Alma 45:16 -- On Cursing, Blessing, and Justice

"And he said: Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance."
Alma 45:16


This is an interesting curse... I think it is the phrase "when they are fully ripe" that indicates both a "cursing" and "blessing" here, because it delays justice, which allows harm, but also provides for mercy.  This enables all of us to escape the untempered justice we would otherwise face for our sins, making room for the atonement of Christ and for repentance.  Perfect justice will still happen, but all of us have a little bit of breathing room to give us a chance to change and repent before it happens, and for those sins that we commit and are able to clear from our souls, Christ bears the burden.

So, cursed and blessed, the land allows both evil and good, but like the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees (Jacob 5:3-77), when the evil is fully ripened, it will be destroyed/cast into the fire (Jacob 5:37, 58).  God cannot allow sin, but like the woman taken in adultery, he gives us room to change (John 8:11) before justice makes its claim.

Today, whether we feel blessed or cursed by delayed justice, let's remember that it is also the price of mercy, and also that justice is still surely coming.  Let's work to avoid destruction through repentance, and help others to do the same, before that inevitable time.