Topical Bible: Forsaking God: Curse Pronounced Upon

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Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical narrative, forsaking God is a grave sin that incurs severe consequences. The Scriptures consistently warn against turning away from the Lord, emphasizing the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience. The act of forsaking God is often associated with idolatry, rebellion, and a departure from His commandments, leading to divine judgment.

Old Testament Context

The Old Testament provides numerous instances where forsaking God results in curses. In Deuteronomy 28, Moses outlines the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience. Verses 15-68 detail the curses that will befall Israel if they forsake the Lord and fail to keep His commandments. Deuteronomy 28:20 states, "The LORD will send curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything you do, until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the wickedness of your deeds in forsaking Me."

The book of Judges illustrates a cyclical pattern of Israel forsaking God, suffering oppression, crying out for deliverance, and being rescued by a judge. Judges 2:12-15 describes this cycle: "They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them, and they provoked the LORD to anger... In His anger against Israel, the LORD handed them over to raiders who plundered them."

The prophets also warned of the consequences of forsaking God. Jeremiah 17:13 declares, "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away from You will be written in the dust, because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water."

New Testament Context

While the New Testament focuses on the grace and redemption offered through Jesus Christ, it also warns against apostasy and turning away from God. Hebrews 10:26-27 cautions, "If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries."

The apostle Paul, in his letters, warns believers about the dangers of forsaking their faith. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4 , he writes, "For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

Theological Implications

Forsaking God is not merely a personal failing but a communal and covenantal breach. In the biblical worldview, God’s relationship with His people is covenantal, and forsaking Him is tantamount to breaking that covenant. This breach results in curses that affect not only individuals but entire communities and nations.

The biblical narrative underscores the seriousness of forsaking God and the inevitable consequences that follow. It serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of faithfulness and the dire repercussions of turning away from the Creator.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 17:5
Thus said the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

What God is to Us.
... 2) of appealing from the deserved curse, to free ... for hating their own salvation and
forsaking their own ... apprehendest a dreadful and terrible God, and thyself a ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/lecture ix what god is.htm

City of God
... Annul the Blessing of Fecundity Pronounced Upon Man Before ... of Terah's Emigration,
on His Forsaking the Chaldeans ... According to the Commandment of God, He Went ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/

The Marvels of Holy Scripture, --Moral and Physical. --Jael's Deed ...
... introduce "disorder" into Creation,"are pronounced incredible."This ... away from them,
under peril of God's curse. ... Not he who, forsaking the flowery fields of ...
/.../burgon/inspiration and interpretation/sermon vii the marvels of.htm

A Penitent Heart, the Best New Year's Gift
... The parts are, sorrow, hatred, and an entire forsaking of sin ... doing his drudgery:
thou are under the curse of God ... scoffs and jeers at the people of God, all thy ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/a penitent heart the best.htm

Christ the Only Preservative against a Reprobate Spirit
... forbidden fruit, and thereby became liable to that curse which the ... to be a good man
sent from God, to show ... the way they should go, on their forsaking of Judaism ...
/.../selected sermons of george whitefield/christ the only preservative against.htm

Hebrews x. 26, 27
... For having said, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together ... he says, If
indeed he will curse thee to ... How does God suffer them (you say) to enjoy these ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of st john and hebrews/homily xx hebrews x 26.htm

Penitence, as Explained in the Sophistical Jargon of the Schoolmen ...
... promised that the sentence of the priest, properly pronounced, will be ... infliction
is designed to avenge, then the curse and wrath of God displays itself. ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 4 penitence as explained.htm

The Way from Sin to Perfect Salvation.
... our sins." 1 John 1:9. After the forsaking of sins ... to love their enemies, bless them
that curse them, do ... part of man this natural agreement between God and man ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /chapter v the way from.htm

The Epistle of St. James
... 9. With the tongue we bless the Lord and Father, and with the tongue we curse men
made in God's ... In the OT the sin of forsaking the true God for idolatry was ...
/.../moffat/the general epistles james peter and judas/the epistle of st james.htm

Reprobation Asserted: Or, the Doctrine of Eternal Election and ...
... this consideration; If Adam, upright Adam, gave way thereto, by forsaking his command ...
men as they are sinners, and personally under the curse of God for sin ...
/.../the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/reprobation asserted or the doctrine.htm