Covenant – Blessing and Cursing

The Blessings and Cursings of the Covenant

When God gave the covenant to Israel, he did not hide the outcome of their faith or faithlessness. Rather in Deuteronomy 28, He clearly told them of the blessings the nation would experience for their faith and obedience but also of the curse that would come if they were unfaithful. The outcomes of the covenant are directly related to God’s plan for his creation that we saw in Genesis 1-3. Faithful Israel will either fill the earth with God’s image enjoying his blessings, or unfaithful Israel will follow Adam and be under the curse that leads to death.

First, God sets out for Israel the blessing of the covenant. In Deuteronomy 28:1, God claims obedience to the covenant will cause Israel to be the greatest nation on the earth. God’s goal for Israel was to possess his glory and to show as a trophy to the other nations. Isaiah 60:3 pictures this goal for Israel, “And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” With obedience to the covenant, Israel will be blessed as the strongest nation so that others may be shown the glory of God.

Furthermore, God promises to reverse the curse of Genesis 3 with obedience to the covenant. Deuteronomy 28:11 says, “The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground.” This is the exact reversal of the curse in Genesis 3 as God cursed women with painful child bearing and men with toil in the ground. Can’t you hear the ringing of God’s original plan as he told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, subdue the ground, and take dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28). Here, God is promising new creation with obedience to the covenant. If Israel obeys the Lord then they can accomplish the meaning for which they were created by demonstrating God’s glory, filling the earth, and being fruitful with the earth. 

However, Deuteronomy 28 is not all gum drops and lollipops. God goes on in 28:15-68 to vividly portray the curse of not following or obeying the covenant. Pain, toilsome work, pestilence, tumors, physical illness, fruitless wombs, fruitless fields and livestock, weak kingdoms, slavery, oppression, and exile that leads to death awaits an unfaithful Israel. It is not a pretty picture to disobey the covenant and it would lead Israel into the same fate the curse of Genesis 3 left Adam; death without hope.

The history of Israel is lightly sprinkled with hope in the days of David and Solomon, but the overall picture is one of dismay and death. As said before, Israel proved to be unfaithful over and over leading ultimately to their exile from the land God had delivered to them. Not only were they physically banished from the land like Adam was physically banished from the Garden, but God withdrew his presence from the people just like Adam was banished from God’s presence. We see in Israel, just as in Adam, that man always follows the path that leads to the curse and death.

The Fulfillment- Blessings and Cursings of the Covenant

Jesus is the Blessing of the covenant. By living righteously Jesus secured the inheritance and blessing of the covenant forever. This is why in Ephesians 1, Paul talks about sharing in Christ inheritance and being blessed with every spiritual blessing. Jesus earned the blessing, and through my union with Jesus I receive the blessing. It’s completely unfair and all because of his grace!

But maybe even more glorious than the Blessing (I feel like I should type in a bigger font to capture my heart rate and excitement), Jesus is the Curse of the covenant. It wasn’t enough for our salvation that Jesus be a righteous man earning the inheritance because we are still dirty and stained. No matter how much good we do in our life, there will always be sin demanding death, separation, and the curse of God. BUT, Jesus took the curse of sin and death for us. He experienced the exile from God and separation from the Father even though he was the one man in the world that did not deserve it. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we may become the righteousness of God!”

Any reading of the Old or New Testament that does not see the Blessing and Cursing of the covenant fulfilled in Jesus is inadequate.