Do ancestral curses still exist?

I had an uncle who wanted to build a home on a particular ancestral land. He passed away two months later due to hepatitis infection during his cancer treatment. My sister also decided to take a loan last year to build a house on the same land. She met with a very bad car accident due to which her car was completely damaged, but God protected her miraculously without a scar on her body. This year, my dad was planning to build a home, but he passed away due to COVID. 

A few pastors had prophesied that we three siblings would become missionaries. My father’s family come from a different denomination and aren’t born again. 

My question is: Do curses still transfer through land or is it something else and will it affect us in the future?

Superstitions and assumptions of curses have been part of societal living since time immemorial, both in the West and the East. Thus, the question posed here is relevant to all. 

Some attach curses to land or places, certain times in a day, and even to certain people. This is observed among educated people as well. For this reason, certain people are approached to set auspicious times for weddings, school openings, etc. Even the time to begin the functioning of a newly elected government is, sometimes, set by pandits, based on certain superstitions.

Tragedies and jinxes

Does the Bible give any direction on these matters? Does it warn a Christian against giving importance to matters like these in the decisions he makes? Can places be cursed, thus affecting the possessors? 

In the question above, the questioner seems to have gone through a harrowing time, facing a series of related mishaps. The person has witnessed two deaths in the family and a near-death experience for another family member. It seems the pastors mentioned are also adding fuel to the fire, further complicating the whole scenario. However, these things are not strange human experiences. On the contrary, they are rather common. 

Accidents and accidental deaths happen every day. Especially these days, COVID and hepatitis infections are the cause of many deaths across the globe. For some, issues are few and far in between; for others, problems come in many numbers. However, there is no need to connect these with any curse on family lands. These are common human experiences.

The true curse

In truth, it is not the land that is a curse to man, but the other way around. Man has become a curse to the earth. The whole earth is cursed because of the original sin.

In truth, it is not the land that is a curse to man, but the other way around. Man has become a curse to the earth

After Adam sinned, God said, “[…] cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17). To Cain, God said, “When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength” (Genesis 4:12). At the birth of Enoch, his father Lamech, referring to the curse on the earth, said, “The ground that the LORD has cursed” (Genesis 5:29). When the inhabitants of a land became evil, they too brought a curse upon the land, and it became inhabitable  (Deuteronomy 11:16,17; 1 Kings 8:35; Isaiah 14:23; 34:11-15). 

These verses clearly show that it is not the land that brings curse upon the humans. Rather, humans have brought a curse upon the earth by their sinful ways. 

Guarded by God

The Scriptures also make it clear that Satan and his evil forces are roaming around in the world and are active everywhere. But at the same time, it is evident that they are more active and concentrated in certain places than elsewhere (Matthew 12:43; Revelation 18:2). 

These things need not worry a believer. He is a child of God being cared for by heaven (1 Peter 1:5). He is more than a conqueror over every Satanic snare in the world (Romans 8:35-37). 

The believer is a child of God being cared for by heaven. He is more than a conqueror over every Satanic snare in the world

This clearly shows that a believer need not fear any curse or assumed curses that people attach to places, things or other people. God did not allow Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 23:20). No enchantment or divination shall affect God’s people (Numbers 23:23). This security is for all times. 

A child of God must also avoid corrupt communications or thoughts that support any views that are contrary to the truths from the Scriptures. 

A spirit of courage

The pastors’ prophecies about the three siblings becoming missionaries also need to be taken with a pinch of salt. It is good if all of them become missionaries, of course. But it is not the prophecy that will bring this about. It is God’s call and His appointment for His ministry which are necessary. 

In conclusion, be reassured in the fact that God doesn’t want His children to live in doubt and fear. He has given us a spirit of courage and boldness. Thus, it is a bounden duty for all children of God to live boldly for God’s glory in this sin-stricken and cursed world.