Introduction

"The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the just." (Proverbs 3:33.)

Proverbs are wise sayings. They are not commandments or law, neither are they promises. They are proverbs or generally true statements. Sometimes the wicked prosper materially while the righteous suffer. But in the end, all who have rebelled against God will be accursed and the faithful will be blessed. That is something that we can count on being true.

I want to remind us of this great principle between God and man. God blesses the house or habitation of the just, but curses the house of the wicked. Illustrations will be given from Scripture to show how that this principle is true and an application will be given for us.

This principle is repeated often in Scripture. Jesus taught it in the Sermon on the Mount.

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matt. 7:24-27.)

Moses warned, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse. A blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day. And a curse, if you will not obey the command-ments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods which you have not known. And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in into the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon Mount Gerizim and the curse upon Mount Ebal." (Deut. 11:26-29.)

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life that both thou and thy seed may live." (Deut. 30:19.)

Every house could serve as an illustration of this principle, but some are more evident than others. Job for example was a righteous man, but suffered many calamities. Jesus was without any sin, yet he suffered scourging and the crucifixion. Remember what we said about proverbs being generally true statements. Innocent people suffer; guilty people sometimes prosper. But in the end, all who live wickedly will be judged. The righteous house will be blest.

The original house of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve once enjoyed the very presence of God in the Garden of Eden. But due to their disobedience, God cursed their home and they were driven from their paradise home. They no doubt often thought of how richly they were blessed in their original home. Now, they have a difficult life making their living by the sweat of their brow. The ground reluctantly yielding its fruit. No home as ever been cursed like the original home of man. Perhaps it stands as an example for all that follow. God blesses the habitation of the just, but the curse of the Lord in the house of the wicked.

The word, curse is used several times when they were driven from their home. "The Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all the cattle, and above all the beast of the field. . . Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be unto thy husband and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Cursed is the ground for thou sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." (Gen. 3:14-17.)

The house of Abraham. Perhaps no house has ever been as blessed as the house of Abraham. His very name means the father of many nations. From Genesis 12 onward, the house of Abraham is prominent in Scripture. He became not only the physical head of two great households, the Jewish and Arab, but also the head of the spiritual seed as well. There were twelve children from each of the sons of Jacob and Esau. Each brought forth a great people, as God had promised.

The great scheme of redemption is set in motion with the promise to Abraham. "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing. I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 12:1-3.) Two things should be noted here. The house of Terah, Abram’s father, was rejected by the Lord. He commanded Abram to get out of that house and go to a new land. If you want your household to be blest of God, you too must leave your father’s home if it is idolatrous or sinful as Abram’s was. It is hard for children to forsake the coldness of unbelief or unfaithfulness of their parents’ home. Unbelief is taught, just as faith is. Secondly, the Lord promised to bless the house of Abram, even blessing those who blessed him and cursing those who cursed him. Can you imagine a house being so blessed that the Lord will even bless those who bless you?

Before destroying Sodom, the Lord did not want to keep his plans from Abraham. "Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgement; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken." (Gen. 18:18-19.)

Today, the spiritual household of Abraham continues. Paul wrote, "And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised." (Rom. 4:12.) Also, "If you are Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:29.)

The house of Saul. King Saul once had the favor of God upon his household and his rule as the first king of united Israel. But Saul fell away from the favor of God because of his disregard of God’s will for him. His life ended in shame and disgrace.

"When Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid and his great greatly trembled. When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit that I may go to her and inquire of her." (1 Samuel 28:5-7.) Saul, the king, stooped to the low place of disguising himself when he went to see a soothsayer, a familiar spirit, of Endor. God rebuked Saul by using this woman to bring up Samuel from the dead to speak to Saul. Saul pathetically told Samuel how the Lord had rejected him and that he needed help from someone, anyone! Samuel replied, "Why do you ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from you and is become thine enemy?" (1 Sam. 28:16.) What a fearful statement---God has become your enemy!

In the battle with the Philistines, three sons of Saul were slain. Saul was wounded with arrows from the expert archers of the Philistines. When Saul’s armor bearer would not kill him, Saul fell on his own sword. After the battle, the Philistines humiliated the house of Saul further by stealing things from their bodies, beheaded them, and put the armor of Saul in the house of Ashtaroth (false god in Canaan). That act said, Our god defeated your god! Ashtaroth defeated the God of Israel. But it really meant that God had forsaken the house of Saul. Woe to any king or household when God forsakes.

The house of Paul. There was only one member in this household, but he served the Lord faithfully. Your household may be small---just you and your mate, or you may be the only one. Paul said that he had the right to lead about a wife, a sister in Christ, like Cephas did. But due to the peril of travel and the dangers that he constantly faced for the Cause of Christ, he chose to live alone. He therefore had no physical descendants. He did not worry about a will or who would receive his earthly goods. He had little to nothing to leave them. What Paul did leave us is invaluable. He is one of the most respected followers of Christ around the world and will be until Jesus comes back.

Like Abraham before him, Paul’s household was richly blessed of God. He has untold numbers of "children in the faith." Timothy was not his only "son in the faith." His letters are a legacy for all will know Christ and him crucified. His zeal in mission work will stand as the standard for all in the future who will so serve Jesus and His Kingdom.

Remember the principle from the Proverbs? "The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the just." (Prov. 3:33.)

In Romans chapter one, Paul denounces the ungodliness of the Gentile world. There were some among them, like Cornelius, whose household was blest. But for many, Paul wrote that God "gave them up or gave them over." (1:24, 26, 28.) When God gives up on a person or his household, many calamities will befall them. When God curses the house of the wicked, pain and misery will follow.

It is evident even today. Watch a family that gives up on faith and turns to the world. That family will be destroyed by their ungodliness. Drugs and drunkenness, adultery and fornication, lying and stealing, covetousness and the love of money will destroy those who embrace them. Paul said that some will "drown themselves in destruction and perdition; and pierce themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Tim. 6:10.)

On the other hand, watch a family who lives by faith and tries to do right before God. Their household will be blest. Good will come from that family in the generations to come. They will be productive members of society and bless others around them. When God made the promise to Abraham that he would bless him and make his name great, God added, "And thou shalt be a blessing." (Gen. 12:2.)

The general principle is that "the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the just." (Prov. 3:33.) We have given examples of that through the history of the Bible. The application to us is obvious. Do you want your household to be blest? Then serve the Lord with all your house.