Topical Bible: The Jews: Denunciations Against Those Who: Cursed

◄ The Jews: Denunciations Against Those Who: Cursed ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

Throughout the Bible, the Jewish people are depicted as God's chosen nation, set apart to fulfill His divine purposes. However, Scripture also contains stern warnings and denunciations against those who curse or oppose the Jews. These denunciations underscore the seriousness with which God regards His covenant with Israel and the protection He affords His people.

Divine Protection and Promises

The foundational promise regarding the treatment of the Jewish people is found in Genesis 12:3, where God declares to Abraham, "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." This verse establishes a divine principle that those who curse the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people, will themselves be subject to God's curse.

Examples of Denunciations

1. Balaam's Prophecies: In the Book of Numbers, Balaam is hired by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse Israel. However, God intervenes, and Balaam is compelled to bless Israel instead. In Numbers 24:9, Balaam declares, "Blessed is everyone who blesses you, and cursed is everyone who curses you." This incident illustrates God's active role in protecting Israel from curses and turning them into blessings.

2. The Amalekites: The Amalekites are repeatedly denounced in Scripture for their hostility towards Israel. In Exodus 17:14, God commands Moses to write a memorial of Amalek's actions and promises to "utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." This denunciation is a direct response to their aggression against the Israelites.

3. The Edomites: The Edomites, descendants of Esau, are also subject to divine denunciation for their enmity towards Israel. In Obadiah 1:10, it is written, "Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever." This prophecy highlights the consequences of cursing or acting violently against the Jewish people.

4. Haman's Plot: In the Book of Esther, Haman's plot to annihilate the Jews is met with divine intervention. Esther 7:10 records Haman's downfall: "So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai." This narrative demonstrates the reversal of curses intended for the Jews, resulting in the downfall of their enemies.

Prophetic Warnings

The prophets also issued warnings against nations and individuals who cursed or opposed Israel. In Zechariah 2:8, God declares, "For whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye." This metaphor emphasizes the preciousness of Israel to God and the peril of incurring His wrath by cursing them.

New Testament Affirmation

The New Testament reaffirms the principle of blessing and cursing concerning the Jewish people. In Romans 11:28-29, Paul writes, "As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable." This passage underscores the enduring nature of God's covenant with Israel and the importance of respecting His chosen people.

In summary, the Bible contains numerous denunciations against those who curse the Jewish people, reflecting God's unwavering commitment to His covenant with Israel. These warnings serve as a reminder of the divine protection afforded to the Jews and the serious consequences of opposing them.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Genesis 27:29
Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you: be lord over your brothers, and let your mother's sons bow down to you: cursed be every one that curses you, and blessed be he that blesses you.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Numbers 24:9
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesses you, and cursed is he that curses you.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Faustus Asserts that Even if the Old Testament could be Shown to ...
... them to do so without daring to protest against it ... the laws, or met by the awful
denunciations of the ... discontinued, not by the wish of the Jews themselves, who ...
/.../faustus asserts that even if.htm

Covenant Duties.
... Thirdly, to the Jews. ... invitations and encouragements, to his people; by denunciations
and warnings ... and cannot be countenanced without rebellion against Him who ...
/.../cunningham/the ordinance of covenanting/chapter iv covenant duties.htm

The Temple Cleansed Again
... vision the apostasy of the Jews, addressed them ... His warnings and denunciations did
not lead them to ... They "rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being ...
/.../white/the desire of ages/chapter 65 the temple cleansed.htm

Thursday Night - Before Annas and Caiaphas - Peter and Jesus.
... and officials, opinions and exaggerated denunciations concerning Him ... head and
representative of the Jews; and as ... rose in combined rebellion against the Perfect ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xiii thursday night -.htm

The Necessity of Regeneration, Argued from the Immutable ...
... had no share; nor did the Jews at all envy ... in an unregenerate state, arm yourselves
against these terrors? ... of Mount Sinai; that these are denunciations of the ...
/.../practical discourses on regeneration/discourse iv the necessity of.htm

Of Faith. The Definition of It. Its Peculiar Properties.
... For as in that rejection of the Jews there still ... is not found in commands or the
denunciations of punishment ... which I have committed unto him against that day ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 2 of faith the.htm

The Law Given, not to Retain a People for Itself, but to Keep ...
... having been made familiarly known to the Jews, they were ... Law is, by means of its
fearful denunciations and the ... of the law, preserves in fear, against the time ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 7 the law given.htm

The Two Effects of the Gospel
... will often prick them, and the stern denunciations of a ... by such men as Pilate, Herod,
and the Jews? ... who slanders God's minister, who speaks against his people ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 1 1855/the two effects of the.htm

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
... youths, and the martyrs, brought down denunciations upon them ... we read of, proselyted
to the Jews religion ... before, guilty of the blood of those against whom this ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/of antichrist and his ruin .htm

The Barren Fig-Tree;
... Then, I say, were these Jews, and their city, both ... salvo, which they always had in
readiness against such prophecies and denunciations of judgment ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the barren fig-tree.htm