Curses Caused by the Spirit of Idolatry
Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known.
—Deuteronomy 13:13,
KJV
This
verse is the first mention of Belial in the Word of God. The Lord identifies
men who attempt to lead His people away from Him to
serve other gods as “children of Belial” in the King James Version. This
passage of Scripture goes on to describe their actions:
If you
hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you to dwell
in, saying, “Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the
inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’”—which you
have not known—then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if
it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you,
you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the
sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock, with the
edge of the sword. And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the
street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the
Lord your God; and it shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. So
none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn
from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and
multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers.
—Deuteronomy
13:12–17
“Children of Belial” indicates individuals who were under the control of Belial. They were being used by Belial to draw the people of God away from Him to serve other gods. It is interesting to note that the word idol is the Hebrew word which means “good for nothing, vain or vanity, of no value, thing of nought.”
This can be summed up in one.
Belial, which means tries to lead men astray to follow something that is worthless. Idols are worthless; they have no value, and they cannot satisfy.
The first principle we see in connection with Belial is that he attempts to draw people away from worshiping the true God. Under Belial are spirits that will seduce people and draw them away from the Lord. As a result, the demon spirits operating under the rulership of Belial inflict the people who have been drawn away from the protection of God with bondages and curses that often lead to destruction.
The apostle Paul
prophesied, “In the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed
to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1, To seduce means
“to lead away, to persuade to disobedience or disloyalty, to lead astray by
persuasion or false promises, to attract, to lure.”
The Living Bible
translation of this verse says, “Some in the church will turn away from
Christ.” This is known as
Webster defines apostasy as
“abandonment of a previous loyalty, defection.” I believe this is the reason
why so many churches and some denominations have abandoned the faith. Some have
even ordained homosexuals as ministers. What an abomination! This is no doubt
the work of Belial and seducing spirits to cause many PRAYERS.
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Characteristics
of the spirit
of
Belial
·
Father, Your Word tells
me, “Some worthless people have talked everyone there into worshiping other
gods, even though these gods had never done anything for them.” You instruct me
to “carefully find out if the rumor is true” and call such action “a disgusting
thing” (Deut. 13:13–14, Make me a watchman on the wall to guard against this
worthless spirit leading those I know and love astray.
·
Father, the spirit of
Belial causes people “to be so selfish that you refuse to help the poor” (Deut.
15:9, when the poor are their own relatives! You warn me not to be like that
and say that if that person I refuse to help tells You of the wrong I do, you
“will say that [I am] guilty.” Protect me from the spirit of Belial, who makes
people so selfish.
·
God, the spirit of
Belial is so perverted that it watches for strangers to visit Your people and
then demands that the stranger be given to perverse men and women to satisfy
their homosexual lust (Judg. 19:22). Keep me ever watchful, Lord, for those who
would be stolen away by the homosexual lusts of Belial. Make me a strong wall
of protection and my home a locked fortress against this spirit.
·
Your Word tells the
horrible story of a traveling Levite who, with his wife, spent a night in the
home of a fellow Jew who lived in a city filled with men who were no longer
living for God but were filled with the spirit of Belial. These men surrounded
the man’s home and demanded that the Levite be given to them for homosexual
relations. Rather than protecting his wife, this Levite threw his own wife out
the door, and she was repeatedly raped by these evil men and died. (See Judges
19.) Lord, teach me to heed the warning of this story and never become so
apathetic toward You that I would willingly give up my own family members to
evil. Keep me safe in the protection of Your will so that I never stray from
You and fall victim or allow my loved ones to fall victim to the spirit of
Belial.
·
Lord, when Hannah was
interceding in the temple for a son, she was thought to be a daughter of Belial
who was drunk (1 Sam. 1:12–16). Help me to recognize that the spirit of Belial
would attempt to bring me under the bondage of some addictive sin that traps
me. Help me to recognize these addictive bondages and to avoid anything that
could draw me subtly into bondage.
·
Father, you called the
sons of Eli—priests in Your temple—sons of Belial who were living in sin even
as they pretended to be men of God (1 Sam. 2:12, Protect the men and women who
have accepted Your calling to ministry, and shield them from the hidden sins
that will lead them away from You. Break the power of sin from their lives and
keep them true and honorable shepherds who lead Your people into righteousness.
·
Father, like Eli’s sons,
so many church leaders and men of God today have fallen prey to the spirit of
Belial and have ended up broken, bound by sin, and unworthy to serve as Your
shepherds. Help me to pray and intercede for Your shepherds. Break the power of
Belial to lead Your servants astray. Keep them pure and holy and blameless
before God and before the people they are leading.
·
Father, as soon as
Samuel had anointed Saul to be king, the spirit of Belial immediately attacked
him by casting doubts to the people about his ability to lead them and by their
refusing to honor him with their gifts (1 Sam. 10:27).
·
The spirit of Belial was
already at work, filling Saul with self-doubt and insecurities about his abilities.
Even though he held his peace, this spirit began its insidious attack against
him, ultimately leading him to reject You and fail miserably at the job You had
called him to. Make me strong against Belial when it tempts me to doubt what
You have called me to do or tempts me to feel inadequate or inept. Make me
powerful through Your Spirit, and defeat the spirit of Belial from my life.
·
Lord, in times of
illness and physical distress, keep my eyes focused on You and my heart strong
in my faith that You can heal me. The spirit of Belial would try to tell me,
“You have some fatal disease! You’ll never get well” (Ps. 41:8, Help me to
reject the voice of Belial that would whisper defeat, destruction, and death in
my ear. Raise me up to strength and physical wholeness by Your power and block
the taunting’s of Belial from my ears.
·
Lord, “I refuse to be
corrupt or to take part in anything crooked.” I will not allow the spirit of
Belial to take control of my life, and “I won’t be dishonest or deceitful” (Ps.
101:3–4, I will live my life in purity and honor. I will listen only to Your
Spirit and will resist the spirit of Belial from entering my life.
·
Lord, worthless liars
who have been bound by Belial go around deceiving others (Prov. 6:12). I will
not be one of these worthless liars. I will speak only Your truth, and I will
only seek to lead others into the path of righteousness.
·
Lord, the spirit of
Belial destroys the godly value You have given us and causes us to become
worthless. Your Word says, “Worthless people plan trouble. Even their words
burn like a flaming fire” (Prov. 16:27, May I never become worthless to You.
May I never play with the fire of Belial and become burned by evil. I will not
allow the spirit of Belial to destroy my value to You and to others.
Father, Your Word says,
“A lying witness makes fun of the court system, and criminals think crime is
really delicious” (Prov. 19:28, Help me to recognize the lying witnesses in
America today who mock the godly principles this nation was founded on and
attempt to convince others that ungodliness is right. Unmask the spirit of
Belial in the voices of those who lobby for ungodly practices and rules, who
attempt to water down the righteous principles of this nation and lead us into
sinful acts and behaviors. Right the wrongs that have crept into our justice
system, into our schools and government, and that are attempting to lead this
nation into sinful practices.
