The curse read in a low voice and the loud preaching of Grace

"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee..." (Deu. 28 : 15)

On this Saturday of Ki Tavo these words sound through this week’s Torah portion. Reading this passage nobody is called to the Torah in the synagogues, not even the shammes (the sexton of the synagogue) and the lecture is done in a low voice.

The origin of this custom comes from the belief that every pronounced curse could come true.

This prudence teaches us a lot of things :

The using of curses goes back to very old times. The men of the Old Testament were totally aware of the fact that human speech did not only have the simple function of conveying information, but possessed a very strong independent power, which is capable to create and also to destroy.

Men were also aware that the curses could only take effect through the power of God. The most representative story of that is the one of Balaam’s.

Apart from this story we also know several other examples of judgements made by the prophets. All these facts show that no curse and no blessing can be pronounced without the agreement of God.

The word "curse" in Hebrew is cherem, which means : to forbid, to seperate, to destroy and to sanctify.

The curses read on Mount Ebal contained in detail all the meanings of the word enumerated before.

Those curses pronounced in a low voice testify of the humility and love of the men of the Old Testament:

- He does not want to be judged himself, and thereby says a curse.

- He also knows that he should not judge the others or curse his fellow human being. He is not permitted to rule over others.  

- He doesn’t want to destroy the unity of his people or excludes anyone from it.

- He doesn’t wish the annihilation or the loss of any members of his people.  

- He wishes that the people remain united in God and does not want any of the flock to get lost, or be subjugated to strange gods.

Every Jew who believes in God knows the Laws and the consequences of breaking them.  

He knows the sin of rebellion through the example of Adam and the consequences of that for all Mankind.  

He also knows God’s forgiving grace and mercy, which was not only visible in Noah’s days.  

However, he still could not recognise the Messiah, the Saviour who was promised to him, the Lamb who died for the sins of the world, the King whose return is imminent : Yeshua HaMashiach.

They judged Him by cherem and did everything to stop Him, to prevent Him from doing His ministry, to catch Him, to eliminate Him physically and psychically and to hand Him over to death.

It was by this curse that grace was granted to the whole world.  

And also today it is not possible to forbid, separate or destroy the work of Yeshua’s Spirit because He is holy, and He belongs to God through His submission and sacrifice.

The day will come when through the Will of God the Jewish people will recognise Him,  when silence will be broken by shouts of acclamation.

The judgement brought by the Law is still in force today. This judgement has to cause the fear of God but the voice of recognition and acceptance of the Grace and the Redemption should be a voice of acclamation.

Joy which breaks forth by recognising this, by forgiveness and the prospect of Eternal Life leads unavoidably to shouts of acclamation towards our fellow human beings and towards the whole world.

The joyful words pronounced by the Jewish people who live under the Law and the redeemed Body of Christ teach us a lot.

Especially those who raise their voice in a third manner.....

In the Body of Christ the curses are at work today and also those curses which fall back on the head of the ones who utter them, when others believe, or when they pronouce judgements on other’s actual sins.

Sometimes by mistake, but more often by personal covetousness and by psychical and spiritual blindness many are separated, rejected, forbidden or they mutually condemn their ministries, or hinder or even destroy them with their prayers which are curses.  

In place of God and for lack of prophetic vision many are those who say psychical prayers which come from their own human will. All the prayers which are not spiritual but come from the human soul can have a very evil effect on other people !

Every prophecy, or revelation or prayer said without permission is : not spiritual but psychical !

 

My dear brother !

If you are not really sure about the situation, about the rebellion or sins of someone else, it is better to keep silent !

Judgements, which come from men, assemblies or theological movements are not always in agreement with God’s will and truth.  

This kind of mistake can have very big consequences in your life.  

Since Golgotha, it does not matter how proficient your knowledge of the Word is, or how prophetic your vision is, you may only speak in a loud voice. You cannot close your eyes to sin anymore but you have to speak immediately about Grace and the Redemption through the Saviour. Without this, however true your judgments may be, they will remain curses and will not heal those they are aimed at and will fall back on you as sins.

Any form of cherem may only be pronounced by the order of God, but first the sins have to be uncovered, the possibility given to choose the right way and to accept one’s own responsibility: by naming the blessing or the curse, life or death.

In both cases we have to talk about the need for Grace, for conversion, for being born again and of the way of sanctification.

We finally also need to talk about those people who are the targets of these curses.  

The pronouncing of the blessings and the curses on the two mountains is similar to the separation of the sheep and the goats on Judgment Day. The first ones will be sent to Eternal Life – the second ones to death, to the right – to the left.

It is God who judged rightly on that day and does so today also. Men’s judgement cannot annihilate you but can cause serious difficulties and can slow you down immensely.

Men’s will and curses do not override God’s authority but can become a blessing and reign(? Nem értem). When the Eternal One, your God, your King Yeshua HaMashiach and the Holy Spirit lead you, you don’t have to fear anymore when the sinful world insults or curses you, because it is in this particular case you will be like Christ and that you become a blessing. The following verse is still applicable to rebels and sinners : "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." Jam. 3,11.

May the quiet and protecting love of the Jews towards their own people be an example to the Body of Christ.

And may the uncovering of the sins through God’s Law continue to be done in a loud voice but always in combination with the proposition of forgiveness, of Grace and Redemption.

May the Law of God be placed above everything on earth and may it be crowned by Christ’s Grace. These two things together are the restoration and the basis for a new beginning:  the Way, the Truth and the Life.

May the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit reign over the body and soul of each of us.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Lc 6,37)

 

 

Translated from hungarian by Richard (Zeev Shlomo)

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