Genesis 9:20-27, “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: [21] And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. [22] And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. [23] And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. [24] And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. [25] And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. [26] And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. [27] God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”
This is one of the most regrettable incidences in the Bible. Noah got drunk on his own supply, stripped himself naked, wakes up from his stupor to learn what happened, and then cursed his own grandson Canaan for what his father Ham did. Why will a man curse his innocent grandson for the sin of his father? The sad thing however is that the curse stuck.
Curses from people with relational authority is often overlooked and therefore goes untreated. It is so potent and dangerous that it has generational consequences.
Noah cursed his grandson Canaan because his father Ham saw his (Noah’s) nakedness and telling his own brothers. This is believed to be the foundation of the problems of a particular race of people on earth, stretching from Lebanon, Palestine and Israel to Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia down to Sudan (that is subsaharan Africa). Canaan was cursed to a position of inferiority and extreme servitude. It actually translates to slave of slaves. According to Wikipedia, the term servant of servants, or slave of slaves emphasises the extreme degree of servitude that Canaan will experience in relation to his brothers. This is believed to be the cause of the backwardness of these regions.
Examples Of People Who Have Relational Authority
Numbers 30:3-8 (please read)
Parents, a husband, and a spiritual leader are examples of people with relational authority. Your boss in the office has professional administrative authority but not spiritual authority.
Jephthah’s vow made his daughter to remain a virgin (unmarried) for life (Judges 11:30-40). Negative pronouncements (curses) of people with relational authority over you can have adverse effects if not dealt with.
I remember in 1988 in Lagos, a woman met me to complain about her son who had become rebellious, wayward and stubborn. He joined a gang of drug addicts and criminals. This woman was heartbroken and she rained curses on this child. She told me, “I used to tell him when the whole thing started that he will suffer, that he is useless, worthless and that nothing good will come out of his life.” I was so horrified, I had to stop her immediately. I asked her if that was the type of child she wanted? She said no. I asked to tell me the type of child she wanted, she told me so we wrote it down. I told her to call the name of her son three times a day and speak those words over him even in his absence. In less that three months, the boy returned home in tears and asked the mother to forgive him. She brought him to church and the Lord delivered him. He went on to become one of the finest brothers in the church.
Some people have been cursed by their parents, husbands, or spiritual leaders. These curses have generational consequences. I don’t know what people with relational authority in your life have spoken over you; it will be reversed in this meeting, in the Name of Jesus.
May be you have cursed your own children in anger without realizing it. Each time you say to a child, God will punish you for what you are doing to me, or it will not be well with you, or your children will do to you what you are doing to me now, you are putting the future of that child in serious danger.
Words parents speak to curse their children: ‘you’re a fool, you’re like your father or mother…foolish and worthless, you’re worse than your mother, coconut head, empty head, you don’t know anything, you can never be like your mates, at this rate, you can never make it or you’ll never amount anything, you can never be a good person, etc.’
The Curse Of The King
2Samuel 3:28-29, “And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner: [29] Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread.”
David pronounced the following curses on Joab and his descendants: He said may his family in every generation be cursed with a man
who has open sores or leprosy or -infection
who walks on crutches or – being crippled
or deformed
who dies by the sword or-violent death
who begs for food-poverty.
Difficult to detect
Notice the peculiar nature of this curse. It will single out a man in every generation who will suffer from these things. Because it is not widespread in the family or because it may present not in the same form (it could be any of the four), it may not be easy to detect. The trend here is not easy to detect. It takes discernment with the help of the Holy Spirit.
What are the consequences of these curses? We shall look at that next week.
Bishop Dr Charles Olowojoba is the General Overseer of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l.
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