The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
Summary: Solomon tells us that the wicked are cursed and the righteous are blessed, but what does that mean exactly?
You may have noticed that I am picking my way through Proverbs instead of going verse by verse. A friend of mine once noted that Proverbs is like a “bucket of marbles someone dumped on the floor.” I had to laugh at that! It is true, but I also think that God organized it that way for a reason.
At any rate, I mention this by way of introduction to this post. I was reading back through chapter three and came across this verse. It seemed perfect for where we are today, so let’s dive in.
Does God really curse the house of the wicked? Are the righteous really blessed? Does it sometimes seem like the opposite is true?
Jeremiah the prophet once complained to God about this. He said, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?” Does this contradict what Solomon said?
Solomon does not say that the wicked do not have wealth, nor does he say that the righteous will be rich. Like the path of the righteous, understanding what goes on here can be a challenge to discern. The real question is, “What does it mean to be blessed or cursed?”
Personally, I tend to associate blessings with ‘good fortune.’ To be “blessed” feels like it should mean someone gets something good. In my view, being “cursed” means the opposite. People who are cursed end up with everything going wrong. (The classic use of the word “curse” in this sense was always associated with ancient Egyptian tombs and their mummies. If you disturb the tomb, the curse would cause you to die.)
Looking deeper into the meaning of the original Hebrew, I find that my assumptions about the meaning of these words are simplistic. The actual meaning is more subtle. Let me rephrase the NIV’s translation this way:
The Lord frowns upon the house of the wicked, but he smiles upon the home of the righteous.
For me, with my colloquial understanding of blessings and curses, “smiles” and “frowns” are closer to the mark.
Why?
Because the Hebrew text does not suggest that there is any direct consequence from the blessing or curse. Instead, there is an indirect one. It works like this…
The home of the righteous is a home where the residents are right with God. Now think about what that means. Someone who is right with God is doing what God would want them to do. Will things go better for a person who does what is right? The short answer is “Yes!” The entire premise of Proverbs is that there are two main directions to choose from in life; the right way and the wrong way. The right way leads to good things and the wrong way … does not.
This is why the “house of the wicked” is cursed. The word “cursed” means that God loathes what they are doing. In a sense, God turns his face away from such people. They benefit from the general blessings God gives all living creatures (Matthew 5:45), but they are going against God’s will.
So is there anything to worry about if God’s curse is on your house?
Yes, there is. First and foremost is the question of the “second death” (Revelation 20:14, 21:8). Then there are the consequences that come with opposing God. Perhaps the most significant of these is the lack of peace (Job 3:26).
In the same way, one of the greatest blessings God can give us is peace (John 14:27, 16:33, Philippians 4:7).
The entire Bible is about these two choices, whether we oppose God or submit to him. Are we indifferent to the Lord’s curse, or do we crave God’s blessing?
Application: Strive to be right with God in all you do.
Food for Thought: Is there a third category of homes between blessed and cursed? If so, describe what it is. If not, explain why.
Is there a third category of homes between blessed and cursed? If so, describe what it is. If not, explain why.
A third category of a home between blessed and cursed could be a home under construction. Not yet completed yet. Maybe a little more than 1/2 way done but then came to a slow crawl because of some kind of worldly view of a pandemic that caused prices to doubled on half of the building materials then tripled on the other half. And at the same time some businesses shut down and never recovered which could have been a needed income while building the house, not to forget about all the little things that add to difficulties and delays like family members, past friends, and things from the past. But my home is not in this world it is with Jesus and that home is blessed.
John 14:2-3
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Tim,
My heart goes out to all builders working under the conditions you describe. It sounds like a frustration. I also appreciate your application of this situation to today’s question. Is there a place on the road to righteousness that is between sinner and saint? My personal journey is well described as a “house under construction.”
Thank you!
Is there a third category of homes between blessed and cursed? If so, describe what it is. If not, explain why.
I believe that to have a “house” that the Lord would smile upon would mean that the members of the household seek to live a life pleasing to God. I think the opposite is true too: a “house” that the Lord would frown upon would mean that the members of the household seek to live a life pleasing to themselves. I believe it has to be one way or another. In the same logic, if the Lord smiles upon your “house” then you are following His will, and most likely have accepted His gift, therefore your “house” will be welcomes into heaven to be with Him, and not cursed.
Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,”
Chris,
Thank you for wrestling with this question today. It is interesting, isn’t it? Good and Evil are clearly polar opposites, but life on earth is like walking through the tall grass: it is hard to see where we are.
I don’t believe there is a third house. Either you have God’s favor or you don’t. Either you serve Him or you don’t. Either you’re on the narrow path or you’re not. Either you’re in the book of life or not. Either you’re innocent or you’re not.
God has grace to accept those undeserving, but within the parameters He has set, because He is still just.
A –
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. You have given us an “either/or” perspective.
Isaiah 53:6 comes to mind:
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
Do people stop going astray when they are saved?
(Asking for a friend!) 🙂
Jeff. So happy I remembered your easy catchphrases I need so I’m hoping inspiration right now yes even after being saved you can go astray and be brought down by worldly temptations…. But praise God did he can find a way to help find our way out and back to him.
Shalom Brothers in Christ
Phill!!!
Great to hear from you! Thank you for chiming in! It is a blessing to see you here. 🙂
And yes, praise God that “ in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
I understand “all things” to mean all things. At least that is how it works in my world.
Blessings on you, brother!
02-24-2022, Proverbs 3:33, Is there a third category of homes between blessed and cursed? If so, describe what it is. If not, explain why.
The lukewarm, in Revelation 3:15-16, Jesus speaks to the church of Laodicea. The house of fence straddlers! They chose to be lukewarm rather than hot or cold.
TO THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA, I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! So because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to vomit you out of My mouth! Revelation 3:15-16
I would see this as the third category of homes, or camps.
Thank you, Ron.
I think this points us in an interesting direction. Can we be a people of faith and at the same time act wickedly?
Definitely seems like a person whose love for the world leads them to talk the talk while refusing to walk the walk. Thinking somehow they can live in two worlds our Bible says that’s a no go.
Great conversation today!
Thank you Ron. I think you make a case for a third home. I see this home as believers who don’t live any different than the world. This would be similar to the three groups of people in 1 Corinthians 2: 14 – 3: 3. There we see the carnal person, the spiritual person and the immature and not growing up believer (3: 1 – 3).
Rich,
The 1 Corinthians passage is excellent! “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” (1 Cor 3:3)
Thank you!
Every church seems to have a mix of people in this category. (To some extent I think we all fall into this category now and then.)
I feel like we’re at the same place as the “types of Christians” debate. I don’t see this passage as saying there’s a spot in the middle, I see it as choose or it will be decided for you.
People like to make up extra categories to feel like they are still good. I do that too at times. Well, I am speeding, but I’m not texting like that other guy so I’m better….. That’s still speeding!! Stop it!
God’s blessing is on the righteous
God’s curse is on the wicked
If you claim a middle ground on blessing and cursing, isn’t the next logical step that there is a middle ground between righteous and wicked? Does God see a middle ground? No. There is no middle ground, that’s why His sacrifice covers sins past, present, and future. Sins that are major and minor, sins that are external and internal. If He missed one category, we’d be in the same spot as before. That’s why we couldn’t make do with the law, because we can’t be perfect. We needed a system with grace to escape the curse.
You cannot serve two masters, you cannot be warm and cold, you cannot sit on the fence, or you will be spit out.
A —
Interesting. My question now is this: Are we looking at this from “God’s view” or do we look at the question from earth’s view?
We are not God and we do not know what he sees. We know what he tells us about himself, but that is all.
What we do know is how it looks from this side of the grass. Do people fall into “either/or” categories, or is it a muddy mess?
Everything from Earth’s view is muddy, lots of grey area. But why look at it from a fallen perspective? Isn’t God’s view the only one that matters?
Now, don’t get me wrong, we can’t see all that He sees. And we cannot say what He judges because He sees the heart and the actions done in secret, and hears silent prayers.
So we don’t always know who falls on which side of either/or, we just have clues (like the fruit of the Spirit). I suppose I could be wrong, but I consider it too dangerous to claim/teach a middle ground that could leave someone just shy of salvation.
And in response to “Do people stop going astray when they are saved?”
No, because sanctification is a process and perfection comes only after we leave this earth. That’s why grace is needed. And a whole lot of discipline. If we stopped going astray, then this would be way easier.
A —
Thank you for the additional comment. I find this thread interesting.
In answer to your question, “Why look at it [the question of being blessed or cursed] from a fallen perspective?” I would offer this; It is the only one we have. We have God’s Word, but not his perspective. (I feel like we would agree on this point… )
Because we are stuck with a human perspective, it may actually be more dangerous to teach “either/or” conditions than to consider things from our “fallen perspective.”
If you have a specific passage in mind, that is one thing. There are a couple of references that might fall into this category. Matthew 6:24 is one:
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
This passage prompts a choice. But there are many more that suggest a gray area. John 9:41 illustrates this:
“Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.’”
So under one set of circumstances, the Pharisees would be considered not guilty of sin, but because they make a certain claim, these same people are now considered guilty of sin. (Not exactly an “either/or” situation, is it? It is more of a conditional “if” situation.)
I agree with you about being cautious about what we “claim/teach”. For this very reason, I would personally be cautious about claiming “either/or”’s that are not tied to a contextual scriptural reference.
Another concern I have about “either/or” is that each of the examples we are discussing are absolutes. I can believe I have God’s favor, but do I “know?” I can believe I am serving Him, but what if I am not? (Haven’t you ever seen a believer unload on someone else in a way that makes you cringe?) I can believe I am on the narrow path, but only God knows.
If we cannot “know” that we are on the narrow path or serving Him correctly, or are innocent, what good is it to say I am either doing it or not? We can’t possibly know! If there is no way to know, then such teaching is pointless. Isn’t it better to accept that we are “in the mud” and teach Scripture that points us to the narrow path, helps us serve in a more Christ-like way, and focus not on our innocence (we’re not – we can know that one 🙂 ) but on Christ’s redemption of the sinful?
Jeff,
I’ve been basing what I’m saying on every passage referenced by everyone:
Proverbs 3:33
Righteous or wicked
Blessed or cursed
Matthew 5:45
Yes the sun rises but the people are still
Righteous or unrighteous
Good or evil
John 14:27, 16:33
Peace or trouble/tribulation
Matthew 6:26
Serving God or not serving God
John 3:36
Eternal life or wrath of God
2 Tim 2:20-21
Honor or dishonor
1 Corinthians 2:12
Spirit of God or spirit of the world
Deuteronomy 30:19
Life or death
Blessing or curse
John 9:41
Guilty or not guilty
I will expand on this one Matthew 23:21-22 (well, the whole chapter)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”
The pharisees are guilty for teaching righteousness, but not doing it. That is not grey, that is just sin. And Jesus was calling them out for it.
Revelation 3:15-16
They thought a grey area would be accepted by God, but they were wrong.
Accepted (not shown) or rejected (spit out)
The only passage that I saw in all of this discussion that could possibly claim a third area is
1 Corinthians 3:1
Spiritual men or men of flesh or infants in Christ
But really ‘infants in Christ’ is just young ‘spiritual men’ who need help growing up. It’s still a matter of in Christ or not in Christ
If you want more:
John 8:11
Jesus doesn’t say try your hardest to be good, but He says, “sin no more” get out of the dark, don’t stop in a grey area, head straight into the light
Look at the whole sermon on the mount! That’s Jesus saying, you made these grey areas, but they don’t work, they are still sin. Matthew 5 and 6:
5:13 Salty or not salty
5:14-16 Light or dark (implied)
5:21-24 Murdered (includes the heart) or not murdered
5:27-28 Adulterer (includes lust) or not an adulterer
5:29-30 don’t let one small part (small sin) drag the rest of you into hell
5:48 be perfect as God is. That is your standard, stop accepting less and calling it righteousness
6:1-4 rewarded by men or rewarded by God
6:19-21 treasure on earth or treasure in heaven
6:22-23 clear eye (light) or bad eye (dark)
HEAR this most importantly. Believers are in a covenant with Jesus. That is what gives us assurance, that and the Holy Spirit in our lives(the seal). Part of covenant is the trading of identity. We got Jesus’ righteousness, hence phrases such as ‘put on’ or ‘clothe yourself’ followed by attributes of Christ (these are littered throughout the new testament), and Jesus clothed himself in our sin on the cross. That’s why our sins after salvation are covered, He literally became our sin without having done a sinful act. So then, we must become His righteousness, without having been totally righteous. Our identity is made one (as illustrated in baptism died with Christ, raised with Christ). He was the covenant partner that took the wrath to protect us.
So I would not say I am focused on my innocence. But I absolutely refuse to say that my mess ups after salvation are a grey area. They are STILL sin, but God already COVERED it and tells me to get back up, go and sin no more.
Therefore, if you have accepted Jesus, your mess ups don’t keep you from receiving the blessing of eternal life. But if you haven’t accepted Jesus, no good work can save you from the curse of eternal damnation. There is no in between.
I like a good healthy debate. It’s funny how much we agree on, while still disagreeing. And how similar our heart’s desire in this is.
A –
Thank you! I appreciate your patience with me as we work through this topic. You write “It’s funny how much we agree on, while still disagreeing. And how similar our heart’s desire in this is.” I agree. I would add, are we disagreeing or are we “iron sharpening iron?” Some might say that we are working to refine our understanding.
The term “disagreeing” suggests that there is a right way and a wrong way. It causes me to picture two entrenched opponents lobbing words at each other in hopes of dislodging the other from their point of view. I am quite content if we simply expand our perspectives to include both views. Only from that place where we can see both views can we hope to achieve that elusive goal: understanding.
To that end, your latest response has opened my eyes to a better understanding of your perspective.
Going back to the passage that this post was based on:
“The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.”
I can see where a person could look at this and think this is about God’s perspective. Looked at that way, I understand why a person would conclude that God does not see a “middle ground.” However, even from this point of view, I have reservations.
Let’s go back to your original premise:
“I don’t believe there is a third house. Either you have God’s favor or you don’t. Either you serve Him or you don’t. Either you’re on the narrow path or you’re not. Either you’re in the book of life or not. Either you’re innocent or you’re not.”
What I hear in my head when I read this sounds something like this:
There is no hope.
If I am a sinner I can’t have God’s favor.
Since I am a sinner, I can’t really serve him.
I know I’m not on the narrow path so I guess I never will be there.
If all these things are true, how could I be in the Book of Life?
No, I’m not innocent, either.
Obviously, that is not the message you intended to convey. I understand that. Yet that is quite honestly what I hear.
In the text, Solomon is talking to his sons. He is laying out before them choices that they will have to make either consciously or by default. The text presumes that they have yet to make the choice.
To my ear that sounds like they are in the middle ground. They have not yet chosen.
The reason that I challenged your statement is not that I am right and you are wrong. It is simply that after a lifetime of dealing with people who try to paint me into a theological corner; I am a bit over-sensitive. If I am causing offense, I apologize.
What I would really like is for you to consider how your words sound to others. Maybe they are “technically” right. We could argue for months, but neither one of us will know for certain until we stand in the presence of our Lord. While God’s Word does hammer on the “either/or” stuff pretty hard, the Jews of the day were pretty hard-headed and I think God was trying to make a point.
To the Gentiles of our modern world, the issue is not whether we are “either/or.” The issue is, does God really love me? Is he willing to accept me even though I am a flawed human being?
The “either/or” arguments are ideal in the context of debating the Pharisees. They are a little scary in the context of presenting God as a loving God to a Gentile world.
If this doesn’t make any sense, that is okay. I deeply appreciate you taking so much time to make your point. I think you have done well. I now have a much better understanding of your perspective on this.
What’s especially funny, is that I don’t really highlight ‘either/or’ in my day to day life. It’s not something people hear much of. I’ve had more experience with wishy washy theology that results in heresy, so I will tend towards having something solid and defined. (I see another debate… I mean sharpening session in our future)
But that’s usually only apparent in my own mind, as my actions include more than a singular aspect of my views, such as grace, that makes a huge difference, as well as service, love, hugs. And it takes me so long to form my thoughts into sentences you’d never hear me debate like this in person! Sometimes, I’m on the blog most of the day and still haven’t figured out how to phrase anything. But I do better with that here than in any of my Bible studies.
Hmm. Interesting question. Good comments. I initially thought as A did, partly because I can’t think of a third description clearly defined in Scripture. John 3: 36. But I learned from all the comments. Rather than looking for a third category, I think it might be better to focus on getting people in the wrong category to change houses. They don’t have to keep living in the slums away from the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5: 17. 2Timothy 2: 20 – 21.
Rich,
I love your response here! Our world is falling apart around us because far too many of our neighbors have chose the path of rejecting God and making their house a ‘house of the wicked.’
I hope and pray that God’s Light and Truth shine brightly through all of us so that all of the moths in the houses of the wicked are drawn to the light.
Love all of the comments on here! I think Rich is right… the world needs God and Christ more than ever…
I’m reading “I don’t have enough faith to be a an atheist” and it should be mandatory reading for all college kids, instead their indoctrinated with there secular belief
Hi Phil. That is one of my favorite books. I am glad you joined in.