In Deuteronomy 28, Moses lists two things: first, the blessings that will come upon God’s people if they obey Him; secondly, the curses that will come upon them if they disobey Him. The first fourteen verses contain the blessings. The remaining verses of the chapter, verses 15 through 68, list the curses for the disobedience of not walking in God’s way and not keeping God’s law.

Now there are many remarkable curses listed, but I want to point out just one. In Deuteronomy 28:41, Moses says: Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

The language that Moses uses is in the masculine. In other words, it is addressed primarily to fathers. Also, the word “beget” primarily refers to the father’s part in procreating children. So, this is addressed primarily, but not exclusively, to fathers. It says, “Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them.” It came to me with a shock one day that not enjoying our children is a curse. I began to ask myself, “How many parents really enjoy their children today?”

I pointed out earlier that one of the father’s responsibilities to his family was that of a priest. In Malachi 2:7, the Lord states what is required of a priest: For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. It is the responsibility of the priest to know the law of the Lord and to interpret it to the Lord’s people. So, the priest is the messenger, or perhaps a better word would be “representative,” of the Lord to His people. This applies, as we have already seen, to the father as priest. His lips should keep knowledge. His children and his family should seek the Lord God at his mouth. He should be God’s representative to them.

What happens if priests fail in this function? If we turn to Hosea 4:6, God declares what He will do to a family, to a nation or to a civilization when its priests fail: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [not scientific knowledge, but the knowledge of the way and the word of the Lord]: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

That is a very powerful word to fathers. God says, in effect, “I expected you to be the priest of your family. But because you have rejected the knowledge that your family needs, I am going to reject you. I will no longer accept you as priest. And when your priestly ministry on behalf of your children is no longer accepted by Me,” God says, “then I will also forget your children.” That is frightening! To think that God would say to us, as parents, “You’ve so failed in your responsibility that I’m going to forget your children. I am just going to be towards them as if they were not there. I am going to write them off.