The Curse of the Law

Recap

2 Corinthians 3:3–7 NKJV

3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away,

So, we find three things here;

— Tablets of Stone

— It is the letter that kills

— It ministers Death

Even in reading on, it says, it ministers condemnation also;

Now, the tablets of stones, are part of the Covenant. The First Covenant God had with Abraham’s descendants, the Children of Israel at Sinai.

Deuteronomy 4:11–14 NKJV

11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.

Notice, he declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform.

The covenant he declared which he commanded them to perform, is the Ten Commandments, he then wrote them on two tablets of stone.

Voice from Heaven

Notice the distinction, initially, what they heard was a voice, and in that voice he declared to them his ten words, then he wrote it on stones.

Now, two separate events, as they didn’t happen simultaneously.

The Exodus account let’s us see this clearly,

Exodus 20:18–21 NKJV

18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

You notice that the event here, had to do with the people who heard the voice from Heaven, rejected “Not the words said”, but rather, “The person who spoke”. — God, do not speak with us, hence, only Moses drew near to God.

The rejection of the voice, was the rejection of God, and this becomes more clear as we study further;

Upon their rejection of God, Moses went in and spoke with God;

Exodus 24:3–4 NKJV

3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Notice again, they had no issue with the words themselves, what they had issues with, is who was speaking.

Exodus 24:7–8 NKJV

7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

So, God made a covenant with them, and it was binding, based on the ten words.

Afterwards, in verse 16-18; He himself (Moses) went up to the Lord, and was there 40 days.

Exodus 24:16–18 NKJV

16 Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

While he was there, God then wrote the words on tablets of stones.

Exodus 31:18 NKJV

18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

So, the event of hearing the voice from heaven, and God writing it on tablets of stones, were two separate events.

Why on Tablets of stone?

It was written on Tablets of stone, because the people rejected God, and now, God wanting to teach them the law, wrote it on tablets of stone, for Moses to teach them.

Deuteronomy 5:28–31 NKJV

28 “Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’

So, God would speak to Moses, so that he would teach them. Since they asked, God then said, Moses would teach you the law for you to observe.

Now, we explored the progression of the teaching ministry of Moses.

Deuteronomy 6:1–2 NKJV

1 “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

It began with fearing the LORD your God. So, Moses teaching ministry, was suppose to lead the people back to faith in God.

So, we can say, God wrote so that will continually hear his voice and turn, then when they turn, they will be able to do his statutes and His commandments.

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 NKJV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

It becomes quite clear that the chief goal of the law was to get them to love God, hence, Moses would say the words should be “in your hearts”

Deuteronomy 6:6 NKJV

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

Now, this was the direct result that God wanted to achieve when he spoke from heaven, HE HIMSELF WANTED TO PUT HIS WORDS IN THEIR HEART, rather than on stones.

Deuteronomy 4:36 NKJV

36 Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.

Instruct — Yasar; i.e. to Teach you.

So, God himself wanted to teach them his words or law from heaven, he wanted to put it on their hearts, but Israel rejected God, hence God would say Moses teach them the law, so that the words will be on their heart.

So, Moses was first of all, teaching them, SO THAT THEY WOULD TURN TO GOD, AND HAVE HIS WORDS ON THEIR HEART.

Deuteronomy 4:37–39 NKJV

37 And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. 39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

So, Moses’ admonsion again here, is to consider in their heart that THE LORD HIMSELF IS GOD, in heaven above and on earth beneath; there is no other.

Then, in verse 40, he now said, keep his statutes;

Deuteronomy 4:40 NKJV

40 You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

So, you see the pattern everywhere, it is impossible to KEEP GOD’S COMMANDMENTS, WITHOUT TURNING TO GOD.

So the Law taught, would first of all, seek to bring Israel to faith, then, in faith, God’s word, would be on their hearts, then they will do the will of God.

Summary of Our recap

It is possible to be in the first covenant, without the right heart

God let them hear his voice from heaven to teach them his law, on their heart

Israel rejected God and then the law was written on tablets of stone

God wrote his law, primarily, for Israel to turn back to faith, and then have the right heart and do his law.

The law therefore was a teacher to bring Israel to faith (In that it was taught, so that Israel would believe)

Blessing & Curse of The Law

Now, what would have been the blessing if they “kept God’s law?”

Deuteronomy 28:1–2 NKJV

1 “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. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

Notice, if you observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, BECAUSE you obey the voice of the LORD your God;

Hence, what we will notice is, if they have the right heart, and do the terms of the covenant, i.e. keep the commandment, then they will have prosperity in the LAND!

But what about not keeping the terms of the covenant;

The curse of the covenant

Deuteronomy 28:15 NKJV

15 “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:

So, the law, could minister both Life and Death! It could bring about life, or it could bring about Israel’s death, based on the response of the people, to whom it was given.

So, if they have the right heart, then, they will DO the law of God, and prosper in the Land;

If they do not have the right heart, then, they will not DO the law of God, and the curse of the covenant will come upon them;

What God has been doing with the people, has been that he would always try to reach them, so that they would prosper “in the land”.

But, they would not believe.

Now, Deuteronomy 29, tells us what the effect of the curse would be.

Deuteronomy 29:14-21, Focuses on what would happen to the individual or family or tribe that chooses to then break the words of the covenant.

Deuteronomy 29:14–18 NKJV

14 “I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today 16 (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by, 17 and you saw their abominations and their idols which were among them—wood and stone and silver and gold); 18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood;

So, this covenant is with him standing and with those who are not there at the very moment, meaning, including the future generations, so that no “Man, woman, family or tribe” — whose heart turn from the Lord our God, and serve the gods of these nations.

So, God’s plan was within the covenant, there won’t be anyone of them, that turn from the Lord, and go server the gods of other nations.

Now in verse 19, God spoke of the possibility of a man, or woman or family or tribe, that turns.

Deuteronomy 29:19 NKJV

19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’—as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.

He said, he blesses himself in his heart, saying, “I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart”.

What God said then in verse 20-21

Deuteronomy 29:20–21 NKJV

20 “The Lord would not spare him; for then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the Lord would blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law,

So, what the ultimate curse of the law is death. The man will be separated from the tribes, and this will ultimately, this would lead to “Death”. (Someday, we explain HOW this is carried out individually).

Exile and Death

Example, Adam and Cain;

Genesis 2:15–17 NKJV

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 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.”

Now, this is the death, but what ultimately led to death was the “exile”, they were banished from the land.

Genesis 3:22–24 NKJV

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

So, even though Adam lived long, the ultimate effect of their banishment was “death”.

Tribe

Now, what if it is a tribe or a nation and not just individuals?

Remember he said, a man, woman (individuals), family or a tribe. Meaning it is possible that a group as a people could be this way, following the dictates of their heart.

Now, what is a tribe? Remember there is twelve tribes of Israel, and they all had their own region, where they settled, so within the promise land, they had their landmarks.

This is what is called ancient landmark;

Deuteronomy 19:14 NKJV

14 “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

Now, each tribe, has their own inherited land, that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

Now, it was possible that as a people, in a land, that they all decide to follow the immagination of their heart, let us look at what could happen to that tribe, or even the entire nation all together;

Deuteronomy 29:21–28 NKJV

21 And the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law, 22 so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid on it: 23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’ 24 All nations would say, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ 25 Then people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; 26 for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. 27 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. 28 And the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’

So, what could happen to a whole land, a tribe, or even the entire people, is that they could experience been cast into another land, “this is death of a people”

Leviticus 26:14–15 NKJV

14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant,

What happens when they do not obey the commandments?

Leviticus 26:31–35 NKJV

31 I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. 32 I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. 34 Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest— for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it.

So, it is possible, for a tribe, to experience exile, i.e. the removal from the land, and this is what would lead to their death, i.e. their death as a people.

So, the curse of the law, is death, both as an individual, and as a people.

Let me show you how this played out.

Israel in the Land

1 Kings 11:9–13 NKJV

9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

So because of Solomon’s sin, there will now be two kingdoms instead of one kingdom.

Hence, from now on, we would have “Kingdom of Israel” and “Kingdom of Judah”, also called, the Northern kingdom and the Southern kingdom.

So Rehoboam was the son of Solomon, then Jeroboam and all the whole assembly of Israel came and said, your father was wicked to us, lighten our burden, but he did not listen.

1 Kings 12:12–14 NKJV

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!”

So, he was wicked, and refused, and sent them away.

What happened then was in verse 18-20;

1 Kings 12:18–20 NKJV

18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

So, now, when I say kingdom of Israel, that is the part Jeroboam reigned over, when I say kingdom of Judah, that is the part only Rehoboam reigned over.

So, the nation, became “Two people”. Not one nation anymore, but two nations.

So, when I say “Israel” from here on, we aren’t referring to “all of the tribes”, we are referring to the Northern part alone, and when we say “Judah”, we aren’t referring to all of Israel, but to the southern part. One nation, has become two!

The Northern kingdom & It’s Sin

2 Kings 17:1 NKJV

1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.

Notice, Ahaz was king of Judah and Hoshea was king of Israel.

So, we can’t interchange the word Judah and Israel, they refer to two separate people.

Now, in verse 2, we find Hoshea doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

2 Kings 17:5–7 NKJV

5 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods,

Now, when we read “Children of Israel” are we referring to all of Abraham’s desecendant? No, rather, we are referring to the Northern kingdom.

So, a majority of the children of Israel i.e. the Northern kingdom did evil in the sight of God.

2 Kings 17:17–18 NKJV

17 And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.

Notice again, the Lord was very angry with Israel! Not all the tribes, but the tribes that were part of Israel. Judah, remained alone.

Now, when we read on, what happened was “he removed them from His sight”. This is exactly what we call exile, and it will eventually lead to their death.

2 Kings 17:20–23 NKJV

20 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. 21 For He tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.

So, what did the northern kingdom experience? EXILE, i.e. carried away from their own land, and it was so to that very day.

So, Israel i.e. the northern kingdom, experienced the curse of the law, that is they were removed from the land, and as a people they died, meaning, we could not identify who they were anymore, as a people. They have been assimilated into other cultures and other people.

2 Kings 17:34–35 NKJV

34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel, 35 with whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them;

What did they do?

2 Kings 17:40–41 NKJV

40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.

So, generations upon generations, they remained in another nation, assimilated into that nation and they died.

Hence, the curse of the law which is death, is what this northern kingdom have experienced, and that death, came via exile i.e. the removal from the land.

Related to Us

Now, how does this relate to us? we cannot get there today, but we need to explore how this therefore becomes the bedrock on the New Covenant, because, this is how it gets to you and I also.