curse over my life—
in Your name, Lord Jesus Christ! By faith I now receive my release and I thank You for it.”
I thank You Heavenly Father for all the blessings on me and my family from now onwards. In Lord Jesus’ name we ask, Amen
Be grateful to the LORD God for the great blessing of being made part of His Divine family and then live a life of faith in the redemption that Lord Jesus has provided. His words are forever true and God is ever willing and pleased to shower His blessings upon each one of us who looks to Him. The only condition is to believe and receive!
