Deuteronomy 27:16 –
Cursed is anyone who dishonors father or mother.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
I did not pull this one out to berate you on how you have treated your mother and father, but more to point out what I guess you would call the “C”-attitudes. The verse before this and through the rest of the chapter each verse starts with “cursed is.” When reading these I was surprised how many related to sex with other family members. That just seems way out there as far as society today, then I think of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and verse 23.
Verse 23 talks about avoiding sex with your mother in law. First that would be adultery and second eeewwww. Then pops Bill and Ted, where their father marries the high school knockout. Nothing happened in the movie other than them talking about her, but … it is possible when dads violate “social standards.”
As I read through the “curses” I wonder what exactly a “curse” in this context is. Can the curse be death, or public humility or a life without blessings? We hear this word used on a regular basis that it’s meaning is very loose these days. It could be anything from a life of misery to a “dirty word.” Simple mode of operation is not to find out what the intended meaning is here and don’t do what is said here.
Now I wonder if we need these today or if the Holy Spirit makes that obvious? Observance of the Law is supposedly covered by the Holy Spirit and grace. We should know what is right and wrong. I can 100% say I have interpreted my inner desires to be the “Holy Spirit” and gone down the wrong path. Really the only way we can be sure that our “little voice” is the Holy Spirit and not that “little devil” on our shoulder is by reading the Bible and trying to understand the Law and it’s intricacies.