The Curse of the Law

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Luke 11:27-28

What is the curse of the law? Unfortunately, many have tried to say that the instructions of Yahweh are a curse, or anyone that pursues following Yahweh’s instructions are putting themselves under a curse. This could not be further from the truth, and to do this, a person would have to start using a black permanent marker for a highlighter in their Bible. I feel compelled to share the blessings that pursuing the instructions of Yahweh gives us. The curses are self evident, if a person understands the consequences of disregarding the fabric of a successful existence on this planet. Here is one of the verses used to try to imply the law or Torah of Yahweh is a curse.

Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
Gal 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Gal 3:12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
Gal 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

If we rely on the works of law, we are breaking the law, according to Paul in his letter to the Galatians. There are those who believe that they can be good enough to save themselves. In other words, if they do every detail of the law of Yahweh, it will somehow justify them in His sight. This belief was apparently being accepted by Paul’s audience. He goes on to quote Deuteronomy 27:26.

Deu 27:26 “‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Before we had faith, we were all under the curse of the law, because everyone has broken the law. However, the curse lies in breaking the law, not the law itself. Paul clarifies in his letter to the Romans.

Rom 7:9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
Rom 7:10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.
Rom 7:11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
Rom 7:12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

The law, which is holy, righteous and good, points out what is bad in us and curses us until we put our faith in Jesus. With this comes a transformation whereby these laws that were bringing us curses are suddenly written on our heart, and we are given the Spirit of Grace to walk in them.

Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

One question that comes to mind is this: if the law is a curse, why would Yahweh want to put it into our minds and write it on our hearts? Consider the words of Jesus:

Joh 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
Joh 14:17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Joh 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

As Paul indicated, the law is spiritual. Romans 7:14 “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into slavery to sin.”

Let’s look at some of the curses associated for not keeping the commandments of Yahweh. Do you find yourself with any of these problems? Do you disregard His instructions?

Deu 28:15 “And then if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God by diligently observing all of his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you today, then all of these curses shall come upon you, and they shall overtake you:
Deu 28:16 “You shall be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field.
Deu 28:17 “Your basket shall be cursed and your kneading trough.
Deu 28:18 “The fruit of your womb shall be cursed and the fruit of you ground, the calves of your cattle and the lambs of your flock.
Deu 28:19 “You shall be cursed when you come in, and you shall be cursed when you go out.
Deu 28:20 “Yahweh will send upon you the curse, the panic, and the threat in everything that you undertake, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly because of the evil of your deeds in that you have forsaken me.
Deu 28:21 Yahweh will cause the plague to cling to you until it consumes you from the land that you are going to, to take possession of it.
Deu 28:22 Yahweh will afflict you with the wasting diseases and with the fever and with the inflammation and with the scorching heat and with the sword and with the blight and with the mildew, and they shall pursue you until you perish.
Deu 28:23 And your heavens that are over your heads shall be like bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be like iron.
Deu 28:24 Yahweh will change the rain of your land to fine dust and to sand; from the heaven it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed.
Deu 28:25 “Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; on one road you shall go against them, but you will flee on seven roads before them, and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth.
Deu 28:26 And your dead bodies shall be as food for all of the birds of the heaven and to the animals of the earth, and there shall not be anyone to frighten them away.
Deu 28:27 “Yahweh shall afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scurvy and with the skin rash that cannot be healed.
Deu 28:28 Yahweh shall afflict you with madness and with blindness and with confusion of heart.
Deu 28:29 And you shall be groping at noon just as the blind person gropes in the dark, and you shall not succeed in finding your way, and you shall only be abused and robbed all the time, and there will not be anyone who will rescue you.
Deu 28:30 You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall sleep with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not live in it; a vineyard you shall plant, but you shall not enjoy it.
Deu 28:31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, and you shall not eat it; your donkey shall be stolen right before you, and it shall not be returned to you; your sheep and your goats shall be given to your enemies, and there shall not be anyone who rescues you.
Deu 28:32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to other people, and you will be looking on longingly for them all day, but you will be powerless to do anything.
Deu 28:33 A people that you do not know shall consume the harvest of your land and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives.
Deu 28:34 You shall become mad because of what your eyes shall see.
Deu 28:35 Yahweh shall strike you with grievous boils on the knees and on the upper thighs from which you will not be able to be healed, from the sole of your foot and up to your crown.
Deu 28:36 Yahweh will bring you and your king whom you set up over you to a nation that you or your ancestors have not known, and there you will serve other gods of wood and stone.
Deu 28:37 And you will become a horror and a proverb and ridicule among all the peoples where Yahweh drives you there.
Deu 28:38 “You shall carry out much seed to the field, but you shall gather little produce, for the locust shall devour it.
Deu 28:39 You shall plant vineyards and you shall dress them, but you shall not drink wine and you shall not gather grapes, for the worm shall eat it.
Deu 28:40 There shall be olive trees for you in all of your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself, for your olives shall drop off.
Deu 28:41 You shall bear sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity.
Deu 28:42 The cricket shall take possession of all your trees and the fruit of your ground.
Deu 28:43 The alien that is in your midst shall ascend over you, higher and higher, but you shall go down lower and lower.
Deu 28:44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, but you shall be the tail.
Deu 28:45 “And all of these curses shall come over you, and they shall pursue you, and they shall overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, by observing his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.
Deu 28:46 And they shall be among you as a sign and as a wonder and among your offspring forever.
Deu 28:47 “Because of the fact that you did not serve Yahweh your God with joy and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything,
Deu 28:48 then you shall serve your enemies, whom Yahweh will send against you under conditions of famine, in thirst, in nakedness, and in a lack of everything; and he shall place a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.
Deu 28:49 Yahweh will raise up against you a nation from far off, from the end of the earth, attacking as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand,
Deu 28:50 a grim-faced nation who does not show respect to the old and the young and does not show pity.
Deu 28:51 And it shall consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground until you are destroyed, and who will not leave for you any grain, wine, and olive oil, calves of your herds, and lambs of your flock until it has destroyed you.
Deu 28:52 And it shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls fall, which you are trusting in throughout your land; and it shall besiege you in all of your towns in all of your land that Yahweh your God has given to you.
Deu 28:53 And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and your daughters, whom Yahweh your God gave to you, during the siege and during the distress your enemy inflicts upon you.
Deu 28:54 The most refined and the very sensitive man among you shall be mean with his brother and against his beloved wife and against the rest of his children that he has left over,
Deu 28:55 by refraining from giving to even one of them any of the meat of his children that he eats, because there is not anything that is left over for him during the siege and distress that your enemy inflicts upon you.
Deu 28:56 The most refined and the most delicate woman among you, who shall not venture to put the sole of her foot on the ground from being so delicate and from such gentleness, shall be mean to her beloved husband and against her son and against her daughter,
Deu 28:57 and even concerning her afterbirth that goes out from between her feet and also concerning her children that she bears, because she eats them for lack of anything in secret during the siege and during the distress that your enemy inflicts upon her in your towns.
Deu 28:58 “If you do not diligently observe all the words of this law written in this scroll by revering this glorious and awesome name, Yahweh your God,
Deu 28:59 then Yahweh shall overwhelm you with your plagues and the plagues of your offspring, severe plagues and lasting illnesses, grievous and enduring.
Deu 28:60 And he shall bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt concerning which you were in dread because of them.
Deu 28:61 Also any illness and any plague that is not written in the scroll of this law, he shall bring them, Yahweh, upon you until you are destroyed.
Deu 28:62 And you shall remain only a few people in place of the fact you were formerly as the stars of heaven as far as number is concerned, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.
Deu 28:63 And then as Yahweh delighted over you to make you prosperous to make you numerous, so Yahweh shall delight over you to exterminate you and to destroy you, and so you shall be plucked from the land that you are going there to take possession of it.
Deu 28:64 And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth up to the other end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor your ancestors, gods of wood and stone.
Deu 28:65 And among these nations you shall not find rest, and there shall not be a resting place for the sole of your foot, and Yahweh shall give you there an anxious heart and a weakening of eyes and a languishing of your inner self.
Deu 28:66 And your life shall hang in doubt before you, and you shall be startled night and day, and you shall not be confident of your life.
Deu 28:67 In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it was evening!’ and in the evening you shall say ‘If only it was morning!’ because of the dread of your heart that you shall feel, and because of the sight of your eyes that you shall see.
Deu 28:68 And Yahweh shall bring you back to Egypt in ships by the route that I promised to you that ‘You shall not see it again!’ And you shall sell yourself there to your enemies as slaves and as female slaves, but there will not be a buyer.”

The law defines sin and curses us when we disobey it. What happens if, through the Holy Spirit of Grace, we pursue righteousness by obeying the law that is written in our hearts? Could these blessings still apply to us that were given years ago?

Lev 26:1 “‘You shall not make for yourselves idols and divine images, and you shall not raise up stone pillars for yourselves, and you shall not put a sculptured stone in your land in order to worship before it, because I am Yahweh your God.
Lev 26:2 “‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and you shall revere my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.
Lev 26:3 “‘If you walk in my statutes and you keep my commands and you do them,
Lev 26:4 then I will give you rains in their time, and the land shall give its produce, and the trees of the field shall give their fruit.
Lev 26:5 And for you the threshing season shall overtake the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall overtake the sowing, and you shall eat your food to your fill and you shall live securely in your land.
Lev 26:6 And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and there shall not be anybody who makes you afraid, and I will remove harmful animals from the land, and no sword shall pass through your land.
Lev 26:7 And you shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
Lev 26:8 And five of you shall pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you shall pursue a myriad; and your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
Lev 26:9 And I will turn to you, and I will make you fruitful, and I will make you numerous; and I will keep my covenant with you.
Lev 26:10 And you shall eat old grain, and you shall clear away the old before the new.
Lev 26:11 And I will put my dwelling place in your midst, and my inner self shall not abhor you.
Lev 26:12 And I will walk about in your midst, and I shall be your God, and you shall be my people.
Lev 26:13 I am Yahweh, your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke, and I caused you to walk erectly.

I have heard the gospel explained by more than one person when describing what it should look like in someone’s life, as turning from their own way and starting to follow God’s ways. What are Yahweh’s ways if not His life giving instruction of the law? This idea of “following God” has been the changing goal posts in every church and denomination I have been a part of. In some denominations we are never good enough, we don’t read our bibles enough, pray enough, wear the correct clothing, go to enough church services, or give enough of our time or money. Sunday morning service stresses the importance of Sunday night, which in turn stresses Wednesday night, and so on. Yet in contrast, some church denominations have an anything goes approach, where all manner of unrighteousness is accepted as long as everyone “loves” one another. I surround “love” with quotations because there is no love without warning people of the impending wrath of Yahweh that will be poured out on unrepentant people.

How can a person repent if no one knows what to repent from? Yahweh did not make it complicated, and He even sent His son to show us the way. If we look at Jesus as our example, we can clearly see how He lived, and what He told us to do. Speaking of Jesus, the following verse shows Jesus’ custom of Sabbath keeping:

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.

Jesus was a Sabbath keeper. Despite antisemetic, religious leaders that came along a few hundred years later trying to do away with the Sabbath, the New Testament church kept the Sabbath. Jesus showed us that the many rules created in the Oral Law and Talmuds were questionable. They created many fences around the commandments so no one would get close to breaking the actual commandment in the Torah. Here is an example from the Babylonian Talmud that speaks about tying and untying knots on the Sabbath:

MISHNA: There are knots on account of which one does not become culpable, as in the case of a camel-driver’s or seaman’s knot. A woman may tie the slit of her chemise, the bands of her hood, the bands of her girdle, the straps of her shoes and sandals; also the bands of leather flasks (filled) with wine or oil, and of a pot of meat. R. Eliezer, the son of Jacob, says: “One may tie a rope in front of cattle, in order that they may not escape.” One may tie a bucket (over the well) with his girdle, but not with a rope. R. Jehudah permits this to be done with a rope also. For a rule was laid down by R. Jehudah: One is not culpable for any knot which is not permanently fastened.
GEMARA: Is there not a difficulty in understanding the Mishna itself? The first part states, that there are knots on account of which one does not become culpable, etc., implying, therefore, that, while one who ties them does not become liable for a sin-offering, at the same time he must not do it to commence with. The latter part, however, says, that a woman may tie the slit of her chemise, etc., implying, then, that she may do it in the first place? The Mishna means: There are some knots for the tying of which one does not become culpable, as in the case of the knots of the camel-drivers, etc., and they are: The knots by means of which the guiding- line is attached to the nose-ring, and the knots by means of which the hawsers are attached to the ship itself. For tying such knots one does not become liable for a sin-offering, but he must not make them to commence with (because at times the knot is left on the nose-ring or on the ship for some time), and there are other knots which may be tied in the first place, such as the slit of a woman’s chemise, etc.; what would he inform us? Is it not self-evident, that a woman must tie the slit in her chemise. The case treated of is where a chemise has two slits, an upper and that only the upper one of the slits would be permitted to be tied; he therefore informs us, that both the upper and the lower may be tied and untied.

These are the types of rules that they had endless discussions about, none of which are found in the written instructions from Yahweh. Jesus was trying to get the Sabbath back on track.

Mar 2:23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
Mar 2:24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
Mar 2:25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him:
Mar 2:26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”
Mar 2:27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Mar 2:28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

This would have been the place where Jesus could have said, “You don’t have to worry about the Sabbath. It’s done away with, and you can rest in me now. In a few hundred years we are going to start doing things on the Venerable day of the sun anyway.” He never said that though. What He said was that he was the “lord” of the Sabbath, which can be also translated as guardian.

In a different case, what did Jesus tell the woman who was accused of adultery?

Joh 8:10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
Joh 8:11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Jesus told this woman to go and sin no more. Is that possible? He is implying so. The laws that were argued about in the Mishnah, creating volumes of opinion in the Talmud, were very burdensome. This was what Jesus and the apostles spoke about often. No one ever indicated that the instructions of Yahweh were now obsolete. It was quite the opposite if you read all of scripture and understand what is being said. Jesus tells us the following:

Mat 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I cannot imagine how having a day to simply rest would be called a curse, but some do and refuse to rest. Eventually it will catch up to them. As far as what I call the “Church Talmud”, with endless rules and regulations for the Christian church, I take comfort in the following scriptures in the Psalms:

Psa 119:160 The whole of your word is truth, and your every righteous judgment endures forever.
Psa 119:161 Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles because of your word.
Psa 119:162 I am rejoicing over your word, like one who finds great spoil.
Psa 119:163 I hate and abhor falsehood; I love your law.
Psa 119:164 I praise you seven times in the day for your righteous ordinances.
Psa 119:165 Great peace is for those who love your law, and they do not have a cause for stumbling.
Psa 119:166 I hope for your salvation, O Yahweh, and do your commands.

The theme of the entire Bible is “be obedient and follow God’s commandments”. Yahweh is coming to reward those who listen and practice His words and punish those who practice evil. It is only deception that lulls Christians into believing anything else. Daniel speaks about the end, that which has not happened yet, and it speaks of those who turn people to righteousness, shining like the stars in heaven. What is this righteousness if not the commandments of Yahweh?

Dan 12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Who is wise, but those who follow the commandments?

Psa 19:7 The law of Yahweh is perfect, reviving life. The testimony of Yahweh is firm, making wise the simple.
Psa 19:8 The precepts of Yahweh are right, making the heart rejoice. The command of Yahweh is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psa 19:9 The fear of Yahweh is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of Yahweh are true; they are righteous altogether,
Psa 19:10 more desirable than gold, even much fine gold; and sweeter than honey, even honey in the comb.
Psa 19:11 Moreover, your servant is warned by them; in keeping them is great reward.
Psa 19:12 Who can perceive his errors? Acquit me from hidden faults.
Psa 19:13 Also, keep back your servant from arrogant sins; let them not rule over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.
Psa 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your presence, O Yahweh, my rock and my redeemer.

Truth, righteousness, wisdom and understanding all come from the law of Yahweh. Yeshua, the salvation of Yah, (Jesus), was the living example of this. The law of Yahweh, His Word is a great reward. Follow His example and be a shining star.