For The Law Brings a Curse
Gal 3:10-14 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ has 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”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. NKJV
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” This is an amazing statement that Paul is making to these Galatian believers. Something they had never heard and something that those who were tempting them to receive the law as a means of righteousness should have themselves known. The law is clear about the “CURSE” associated with disobedience of the Law of Moses given to him by Jehovah Himself on the Mountain. In Deuteronomy 27-28, Moses clearly outlines the curse aspect of the Law to Israel.
Deuteronomy 27-28 is a must-read to understand how serious God was about the keeping of His law. He was concerned for His covenant with these decedents of Abraham. It is a sobering read regarding both the Blessings and the Curses contained in the law. However, when one reads the law requirements and then appreciates Jesus’ complete and utter fulfillment of the law, one has a better understanding of Paul’s letter to these Galatian Christians.
This is at the heart of understanding the “Grace of God” toward all who put their trust and confidence in the “finished” work of Christ on the Cross. It is beyond human comprehension to fully embrace all that our Lord and Savior has accomplished on our behalf. It would take a very detailed understanding of the Law of Moses. Paul certainly qualified as one who both knew those details and was zealous in trying his best to fulfill the requirements of the law in his flesh.
In Paul’s conversion and then transition to understanding the impossibility of satisfying the “Laws requirements” in his flesh, he became entirely dead to his past ideas and fully alive to the Grace of God that was now revealed to him by the Spirit. Thus, for the first time in his life, Paul had embraced the “faith of Abraham” and became a true son of Abraham by receiving the finished work of Christ in the Cross.
Let’s take a brief look at the “curse of the law” in which Paul speaks. Deuteronomy 27:1-8 introduces us to Moses and the elders saying to the people of Israel, “Keep all the commandments I command you today.” Note verse 9-10, Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Take heed and listen, O Israel: This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 Therefore you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”
Curses Pronounced from Mount Ebal
14 “And the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel: The Levites spoke of fourteen curses in chapter 27. At the end of the chapter, all the people are to say “Amen.”
Blessings on Obedience are also found in (Lev 26:1-13; Deuteronomy 7:12-24).
Deuteronomy 28 “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:
The Curses of Disobedience:
Deuteronomy 28:15 “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: verse 16 to 19 are listed “ten” curses. Verse 20 says, “The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.”
Verse 45 declared, “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.”
Dropping down to verse 58, “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, 59 then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendant’s extraordinary plagues — great and prolonged plagues — and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 60 Moreover, He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. 62 You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. 63 And it shall be, that just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. 64 “Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known — wood and stone. 65 And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night and have no assurance of life. 67 In the morning, you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening, you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see. 68 “And the Lord will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, ‘You shall never see it again.’ And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.” NKJV
These verses give to us a glance at the curse associated with disobedience to God’s holy and righteous laws. The question we must face and answer is this: has God fulfilled His word to His people Israel? You see, it is not only the blessing promises that must be considered but the promise of curses as a result of disobedience. The most significant noncompliance was the rejection of Israel’s Messiah in the generation that Paul lived and wrote believers this great warning in Galatians 3:10-11. If you chose the law, then you’re under the curse of it. The “the law justifies no one before God.” There is no celebration in being a “descendant of Abraham.” The only celebration is being a “son of Abraham” because of “faith in the Seed” promised to Abraham thus becoming a “son through the “faith of Abraham.”
12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” If you subscribe to the law as a means of being right with God, then you must live by that law! Faith is nowhere to be found for such a one who subscribes to the necessity of keeping the law.
13 Christ has 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”), there it is, clear as crystal. Christ did the work for us. Christ purchased for us freedom from the requirements of the law. Glory to God!! Christ was cursed on our behalf. Can you shout GLORY? I am free; I am free, yes, thank God, I am free indeed. I have a whole new identity through Christ.
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (NKJV). The blessings of Abraham came first to the Jews who believed with the faith of faithful Abraham but now also to the Gentiles who are in Christ Jesus our Lord. The first blessing and promise is the receiving of the Holy Spirit with all the grace of God He brings. How does one receive? That’s right, “through faith.”