One of the troubling beliefs among many believers in Ghana is their emphasis on the dark world of evil, to the point of obsession. They tend to associate life’s challenges, diseases, and setbacks with generational curses—judgments inherited from the sins and wrongs committed by their ancestors.
“Generational curses, simply put, is the belief that individuals inherit judgment for the sins committed by their forebears. Central to this belief is the word “curse,” which makes it a weighty matter. It means that many sufferers consider themselves cursed—even cursed by God.”¹
The Bible records a fascinating event in Numbers chapters 22 to 24 that speaks directly to this subject. For context, Israel is en route to the Promised Land. At a certain point in their journey, they needed passage through another nation’s territory. Balak, the king of that land, was terrified by Israel’s history of conquest (Numbers 22:1-3). His response? He contracted Balaam son of Beor, to curse God’s people in exchange for a reward.
Balaam is something of an enigmatic figure. In the New Testament, Peter compares false teachers to Balaam, “who loved the wages of wickedness” (2 Peter 2:15). Jude echoes this, associating Balaam with the selling of one’s soul for financial gain (Jude 1:11). His character is further exposed when he “taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14). He was evidently a man who practiced divination for a fee (Numbers 22:7).
From the very outset, God told Balaam: “You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” (Numbers 22:12). Yet in his greed and covetousness, Balaam persisted — and rather than curse God’s people, he ended up pronouncing blessings over them instead (Numbers 23:8-12; 19-25; 24:6-10).
You Are Blessed in Christ
Before you read further, dear believer—regardless of your struggles in life or with sin—know that in Christ, your life is lovely. Do not be discouraged. Keep believing God.
There is a phrase in Numbers 23:21 that deserves our full attention, one that paints a picture of God’s blessings over his people: “It pleased the LORD to bless Israel.” What a wonderful statement. God’s enemy sought to curse God’s people, yet God’s promise of blessing remained immovable. The intended curses were negated by the faithfulness of God. Balaam looked upon a lovely people whom he was powerless to curse. This is something every Christian must internalize and believe: no one can bring a curse upon God’s people (Numbers 22:8; 23:19-20).
In Ghanaian Christianity, there is much talk of generational curses, spells, and juju. Faith has, in many places, given way to superstition. But if you are in Christ, no evil power—by whatever name it is called—has authority over you. You are in Christ and you are secure. Never allow anyone to explain your circumstances as evidence of a generational curse or as the work of evil spirits in your family. Shake off that bad theology. This narrative shows us plainly: God’s blessings on his people cannot be revoked.
Perhaps you have believed some of these lies about generational curses or family evil. Perhaps you are quietly entertaining the idea that your challenges in life are somehow linked to your family—a generational curse passed down. I call on you to renew your mind and remind yourself of your standing in Christ. In Christ, God has blessed you, and nothing can overturn it. Your greatest blessing in Christ is this: you have been saved from your sins, justified, and reconciled to God—”canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:14-15).
You Are Fruitful in Christ
How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. (Numbers 24:5-6)
Balaam paints a picture of God’s people using agricultural imagery—the language of fruitfulness. “Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river.” This text calls to mind Psalm 1, which describes the person planted by streams of water: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (v.3).
The believer has been called to go forth and bear fruit for the Lord (John 15). A life planted in Christ does not wither—it bears fruit. And notice this: the fruitfulness pictured here is tied to where the people have been planted. “Like aloes that the LORD has planted.” Your fruitfulness is linked to your connectedness to Christ.
You Are Set Apart for God
We know the story of Israel—delivered from captivity in Egypt, a picture of deliverance from the world of sin. Speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Balaam noted that they had been brought out of Egypt. That is the picture of a saved community. God delivered them from Egypt to fulfil his promise to them.
God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel. (Numbers 23:22-23)
God is for them. Dear believer, God is for you. The God who saved you in Jesus Christ is for you. No charge can be successfully laid against you: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33).
Despite their rebellion, murmuring, and disobedience in the wilderness, the Israelites remained God’s people; a people over whom he would not permit a curse. How much more, then, are we who have been washed by the blood of Christ secure in him? Despite our shortcomings, weaknesses, and sins, the Lord Jesus died for a church he is washing and cleansing to present to himself as a holy bride without spot (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Jesus Christ: The Victor Over All
In this narrative, Balaam glimpsed a final Conqueror over evil. He saw, prophetically, Jesus Christ:
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities! (Numbers 24:17-19)
This was a prophecy pointing forward to the Lord Jesus. He is the One who died to break the curse of sin and redeem us from its clutches through faith: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged upon a tree’—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).
“In his fourth oracle, Balaam predicts the advent of a royal conqueror who will triumph over Moab and Edom. An initial fulfilment of this prophecy is seen in David’s victories over these nations (2 Samuel 8:2-14), but David’s accomplishments were themselves a foreshadowing of the greater conquests of Christ (cf. Colossians 2:15).”2
Dear believer, if you are in Christ, believe this with your whole heart: you are blessed beyond curse in Christ. This is not a triumphalist boast—it is a humble, settled reality from which we are to walk the Christian life in faith, and not in fear.
References
¹ Charlie Rampfumedzi, “Break the Power of Sin, Not a Generational Curse,” TGC Africa Edition, https://africa.thegospelcoalition.org/article/br
2 R.C. Sproul, ed., Reformation Study Bible, Orlando, Florida: Reformation Trust, 2015
