Blessings and Curses | Covenants in the Courts of Heaven
In a recent article, we shared insights into understanding God’s covenants. It’s important to understand how the covenants manifest in our lives today. They are not null and void, but rather a history of our heritage and the promises of God. He honors His Word and you when you pray it back to Him and apply it to your life.
The 2 Conditional Covenants
There are 2 conditional covenants.
- The Edenic or Creation Covenant
- The Mosaic or Sinaitic Covenant
The Edenic Covenant
The Edenic Covenant was based on Adam and Eve’s obedience. The Lord instructed them not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why? Because they would then know evil. Until they ate, all was in harmony with their surroundings and with the Lord.
But God gave them a choice—free will—to obey or rebel. You see, the Lord’s Word—His instruction to Adam—was to preserve a gift and blessing of harmony and covenant.
- “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”—Genesis 2:15-17
The Mosaic Covenant
The Mosaic Covenant was based on the Law of Moses, which grew into the first 5 books of the Bible. This again was intended to preserve the blessings the Lord gave. It was conditional, just like the first one, but because sin had now infiltrated the earth, situations and relationships had become complicated.
God laid it all out, plainly stating that if man obeyed, he would receive the blessings of Abraham…
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
“The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
“The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.
“And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”—Deuteronomy 28:1-14
The idea here is that the connection and partnership—the covenant—that God’s people had with Him would spiritually and physically make their cups overflow as they came under an open heaven. He wanted to provide a clear instruction manual of how to obey and what was in store for them as a result of their obedience and the bond they shared.
God the Righteous Judge
The Bible says that the Lord is a Righteous Judge (Psalm 50). Because of His just, pure, and holy character, when humans determine themselves what is right and wrong, it is called disobedience. And it opens up doors to evil and allows curses to enter into our lives.
This is where the Courts of Heaven enter into the equation. But first, let’s look at the curses God warns us about that derive from disobedience.
Curses of Disobedience
“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
“Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
“Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
“Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
“Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
“The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.
“The Lord will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. The Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.”—Deuteronomy 28:15-28
Declaring the Covenant in the Courts of Heaven
Remember Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (see Matthew 5:17).
Therefore, what are we as Believers today to make of these blessings and curses? First, understand that the word fulfill does not mean end. Think of it in terms of a marriage. Fulfilling those vows is a continual process that will keep going until “death do you part.”
Even then, the blessings of that union are passed down to the next generation. You don’t all of a sudden say, “I’ve fulfilled my end of the agreement, now it’s time to walk away.” In fact, the more the marriage covenant is fulfilled by both parties, the more blessed you both are!
Coming into alignment with God’s instruction—essentially fulfilling your side of the covenant—brings blessings according to the tenets of the covenant, “according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ” (see Philippians 4:19).
This is the bedrock from which you pray in the Courts of Heaven. Remember God’s covenant that is given to you through Yeshua!
“Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.”—Isaiah 43:26
Why is it important to remember His Word, promises, and covenant? Because He doesn’t want us forgetting or changing His Word or instruction. He doesn’t want us to forget our heritage. Because when we come before Him in agreement, it shows we know, trust, and are united in purpose with Him.
If you want to discover more about the blessings of covenant relationship, we encourage you to begin studying the Jewish roots of your faith. Get started now with a FREE study guide that takes you through Reclaiming Our Forgotten Heritage!