One of the most common teachings among Preachers worldwide (and in Africa especially) is Generational Curses in the Bible.
But have you ever asked yourself what a generational curse means, if it is biblical, and how to get rid of it? It happens that we are looking at it today!
In this study, we will look at the term 'generational curse' in the Bible, discuss what it means (which may be contrary to what you heard), and see how the scriptures address it. I pray you understand and find this helpful.
What Is A Generational Curse?
Generational Curse is the affiliation of two words, an adjective and a noun: Generational and Curse.
Generational is a word derived from "generation," a term that describes a social group or groups of people living in a particular period and people related by an extended family tree.
Until the nineteenth century, "generational" was broadly linked to people in a family, including father and mother, grandfather and grandmother, and great-grandfather and great-grandmother, to mention a few.
In the Bible, for instance, the twelve tribes of Israel were identical to people born to Jacob and their children and grandchildren, linked to them and after them as their generations on genealogical terms. Yet, all of them could be linked back to Isaac, Abraham, and Adam in a broader picture.
To make a clear distinction between Generation and Generational, take note of the terms Identical and People. While generation refers to a particular people and their offspring, generational refers to things identical to them. It could be a lifestyle, an infection, or a trait.
The term Curse can be a noun and a verb, but it has to do with language.
- As a noun: It refers to abusive language or an utterance believed to affect people or things negatively.
- As a verb: It refers to using abusive language or negative words on people or things.
More precisely, cursing another person and saying someone is with a curse are two different things. The first suggests an action, while the latter assumes a visible effect of the first. And that is the common idea behind the term Generational Curse.
A Generational Curse, therefore, describes a curse that is traceable to a member or members of a family. While it originates from negative and profane statements, it refers to the effects of the statements being visible along the family line or among descendants.
I must note that the cause of a curse is sin, and the effect is the consequence of sin. However, it is written in Proverbs 26:2:
“As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.” (KJV)
That verse speaks to something important, and we will see that as we look at the Generational Curse in the Bible.
Generational Curse In The Bible
The first time the term "Curse" appeared in the Bible was in Genesis 3 after Adam sinned (first for the Serpent in verse 14 and for the land in verse 17). It was more of a declaration of the consequences of the sin of man and reached everyone guilty.
Cain and Abel came forth from Adam and Eve as brothers. In Genesis 4, Cain killed his brother, and according to verse 11, the ground that received Abel's blood cursed Cain. What happened? Cain followed in the footsteps of his parent and was cursed.
“Yahweh said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground. Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth.’” (Genesis 4:10–12 WEB)
That sounds like the same things said to Adam in Genesis 3:17–19 (WEB):
“To Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and ate from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life. It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’”
I understand that controversy exists concerning the Curse and the Lord. Some people say God cursed man, and others say God did not. However, a careful examination of the passage reveals that rather than cursing (as in inflicting evil upon them), the Lord told the wrongdoers that they were with a curse and declared the curse consequential to their sins.
However, there was a personal term used in the case of the woman (I will multiply your pain in childbearing) to allude that God inflicted increased pain with childbearing. So, I understand the sensitivity and how careful and constructive I must be to say that God cursed man (including male and female), and the curse was a declaration of the consequences of their wrongdoings (in disapproval of it). And you can see that each curse was peculiar to individuals and their deeds.
The Bible did not say "Generational Curse" there, nor anywhere else. The closest there could be to it is with the concept of the fallen state of man and a repercussion of parental actions and inactions upon their children. We will see that in a moment.
Visiting the Iniquity of the Fathers
When people talk about Generational Curses, the scripture that usually comes to mind is Exodus 34:7. So let us look at that together.
“Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, ‘Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.’” (Exodus 34:6–7 WEB)
That portion literally says that the Lord, who is both loving, merciful, and forgiving to thousands, does not ignore sin. But He allows the consequences of the wrongdoings of the fathers to their children and grandchildren, to the third and fourth generation.
However, that message seems to be a repetition of a message previously communicated to the children of Israel in Exodus 20:
“‘You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.’” (Exodus 20:4–6 WEB)
From here, we understand that those who experience the repercussions of the sins of their fathers are those who follow the steps of their fathers (those who hate the Lord or the disobedient ones). But the Lord shows mercy to those who follow after the commandments of the Lord.
Rather than a Generational Curse per se, we see a generational consequence for sin. That is for those who continue in that sin.
For instance, a father who drinks and gets drunk dies of drunkenness, and his son who saw him drink and decided to continue in his drinking lifestyle will die of drunkenness. The one who chooses not to follow that drunkenness will not partake in that kind of consequence. That is the pattern.
Another instance is poverty. A father was seen always spending money on women and never had much. His son grew up to take from his father and remained poor like his father. The pattern is the order of replication that arrives at the same result.
Therefore, the Generational Curse in the Bible is the declaration that those (parents and their descendants) who persist in rebellion will incur shared repercussions. In the broader context, the issue was about idol worship or the worship of other gods in rebellion against the true God.
The Man Born Blind: Curse or Glory?
But what about the story of the once blind man from birth in John 9:1–34? That was not a Generational Curse but could be a result of natural factors or the wrongdoings of his parent (like genetic issues such as the SS genotype).
However, Jesus Christ made known that it was for the glory of God. But something took my attention as the Pharisees engaged the man and later sent him away.
“They answered him, ‘You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?’ They threw him out.” (John 9:34 WEB)
That took my attention back to my first part of consideration: the fallen state of man. In Genesis 2:16–17 (WEB):
“Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.’”
When the man finally ate of the tree, according to Genesis, the man died eventually, and that death continued throughout generations. Paul acknowledged the continuity of that death upon people who sinned in Romans 5:14.
Overall, one thing is clear: one man sinned, and the consequence passed to his descendants because they all sinned. But where do we see the curse? It is in the declaration.
In Ezekiel 18:1–4 (WEB), Ezekiel said:
“Yahweh’s word came to me again, saying, What do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, you shall not use this proverb any more in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins, he shall die.”
How To Break A Generational Curse
Assuming you believe you are a partaker in a Generational Curse (maybe your parents or grandparents did wrong things) you would be concerned about how to get rid of it. To do so, you should first come to the Generational Curse Breaker.
Who is the Generational Curse Breaker? While some claim it is their pastors or prophets and prophetesses, I believe that person is Christ Jesus (see Acts 10:43 and 2 Corinthians 5:17).
And by now, I expect that you understood the curse as a declaration of the consequences of sin and see that none of the prophets and pastors of old or this present age became a substitute for sins. But Isaiah had this to say about Christ in Isaiah 53:5-6:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Apostle Paul summarized everything together when he said in Galatians 3:13-14 (WEB):
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,’ that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
The redemption we receive from the curse of the law is by faith in Christ Jesus.
The problem is this: some people who claim to believe in Christ think they can go ahead and live as they like and not experience the consequences for their wrongdoings in the land. There is abundant grace in Christ Jesus, but it is not for people to continue in sin.
In Summary
Generational Curse In The Bible is a declaration of the consequences of sin, which is evident across generations. It comes as a result of disobedience to the commandment of God (as we see in Adam) and in actions against humanity (as we see in Cain).
Not everything traceable across the family tree is a Generational Curse, as we see in the case of the man born blind.
However, where there is a curse across generations, it is consequential to sin, and contrary to some pastors and prophets, Christ Jesus is the solution because He gave Himself as the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins (and there is no curse in Christ).
To the Faithful Today, Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9 (WEB):
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: who in time past were no people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
In addition, Christ commands us to live right and do good to others, and we should follow suit because doing good will produce good and vice versa.
Shalom aleichem.
