The church that is being cursed

“Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:62)

            One day, I read the article on a Christian website with the title of ‘A Korean Kadafi,  a Pastor Step Down.’  I wondered how this article came up by comparing the pastor with Libya's dictator Kadafi so I read it all the way.  The article was about an emergency committee for reform of an organization that claimed, ’A pastor who makes the Korean church sick by having illegal elections must repent immediately and withdraw from a group presidency.’  When I read the article, I became speechless.  However, in addition to this article, we often see others articles that talk about many sinful things that are happening in the churches.  But I am not surprised anymore maybe because I see too many such articles or my mind got insensitive.  Then, during the early morning prayer meeting, I proclaimed the Word centered on Deuteronomy 28:47-48 and meditated on God's Word under the heading of “The church that is being cursed” centered on Deuteronomy 28:62.

                Why is it “The church that is being cursed”?  Isn't the church being blessed now?  Aren’t we Christians now asking God for blessings, blessings, and blessings?  How can we dare to say that the church is being cursed?  It's just my personal thought.  There are too many churches now.  There are too many church members now.  The church is now too big.  I remember the God's words to Gideon in the book of Judges: “The people who are with you are too many  …” (Jdg. 7:2).  Why do you think God said that 32,000 Israelite soldiers are too many to Gideon (v. 3), who had to go war against the Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the sons of the east who were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts, and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore (v. 12)?  Why did God let Gideon's 300 men to defeat the multitude of enemies?  It was because “Israel would become boastful, saying, 'My own power has delivered me” (v. 2).  God defeated many of his enemies with the Gideon’s 300 soldiers, fearing that the Israelites would become boastful, saying “My own power has delivered me” (v. 2).  But now the church shouts the Gideon's 300 soldiers through the lips, but in our minds, we want numerous church members like the Israelites’ enemies (v. 12).  So even we the pastors have no conscience to inflate our church members.  Even we are proud of number of our church congregation.  And we use our church congregation number to get an important title and abuse our power.  As a result, the flocks of God's beloved were wounded and scattered to become the food for every beast of the filed (Ezek. 34:4-5).  Nevertheless, we the shepherds continue to feed our stomachs because we are feeding ourselves (v. 2).  We are too abundant in all things (Deut. 28:47).  Clearly, God told the Israelites, “When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me'” (v. 14), he should not multiply horses for himself (v. 16), he should not multiply wives for himself (v. 17), and he should not greatly increases silver and gold for himself (v. 17).  But King Solomon violated these commands of God.  He had many horses, many wives, and too many silver and gold.  As a result, he was led astray (v. 17) and sinned against God by serving the gods of his Gentile wives even though God clearly told him to serve the Lord their God joyfully and gladly in time of prosperity (28:47).

                Now our church is abundantly blessed by God.  Nevertheless, we are not serving the Lord joyfully and gladly.  And now we aren’t humbly enjoying God's blessings.  Rather, we are abusing God's blessings.  We are not glorifying God with the blessings that we have received from God.  We continue to disobey God's Word now.  As a result, God who rejoices in blessing us has turned the blessings He has given us into curse.  Now we are cursed when we come in and cursed when we go out (v. 19).  Now God will make us to be in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty (v. 48).  No matter how many we may be “as numerous as the stars in the sky” we will be left but few in number because we didn’t obey the word of God (v. 62).  “Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you” (v. 63).  Now the Lord is scattering us now (v. 64).  Now we are worshiping other gods (v. 64).  Now we find no repose, no resting place for the sole of our foot, we have anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart (v. 65).  We live in constant suspense and are not sure of our life (v. 66).  Now the church is under the God’s curse.  What should we do?

Now we, the church, must be more hungry, thirsty, naked, and in dire poverty (v. 48).  We should be few in number (v. 62).  We should ask God to give us a mind that understands, eyes that see and ears that hear (29:4).  And we must listen to God's voice to us.  And we must see the God’s work of His wrath upon us.  And we must realize God's will and Heavenly Father's heart.  We must repent and return to God and keep God's covenant word (v. 9).  Never should we, the church, think, “"I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way” because “This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry” (v. 19).