Section (4) of Ch. 4. (The Power of a Parent’s Blessing)

God’s Protective Measures in Ancient Hebrew Culture

 

As we look at each of the seven critical times of blessing, we will discover that God placed protective measures in the ancient Hebrew culture to ensure that children would receive His message through blessing and not Satan’s message through cursing. God’s protection usually was established in the form of laws, cultural attitudes, ceremonies, and traditions. 22 See the book Sketches of Jewish Social Life inn the Days of Christ (London:The Religious Tract Society, 1876). It was written by Alfred Edersheim.

 

Knowing the critical need for spiritual protection and blessing at the time of conception, God established the following three key protective boundaries in the ancient Hebrew culture.

 

1. The Law of Moses. This required capital punishment for fornication and adultery (any sexual intercourse outside of the

    protective hedge of the marriage covenant)

 

2. The Cultural attitude toward children. Children were seen as a blessing rather than a bother

 

3. The cultural attitude toward marriage. It was understood to be a covenant and holy unto the Lord

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 First protective boundary: I was shocked to learn that the Law of Moses was one of those boundaries. I had always seen “the Law” as legalistic, severe, and arbitrary. I had no idea that it was a loving, protective boundary designed to insure children were blessed at conception. I think one of the enemy’s most effective strategies is to get us to disconnect the consequences of our choices from the choices themselves. If sex is seen simply as a recreational activity or a choice made between two consenting adults, then the Law of Moses appears to be nothing more than the antiquated arbitrary edict of a vintictive, judgmental God.

When I was just beginning to understand these concepts, I spent a lot of time in prayer. I asked, “Lord, capital punishment is so severe. If we were to apply that standard in the church today, there may be very few people left in the congregation. Why such a severe consequence?”

 

 I then heard the Father say to me, “That was not My severity, son. That was My Mercy – for ten generation of children.” Then I remembered Deut. 23:2, which talks about the enemy being able to oppress the descendants of those born out of wedlock for up to ten generations. For the first time I began to understand. The individual and generational impact of sin is always in tension in a society. Mercy toward the generation that sinned creates an open door for the enemy to curse and devastate up to ten generations. On the other hand, taking a more severe stance toward the offending generation brings protection and security for the following ten generations.

 

 Just think about it. If an ancient Israel someone could lose his life for committing fornication or adultery, how likely is it that a child would be conceived out of wedlock? There is almost no chance. Today how likely is it that a child would be conceived out of wedlock? In the U.S. there’s about a 40% chance in the general population! So which is truly merciful? Since there is indeed a tension, we must ask another question: mercy for whom? Are we seeking mercy for the offending parents or for the innocent children conceived with no spiritual protection?

 

The Second Protective measure God placed in biblical Hebrew society was a high cultural value placed on children. One of the worst things that could happen to a Hebrew woman was not the conception of a child; it was to be barren. In contrast, in our society many people take drastic measures to prevent conception. Even some married couples pray that they won’t become pregnant.

 

 If you were a child in the biblical Hebrew culture, how likely is it that your mom and dad would have tried to prevent your conception? There’s almost no chance. Everybody wanted children; they were considered a blessing. Read Ps. 127:3-5.

“ . . . Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” Even among believers, children are not considered a blessing and a reward from God but rather a bother, a burden, a nuisance, and a financial drain on the family. Almost every child would have been blessed and welcomed in biblical Hebrew culture, but this protective cultural attitude has nearly been destoryed in our modern church culture.

The Third protective measure for children I saw in biblical Hebrew culture was the cultural sanctity of marriage. In that culture marriage was considered holy unto the Lord (Mal. 2:13-15), and divorce was very rarely practiced. Consequently children could be conceived and could grow in a very stable, secure environment anchored by a married mom and dad. Today, with our high divorce rate, marriage is much less secure, and the family is not as stable an environment.

 

 Because of these three protective measures God established in biblical Hebrew culture, it was very unlikely that a child would have had his or her identity cursed at the time of conception. It is critical for believers today to understand the importance of reestablishing a culture of blessing i8n our communities. This is how children can have the same protective environment the ancient Hebrews had to ensure their blessing at conception.