God is perfect and nothing can add anything to Him. His creation, like Him, was made ‘very good’ and pleasing but it is due to our sin that it has reached a state of decay. It was and is our desire to be self dependent rather than God dependent that has led us away from God and into the arms of the ‘god of this world’, the devil. God did not curse mankind but Adam and Eve caused their own and everything else’s downfall. But God still did not abandon His created beings and opened a door for them to live above sin through faith in His Son.
Effects of the curse on mankind – Because of Adam’s eating of the forbidden fruit with Eve, the curse fell on the earth and it would no longer give its produce just at a command or naturally without much effort (Genesis 3:17). The effect of this on man is toil, labor and natural calamities interfering in the production of food for man as well as his realizing his full and true potential. Thorns and thistles and other insects like flies, mosquitoes etc came up to cause diseases which also started affecting man since the produce itself fell from its original standard of purity and holiness. The earth still produced good, but thorns and thistles came faster than good fruit and even poisonous plants came up. Before this in the Garden of Eden work was all joy, with all animals and beasts also under his command and God was their partner in everything but now pain and fatigue became part of work for mankind.
In the Garden of Eden even their bodies were perfect, without any disease, weakness or decay but after the curse the earth, from which man was produced, his body also suffered the effects of the curse. Spiritual death occurred instantly for both Adam and Eve, through cancelling of the close fellowship with God and physical death started working from that moment causing frustration and anxiety.
The authority over the animal kingdom was lost and over-work, fear of failure, competition and inadequacy began to rule and the first effect was murder of Abel by Cain (Genesis 4:8). This also caused addiction to other means of seeking joy and satisfaction and even strength to work long hours.
Curse of frustration coming as a result of eating through the ‘sweat of your face’ and you shall return to the ground. The Book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, ‘the wisest man’, well describes this state of mankind. God blessed mankind with taste buds to enjoy eating but even this became a curse due to lack for some and disease for others.
The book of Job describes the fallen nature of man, ‘Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers?’ (Job 7:1-2). The craving for a son in many parts of the world is an attempt by man to have his name continue on the earth after his death.
The earth shall yield all that we do not desire but ‘you shall eat the herb of the field’, for it will be there and man in his lack will be forced to eat even that also (Genesis 3:18). God blessed Adam and Eve with abundance of fruits of various kinds and seed bearing herbs for food, but after the curse he lost that blessing and herbs of all kinds became his diet. Though the curse barred Adam and Eve from enjoying the delicious fruits of the Garden of Eden, yet they were left with a means of sustenance. He was to live on and the earth was to bring forth enough for him to continue living with hard labor.
The final part of the curse is ‘dust you are and to dust you shall return’ and with this the eternal life in the presence of God, that was available in the Garden, was lost. Judgment came about where blessings were and man is held accountable for his actions during his life.
As Per Skip Moen, a preacher, Prophet Hosea assures us that the curse is not due to any failure on God’s part, ‘Therefore, the land will mourn; and everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and even the flesh of the sea will be taken away’ (Hosea 4:3). God created everything with one intent, to receive a response from His creation. He called the heavens into being and their response was to distinguish day from night. He called to the seas and they teemed with life; the earth and it responded by being fruitful. As per Scripture ‘the earth was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of one who subjected it’ (Romans 8:19-21). All of creation that was created to respond to God suffers frustration for compulsion in performing tasks that are not part of its mandate.
‘Ha-adamah’ or the ground is intimately connected to Adam for he came from it and when his source itself is cursed and the foundation shaken, it resists him. God creates with His Word and His Word is two edged sword carrying both a curse and a blessing and we have the choice to choose whatever we desire. Man also has power in his word but invariably we create disorder and chaos causing ill effects on all of creation. God sent His Living Word as our Redeemer to rescue us and then God ‘poured out’ His Holy Spirit to be in us to lead and guide us through these self created chaos.
Why do believers suffer from the curse? – The crown that the Roman soldiers put on the King of Kings and Lord of lords was of thorns, the curse of this earth. This wounded Him and caused His blood to flow and thanks be to God that His Son honored those thorns to take away the curse. A principle is laid down that Lord Jesus bore on His own body each and every aspect of the curse of both Adam and Eve (Galatians 3:13). He suffered great pain that the woman was to bear and brought innumerable sons to glory (Hebrew 2:10). Sin brought conflict and the Savior Lord endured great conflict for our salvation (Hebrews 12:3).
Sin brought toil and sweat and Lord Jesus shed great drops of blood to win our salvation (Luke 22:44). Sin brought sorrow and the Son of God became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief to save us (Isaiah 53:3). Sin brought death and Lord Jesus suffered death on the cross to give us eternal life in Him (Hebrews 2:9). Lord Jesus ‘having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it’ (Colossians 2:15). And also ‘For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 3:8). Lord Jesus has done His work and is now seated on the right hand of God with full power and authority.
Lord Jesus has provided redemption from the effects of sin but we receive the blessings through faith and surrender to Him. The sinful nature that we inherited does not get eliminated but though our outward man is perishing but the inward man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Apostle Paul admitted his failure to fulfill his will to do good and indulging in acts against that at times (Romans 7:19 & 25). He then clarifies the reason that there are two laws operating in him; the law of God through the Holy Spirit and the law of sin through the flesh.
The psalmist reveals the reason for our sufferings, for ‘He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty’ (Psalm 91:1). This verse reveals that God has a secret place (Psalm 31:20; 27:5) and He keeps His chosen ones under His protection, comfort and care. The pillar of cloud protected the Israelites from heat of the desert sun and the light of His Shekinah glory provided light during night. And even Pharaoh, who equated himself with god, could not see them till the Red Sea was parted for them to cross over. Most believers read this Psalm while remaining unaware of the ‘secret place of the Most High’. Or what does it mean to abide under His shadow to be filled with His power and authority like the disciples and the seventy who were sent with the message of the Gospel (Luke 10:17).
Being in the shadow is about great nearness to God and walking as His companion. When Lord Jesus asks us to ‘take My yoke upon you’, He invites us to put our load of curses, sufferings, sickness and lack on Him and let Him set us free from that (Matthew 11:29). In that closeness the Almighty God reveals the awesome protection that He provides by becoming a refuge and fortress for the believer. Man is free from the curse and in the name and authority of Lord Jesus he can cancel the ill effects of the curse on himself and on his family.
Escaping the curse on finances – The curse is that ‘You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it – You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them; You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land. The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower; He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail’ (Deuteronomy 28:38-44). The first curse and all curses thereafter are the result of disobedience and not listening to God’s commands. Prophet Haggai warns us to ‘consider your ways’ and then turn from evil to obedience to God (Haggai 1:5-7).
King Solomon teaches that ‘As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor- this is the gift of God’ (Ecclesiastes 5:19). This gift Lord Jesus has given to us. God is keenly interested in our perfect well-being in every area of life (3 John 2). Poverty is a curse and a believer is not to suffer this. Lord Jesus commanded the disciples to cast their net on the right side and they got a great catch of fish (John21:6).
A teachable spirit and a deep desire for God’s word and wisdom will definitely lead you to honor just as fear of the Lord will do. The young boy handed over all that he had, five barley loaves and two small fish’, to the Lord and after feeding the five thousand families to their satisfaction, received back twelve large baskets full of leftovers (John 6:9). Surrendering self, all plans, all efforts and finances under the blessed control of God like the young boy will definitely give a return that is much greater than what we expect.
God told Moses to lay down even the exact words for blessing the Israelites by the High Priest, ‘The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace’ (Numbers 6:24-26). And all these blessings are pronounced after the fall while the curse was still operative. Once the curse is removed by the Lord Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross, God’s assurance to us is, ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him’ (1 Corinthians 2:9). God’s Son, our Redeemer is the greatest gift from Him to all mankind and His underserved grace is unimaginable blessing for us to receive by faith.
Our prayer then is :-
Our Heavenly Father,
I thank You that You have redeemed us from all the curses through the shed blood of Your Beloved Son on the cross.
Now the curse of thorns and thistles and loss of produce from the earth is no longer on us. I confess all my sins and sins of our forefathers and seek forgiveness from You and cancel any right that the curse had on our life in Lord Jesus mighty name!
I thank You, Heavenly Father, that You have blessed us with Your Divine wisdom. Your Beloved Son, our Messiah, is our wisdom and in Him we are always filled with heavenly wisdom.
All the wealth and prosperity that You have given me is free from all curses and I place myself and all Your gifts into Your blessed hands for use of furthering the heavenly kingdom on earth.
I am assured of all Your blessings on my body, soul and all that You have given me and I shall continue to receive this while reaching out to others with the message of the Gospel of my Savior, Lord Jesus Christ.
LORD You are my strength and shield and my refuge protecting me from all that may be proclaimed on me and my family by my enemies.
In Lord Jesus’ name,
Amen and Amen!
All the forces of darkness gathered around the cross of Calvary to heap on the Son of God all the curses and effects of evil deeds of all mankind causing darkness on the face of the earth for three hours. Lord Jesus took all that with Him into the grave and fires of hell to save us from that and every believer is free from all types of curses to live a life of total freedom in the Savior Lord. Not only are we free ourselves but we are obligated to bring others still suffering into glorious light of His redemption.
