Do generational curses really exist?
The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
Ezekiel 18:1-3
What mean ye, that ye 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, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
What does this mean, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge?” Let’s take a moment and look at this. If I eat a sour grape then my teeth, my mouth, will pucker in response to the sourness. It is ridiculous to think that by this same action, my children’s mouth will also pucker in response. Preposterous!
So what is Ezekiel crying out for here?
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiel 18:4. We hear a lot about declaring freedom from generational curses and the process of cleansing of our blood lines. In other words, going back and asking forgiveness for the sin of my Great Great Great Grandfather. Ezekiel was crying out of the heart of Father to say, in our modern terms, “Wait… What ?!?! No, Yahweh says this was NEVER meant to be so.”
Like Ezekiel, Yahshua when He was asked about the man who had been blind since birth, responded similarly—
And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth.
John 9:1-3
And his disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
I remember as child hearing this verse spoken to someone when an illness or oppression had come upon them or a loved one. The understanding I formed at the time was that Yahweh must allow us to be sick or oppressed in order for His Glory to be manifest. Even at a young age, I was dumbfounded. As I matured, I wondered why such a loving God would make His people sick just so He could sweep in at the last moment and “Save the Day”. It made no sense at all! I would ask others and many times I would get the response, “Well Brother, we will not always understand everything that Yahweh does. His ways are above our ways.” (Deep contemplative sigh inserted here)
The description, “Generational Curse”, has been a part of our vocabulary for a LONG time.
A good friend of mine, Keith Lemon, told me of an old Pharisaical teaching that was prevalent during the time of Ezekiel. The doctrine stated that if someone had a deformity, blindness, lameness and such, from birth, they were obviously rejected by Yahweh. Why then would any good Pharisee want to spend time with, or be a part of, one who had been so obviously cursed. I think of today and realized that I too, at one time, had believed this to be true– No longer! Thank you Yahweh for your grace and love that teaches me! Thank you for wisdom and understanding that guide me to Your truth.
Obviously we are not talking about the biological actions of eating sour grapes. The real focus here has to do with responsibility. If I do something that causes a negative effect (eat a sour grape) then I am the one who will receive that effect, not my children. Still I am challenged as I think of my own family. As my daughter grew, I could see the beautiful and unique woman of Yahweh she was becoming. At the same time, I watched as she responded to situations the way I had.
“Do as I say, not as I do”
Thinking of the old saying my mother would use when she realized that my siblings and I were watching her. “Do as I say, not as I do”, she would say with enough of a smile that we knew she had been challenged with her own thoughts and responses. This reminded of the scripture in Proverbs. I began to better understand the way to change, and break the cycle of thought— Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
I have purposefully not drawn a conclusion here. My prayer is that Holy Ghost will open your understanding and reveal the path of Wisdom and Understanding. There are so many situations that we can look at in our lives that apply, and with as many perspectives, so is revelation.
Please read Ezekiel 18 and listen to the heart of the Father.
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
Ezekiel 18:20
So good Danny. Agreed. Burning more sacred cows with this generational stuff
Been dealing with this for a week or so,something just wasn’t right about this 2 me,Christ couldn’t become a curse 4 us if we still had a curse on us.
Samuel, Thank you so much for your comment! I love having dialogue about the promises of Yahweh!
Firstly, Did you mean to say “Christ couldn’t become a curse for us if we had no curse on us?”
Based on that premise, I will answer that question. If my premise is wrong, please let me know.
Yes, I agree, Christy could not become a curse for us if there was no curse on us. Sin brings a curse, and if we sin, there are consequences to that sin. If you will, there is a curse attached with the sin.
However, the premise of this was not about the curse on us by sin… that is very clear in Deuteronomy and other places in scripture. The premise of GENERATIONAL CURSES had to do with me having to pay for the sins of my father. Ezekiel 18 and Jeremiah 31 are both very clear to say that the sin of the one who sins will pay the consequences of that sin.
Please let me know if there are any further questions, or my premise was incorrect.