Blessings and Curses

[Sal]

Blessings and curses are foundational themes in scripture, where obedience to the commandments of God typically brings blessings, and disobedience brings consequences or curses. This framework teaches accountability and emphasizes the importance of choosing righteousness.

In Deuteronomy 11:26-28, it lays out this principle clearly: “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: 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.”

This shows that blessings and curses are often used by the Lord to guide and encourage His people to follow His path. Blessings are not just rewards; they're encouragement to stay faithful and reminders of His promises and love. On the other hand, the hardships that come from turning away from God's commandments serve as a reminder and a chance to correct course, urging us back to a path that leads to spiritual growth and happiness.

[askandanswer]

In temporal terms, I guess you could say the Lord is using a carrot and stick approach.

On another level, I think there may be some value in exploring the idea that we need a blessing to entice us to do good, and that there needs to be a cursing to help us refrain from doing evil. Its interesting that the inherent nature of good is insufficient to entice us to do good, and the inherent nature of evil is insufficient to restrain us. 

[Traveler]

Because of my scientific background I have always struggled with the concept of blessings and curses – especially curses.  Since G-d is a merciful and compassionate G-d it is hard for me to logically place curses.  I think that, as with much in scripture, that there is a deeper meaning and understanding.    We know that the sun shins on the wicked as well as the righteous.  Likewise, the storms threaten both the wicked and the righteous.  And yet there is a difference.

We are told that for the righteous all things will turn out for the benefit.  But for the wicked, all things will be for a detriment.   As odd as it seems that which is a benefit for the righteous is to the detriment of the wicked.  It is not the sunshine nor the rain that is provided by G-d but the purpose that we apply to our conditions.

What all this means to me is that G-d wants us personally invested in the outcome.  That it is not him the discriminates between the blessing or curse but that it is our choice – both for what immediately is realized as well as the eventual outcome.

But then I come to the atonement (Kippur) I can only think of blessing.  I know of the mercy of G-d and that salvation is paid by Christ but I have to think that there is something to which our investment plays a necessary part. 

Maybe there is more to the ancient Asian concept of Yin and Yang that we can apply.

 

The Traveler

[Sal]

5 hours ago, askandanswer said:

In temporal terms, I guess you could say the Lord is using a carrot and stick approach.

On another level, I think there may be some value in exploring the idea that we need a blessing to entice us to do good, and that there needs to be a cursing to help us refrain from doing evil. Its interesting that the inherent nature of good is insufficient to entice us to do good, and the inherent nature of evil is insufficient to restrain us. 

It all comes down to the choices we make will dictate if God will bless us or not if we make a bad choice we get consequences which could be a good thing because we learn from the bad choice that we made !

[Sal]

3 hours ago, Traveler said:

Because of my scientific background I have always struggled with the concept of blessings and curses – especially curses.  Since G-d is a merciful and compassionate G-d it is hard for me to logically place curses.  I think that, as with much in scripture, that there is a deeper meaning and understanding.    We know that the sun shins on the wicked as well as the righteous.  Likewise, the storms threaten both the wicked and the righteous.  And yet there is a difference.

We are told that for the righteous all things will turn out for the benefit.  But for the wicked, all things will be for a detriment.   As odd as it seems that which is a benefit for the righteous is to the detriment of the wicked.  It is not the sunshine nor the rain that is provided by G-d but the purpose that we apply to our conditions.

What all this means to me is that G-d wants us personally invested in the outcome.  That it is not him the discriminates between the blessing or curse but that it is our choice – both for what immediately is realized as well as the eventual outcome.

But then I come to the atonement (Kippur) I can only think of blessing.  I know of the mercy of G-d and that salvation is paid by Christ but I have to think that there is something to which our investment plays a necessary part. 

Maybe there is more to the ancient Asian concept of Yin and Yang that we can apply.

 

The Traveler

I agree what are you going to do with the outcome ? You utilize it for the ministry of God why do you think we each have a testimony? Because God wants us to share it with the world and with someone that is going through a tough time !

[HaggisShuu]

On 8/15/2024 at 10:47 PM, Traveler said:

Because of my scientific background I have always struggled with the concept of blessings and curses – especially curses.  Since G-d is a merciful and compassionate G-d it is hard for me to logically place curses.  I think that, as with much in scripture, that there is a deeper meaning and understanding.    We know that the sun shins on the wicked as well as the righteous.  Likewise, the storms threaten both the wicked and the righteous.  And yet there is a difference.

We are told that for the righteous all things will turn out for the benefit.  But for the wicked, all things will be for a detriment.   As odd as it seems that which is a benefit for the righteous is to the detriment of the wicked.  It is not the sunshine nor the rain that is provided by G-d but the purpose that we apply to our conditions.

What all this means to me is that G-d wants us personally invested in the outcome.  That it is not him the discriminates between the blessing or curse but that it is our choice – both for what immediately is realized as well as the eventual outcome.

But then I come to the atonement (Kippur) I can only think of blessing.  I know of the mercy of G-d and that salvation is paid by Christ but I have to think that there is something to which our investment plays a necessary part. 

Maybe there is more to the ancient Asian concept of Yin and Yang that we can apply.

 

The Traveler

What I love about the LDS scriptural canon and believe it over Sola Scriptura is that you can examine one passage, and identify related teaching from all over our scriptural cannon to add far more profound layers of depth to its original message.  

I was reading 1st Samuel 15 the other day and this particular chapter I found had some quite profound teaching we can apply to our lives as Latter Day Saints. 
 

Samuel tells Saul "you have rejected the word of the Lord, and so the Lord has rejected you from being King over Israel." 
 

Another common theme in all books of Scripture is the idea that no unclean thing can dwell in the kingdom of God - meaning they would inherit a lower degree of Glory and miss out on an eternity in the presence of God. 
As part of the initiatory in the temple we are anointed to become Kings and Priests in the afterlife. While it is unlikely Samuel was talking about our modern temple ordinances I think it still applies in our life, God can reject us as Kings and cause us to inherit lower degrees of Glory if we choose to live the law of a lower kingdom. This is still a merciful end Goal, we still receive eternal life in a perfect body in an endless paradise, it just falls short of what we could ultimately achieve. 
 

Personally, all I think a curse is, is an unfulfilled blessing. When we sin, the spirit withdraws, which creates room for Satan to become involved in our lives. When we choose God, the spirit returns. I suppose a modern "scientific" example would be, a lack of anti-biotics isn't a curse itself, but it will lead to complications should you become ill, as the bacteria is given a better chance of survival.