The Generational Curse That Almost Destroyed a Nation

As he gazed across the tent, his eyes rested upon his lovely wife. At 65, she was still a beauty. No one could deny that God favored her.  Most people who looked at her assumed she was about 30 years old, maybe 40.  No one who didn’t know her would ever guess she was 65.

While the old man looked at his wife, evil spirits were devising a trap. They knew that if they could sow the right seeds, they might destroy a nation before it was even born.  Whispering in the old man’s ears, they planted the seeds of fear.  Suddenly Abram was afraid and said to his wife, “You are so beautiful.  When we get to Egypt, if people find out that we are married, they may kill me to get to you.  So be good to me. Tell people you’re my sister so that they will let me live.” (Geneses 12:9-13)

When they arrived in Egypt, the people saw how absolutely beautiful Abram’s wife, Sarai, was.  Everyone was talking about her and when Pharaoh found out there was a stunningly beautiful woman who had come to Egypt, he took her into his house.  In return, Pharaoh gave Abram livestock and servants.  Soon, a plague came upon Pharaoh’s house.  When he realized Abram had lied to him, and that Sari was not his sister but his wife, he returned Sarai to Abram and sent them on their way.  It seemed like the plan worked perfectly.  They allowed Abram to live and gave him a lot of livestock and servants.  And he got his wife back.  However, he didn’t know he had just given birth to a generational curse.

Years later, when Abram (now Abraham) and Sarai’s (now Sarah) son Isaac was married, he told the same lie about his wife.  Once again because of a famine, he, along with his wife, journeyed to the land of the Philistines.  When people saw her, it amazed them at how beautiful she was.  Isaac feared for his life, and because a lie worked so well for his dad, he lied about his wife, Rebekah, saying she was his sister and not his wife.  After sometime, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of his window and saw Isaac and Rebekah being intimate with each other.  He knew Isaac had lied, and the king was angry.  Yet despite it all, Isaac was blessed and became richer and richer, never knowing that a generational curse was working its way through the generations of his family. (Geneses 26:7-8)

Later, when he was old, Isaac’s two sons would battle for their inheritance, birthright, and blessing. Jacob, the youngest, lied about who he was and convinced his father that he was his older brother, Esau.  Because Isaac was blind, and could not see through the lie, it worked and Jacob got his brother’s blessing.  In fear for his life, for deceiving Esau, Jacob went to live with his mother’s brother, Laban.  Laban was a master of deceit.  By lying and trickery, he manipulated Jacob into marrying Lea, the sister to the woman he loved.  Then for years he continued to lie and cheat Jacob, until Jacob had had enough and left, going back home.   By now, Jacob had many sons, who were all well acquainted with the generational curse of deception.  Little did they know that the little white lies were not really so little and they were now producing fruit that would change their lives forever.

Jacob had many sons, but his favorite was Joseph. Because of Jacob’s favoritism, Joseph’s brothers hated him.  One day Joseph went to check on his brothers, and when they saw him coming, they plotted on ways to get rid of Joseph.  They finally settled on a lie.  A big lie.  They sold Joseph as a slave, tore and bloodied his coat, and returned it to their father.

“Isn’t this Joseph’s coat?” they asked.  “He must have been attacked by a wild animal.  We never found his body.  This coat is all that is left, and we fear he is dead.

Day after day, year after year, the old man cried and mourned the loss of his son.  Every day, his sons looked on as their father cried.  Never once did they admit their crime.  They watched their lie slowly eat away at their father, never admitting their part in the old man’s grief.

After many years, another famine came upon the land and Jacob’s sons had to go to Egypt in search of food.  They didn’t know that Joseph was living in Egypt and that God had blessed him.  Joseph, now the second most powerful man in Egypt, looked at his brothers as they asked for help.  Soon the whole family was reunited in Egypt, and Jacob lived there, close to his son Joseph, until the day he died.

One day after Jacob died, the brothers came to Joseph and lied again.  “Dad spoke to us just before he died.  Tell Joseph not to hurt you, but to forgive you.”  The generational curse was intrenched deeply into those men, and it was a part of their nature.  But Joseph saw through the lie.

He said, “Don’t worry.  God has turned this whole situation around.  Satan tried to trap us all but God has used it for good.”

What Joseph basically said was this, “The curse stops here.”

That generational curse of lying and deceit had traveled through four generations.  Had Joseph bought into the lie, he could have killed all of his brothers for what they had done to him.  He could have destroyed the entire nation of Israel, but he chose forgiveness and truth, breaking the curse.

Abraham never knew the impact his dishonesty had on his descendants. Isaac had no idea that his lie would lead to his son running for his life or his grandson being sold into slavery. Joseph’s brothers didn’t know of the great heavenly plan for a Savior that was to come from Judah. They didn’t know what enormous risk they were taking. Yet in the heart of Joseph was one who chose to forgive rather than take the lives of the brothers who betrayed him.

We are not unlike this family of Abraham.  Little white lies go unpunished.  Some consider deception shrewd.  Anger, bias, unforgiveness, and other sins often influence us more than God’s word, all because we have given a place for a curse to become attached to us. Many lose out on the blessings of God, all because of a curse that has never been dealt with.

Ask God, “Is there anything in me that will bring a curse upon my children?  Is there anything from my ancestors that needs to be broken?  Is my family living under a curse?”

If the answers are yes, do whatever you have to do to break the curse.  Forgive those who have mistreated you.  Respond with love and not with anger.  Be the one who breaks the curse and says, “The curse stops here.”