When Culture Can Kill You

In the image above, an Asian woman can be seen working outside in a forested area while using a short-handled garden tool (bolo) and she is also wearing sandals with bare toes and feet exposed. This type of behavior and manner of dress (while working outside) has been common practice for thousands of years by people living within Asian nations. However, we will see that sometimes cultural behavior can be detrimental to human health and people have even died because of it.

In this post, I would like to use the above example of “Asian Working Posture” and “Asian Dress Style” to show how it can be dangerous to human life under certain situations. This serves as an “illustration” that people should consider their behavior and consider their actions within the context of their specific situation. People should not just blindly follow the traditions of their ancestors (even if such things were being followed continually for thousands of years before them).

Introduction to the Venomous Species of Snake of the Family of Mamushi

Above is an image of a [Short-Tailed Mamushi] viper which I took on my smartphone when I was out hiking in the mountains east of Wonju, South Korea. This snake was only about the diameter of my small finger so it was probably born recently. This snake was discovered during the last week of April 2024, when it was 10C outside. Possibly this small snake was trying to get off of the cold ground so it climbed onto the base of this tree (where I happened to see it).

The image above of an adult snake (of about a foot-long) was taken by Mike Friel. This [Short-Tailed Mamushi-Gloydius blomhoffii brevicaudus] was found sunning itself on a concrete road in Korea. This sub-species of Mamushi viper is found in Northeastern China and Korea.

The image above is of excellent quality because the snake is so clearly visible without any leaves or vegetation or debris to hide it. These snakes are almost “invisible” when they lie still among the forest vegetation or within fields or among grass or leaves. Note the yellowish tail, (which is probably wiggled by the snake like a worm) to attract prey such as birds. The same circular patterns on the snake’s body and the yellowish-color tail can also be seen on the baby snake which I photographed using my smartphone.

There are four distinct sub-species of Mamushi pit vipers which can be found in China, Korea and Japan. The Mamushi species in Japan is the most common snake in their country and is one of the most dangerous to humans. In Japan alone, there are from 2,000 to 3,000 cases per year of people being bitten by the Mamushi snake species.

See the stored article [Snake Facts: Mamushi-Gloydius blomhoffii] for more details.

Government Medical Website for Treating Mamushi Snake Bites

There is a government medical website which posts information for the treatment of Mamushi snake bites in Japan. Warning: The link to these images can be disturbing to some as the aftermath of the effect of the venom upon human flesh is “ghastly” to behold and not for the faint hearted. For those interested, see the stored link [Snake Bite Treatment: National Library of Medicine] for more details.

The venom of all of the species of Mamushi snakes is comprised of haemolytic toxins and also contains neurotoxins and anticoagulants. This species of snake is considered the most venomous and dangerous of all Japan. This venom causes the victim’s tissues to liquify as it dissolves the flesh and blood vessels and destroys nerves. Again, see the link [Snake Facts: Mamushi-Gloydius blomhoffii] for more details.

Doctors treating Mamushi snake bites have had to preform “relaxation incisions” on the affected parts because fingers and hands and feet bitten by these vipers can swell to the point of bursting. By making incisions in the right places, doctors can relieve the swelling and it is a great help to also wash out some of the destructive venom from the affected body part. Again see the link [Snake Bite Treatment: National Library of Medicine] for more details.

Almost All Bites (Out of Nearly 3,000-Snake Bites Annually) Were Found on Fingers and Toes.

The amazing thing that most people have not noticed was that doctors treating Mamushi snake bites reported that the wounds were mostly found on fingers and toes of the victims. This means that those bitten were not wearing foot protection and were not using long-handled agricultural tools.

Again, this brings us back to the fact that there are nearly 3,000-snake bite victims per year in Japan and these people were nearly all bitten on toes and fingers. This is primarily because of Asian culture where they squat down while working in fields and they use short-handled agricultural tools. They work with their hands close to the ground and when they disturb a viper, then they often are struck on their fingers (which are holding the garden tools). If not struck on the hand, the vipers often strike the exposed bare toes of the Asian worker who is wearing sandals (with exposed toes) while working in the fields.

Large numbers of these vipers dwell around farms and within fields because of the large rodent population (food source) found around farms. Farmers who squat down wearing sandals to clean fields (using “short-handled” tools) are in great danger of being bitten on their fingers or toes (which is the most common human body parts bitten by vipers in Japan).

Above is an image of a Japanese hoe which is a hand-held tool used by Asians to clean fields. While this tool-product has good quality steel and quality wooden handle, nevertheless this type of short-handled tool is not best suited for working outdoors in regions known to harbor venomous snakes (like the Japanese Mamushi pit viper).

Above is an image of a Korean-made hoe with a wide 23cm blade that is made of hardened “saw-blade” type of metal and has a 120cm-long handle that is 3.5cm in diameter. This long-handled tool allows farmers to stand up while clearing weeds from their land. The heavy handle also allows the farmer to apply a lot of force needed to chop down the weeds. Best of all is that if there was any venomous snakes hidden within the weeds and leaves and debris then these reptiles cannot bite the farmer easily. Again, it should be noted that most of the nearly 3,000 snake bites that occur annually in Japan are found on the fingers or toes. Therefore just wearing some good boots would protect the feet and having a long-handled agricultural tool would better protect hands and fingers by keeping them out of the reach of the snakes.

I personally lived in the Philippines for over 14-years as a missionary and my neighbor Filipino farmer told me that if I saw any venomous snake that I should not try to chop it with a bolo (Philippine machete) because these snakes are so fast that they can strike your hand (that is holding the bolo) as you try to chop them. Instead, he suggested that I should use a large rock and smash the snakes because that would be safer for myself. Many venomous snakes can strike with blinding speed and they also have been known to strike targets that are within 2/3-thirds of their total own body length. People should not get too close because these snakes can strike farther than expected and also faster than expected.

Again, most Asian farmers typically squat down (with bare feet exposed in sandals) and use short-handled agricultural tools that causes their hands to be near to the ground and within striking distance of venomous snakes. Simply wearing some boots and using long-handles on their agricultural tools could save many Asian people from snakebites.

If most of the nearly 3,000-snake bites in Japan annually are found on fingers or toes, then this makes a statement that these people are following traditions of their forefathers (which have been practiced for thousands of years before them). But if these same traditions (of wearing sandals and squatting using handheld tools) expose them to the danger of snake bites, then it is time for these people to reconsider their ways. Should they follow a practice that causes snakebites (just because it is their culture)? Should they repeat the same mistakes of their forefathers who were often bitten by vipers and received severe bodily damage or death as a result? Just because their forefathers squatted down and wore sandals and used short-handled tools, does that mean their descendants should continue to follow the same methods? If people defend their actions by saying, “That is our culture!” then this is not a good reason to follow a tradition that has often proven detrimental when working in regions that are infested by venomous snakes.

Important Principle about Culture

The main purpose of writing this post is not just to talk about snake bites and to encourage people to wear shoes and use long-handled tools when clearing a farm. This same principle has a “wide-range” of application. Whenever someone goes against the clear commands of the bible and then says, “This is our culture!” then that is a poor justification for their actions. In fact, the principles of the bible can “purify” any culture on earth by removing those bad things that are “not biblical” and retaining those good things that are biblical. We should have enough common-sense to adjust our behavior or change our method of doing things to find the way that is the most efficient and the safest for us to accomplish our work.

The biblical principle of the “sanctity of human life” teaches us that we should not want to hurt humans in any way (even by accident). This is the foundation of all safety regulations within Judeo/Christian culture nations which are designed to keep people safe. Just teaching people to wear boots and to use long-handled agricultural tools could save thousands of them from snake bites. Even if they do not die from the bite, it can still destroy and maim body parts and greatly decrease their quality of life. They should practice safety in their workplace and even on the farm because God views human life as “sacred” and they should not bring bodily harm upon themselves by employing unsafe practices (such as using no protective footwear and by not using long-handled agricultural tools in snake infested regions).

Sanctity of Human Life: A Biblical Principle

Deuteronomy 22:8 (NASB95)
8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it.

In the middle-eastern countries during biblical times, the people typically made “flat-roofed” houses and these were utilized for a wide variety of purposes. They could store or dry stalks of grain on the roof or they could sleep outdoors on clear nights (on the roof) to catch cool breezes at night. God commanded that they should make a parapet on their roof (which is like a fence or guardrail around the perimeter of the flat roof). This was created so that no one would accidently step-off the edge of the roof and injure or kill themselves in the fall. If people had their minds focused on some activity (and they were not paying attention), they could easily take a fatal step backwards and happen to slip over the edge of the roof and fall to their deaths. It is for this reason that God commanded home owners to make a parapet around the edge of the flat-roof to keep people from accidently falling from the roof. Human life is sacred in the sight of God and God did not want people to be harmed or killed (even by accident). This is the reason behind the vast number of safety-rules and regulations created within nations practicing Judeo/Christian culture. These safety regulations can save lives and have a wide application to human safety at home and in the workplace and for construction methods and sanitation regulations prescribed within Judeo/Christian nations.

Not Killing Anyone Even By Accident

Exodus 21:28–29 (NASB95)
28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.
29 “If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.

Livestock (like bulls or oxen) could become dangerous and kill a person by goring them with their horns. If a bull or oxen killed a person then it was considered an accident and the owner of that animal was not punished for the victim’s death. However, if the bull or oxen was known to have the habit of goring people and yet this dangerous animal was not confined (and it killed another person) then the owner was held liable. In fact, the owner of that bull or oxen was in risk of the death penalty for murder because his negligence resulted in human death.

This again brings us back to the story of people using safety equipment like boots and long-handled agricultural tools when working snake-infested fields. They cannot keep the wild snakes penned up (like a dangerous bull) because these snakes go everywhere and there is no way of keeping them out of the fields and from around the farms where rodents are an abundant food source for them. But since wild snakes cannot be penned up for safety, then the next best option is that farmers in that snake-invested area practice “personal protection” by wearing boots and utilizing long-handled agricultural tools. Again, most of the viper bites treated by doctors were on the toes and fingers of the victims meaning these people were all squatting down with bare toes exposed and placing their bare hands with striking distance of the snakes that reside hidden within the foliage. It should be emphasized that following Judeo/Christian culture is to read and study the word of God to discover principles to live by. These biblical principles are what governs the safety regulations of all advanced nations that follow Judeo/Christian culture.

Bible Based Safety Principles

However, this principle of safety has a wide-range of applications. Nations which have a Judeo/Christian foundation have created multiplied thousands of safety regulations which are all based upon this same biblical principle of sanctity of human life. The United States for example was originally founded upon biblical principles as the founding fathers came to this new world for the purpose of establishing a new nation based upon the principles of God’s word. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has created a multitude of health regulations concerning the sanitary production of food products. Large packing plants which process thousands of head of livestock each day are required to follow large numbers of sanitary regulations. These regulations are all based upon the principles of sanitation found in the book of Leviticus which has defined for humans what is clean and unclean. These sanitation regulations were given by God to the nation of Israel thousands of years before the invention of the microscope and before people had any idea about the existence of invisible pathogens and harmful bacteria that can cause sickness and death in humans. All of these health regulations are based upon the principles found in the bible that govern health and sanitation. These regulations are created to keep people from becoming sick or even dying from food poisoning caused by unsanitary food processing conditions at food processing plants.

Again this is all part of the general biblical principle of the sanctity of human life. God has declared that humans are created on the same category of “being” as God and are eternal beings which exist on a higher level than that of any creature found within the animal kingdom. It is because of this principle of the “sanctity of human life” that God requires safety regulations so that people are not made sick or maimed or killed because of unsafe practices.

Third-World Nations Identified by Not Following Principles of Sanctity of Human Life

The greatest factor which identifies a country as being “third-world” is their lack of safety regulations. It seems that such nations typically have no regard for human life whatsoever and do not practice any type of safety regulations which can save human lives. This is because such countries do not follow Judeo/Christian culture which is based upon the principles of the bible.

In third world nations it is common for people to get sick or even die from food poisoning because of the lack of sanitation regulations. It is common for people to die because roads and bridges and other infrastructure were not built according to safety standards established for construction projects. It is also common for people to die in accidents caused by having no vehicle safety inspection. I have seen hundreds of people die in a third-world nation when a bus went over a cliff because the worn tie-rods failed on the bus. Such accidents and deaths are commonplace in third-world nations which have little regard for human life. In fact, the principle of sanctify of human life and the corresponding development of safety regulations to protect human life is founded upon biblical principles.

Wife Burning Culture

There formerly existed a “Wife Burning Culture” in India where they would burn (alive) a man’s surviving widow as soon as he had died. This is demonic culture and it is evil and wicked and murderous! This pagan culture came into conflict with the Christian culture of Britain during the time of Charlies Napier who was then appointed as the British governor of a trading colony located near Calcutta India. When Charlies Napier found out about what the Indians were doing (as they prepared a funeral pyre to burn a widow alive) he ordered the troops under his command to erect gallows around the funeral pyre that these pagans were making. The next day before these natives were able to burn the widow, Charles Napier informed them that under their (Christian culture in Britain) to burn a widow alive is murder. Charlies Napier then informed the mob that he would hang every one of them for murder if anyone laid a hand on this helpless widow. Thus he put their “widow-burning culture” to a stop under threat of military force.

See the video link “Wife Burning-Stop Bad Culture” for more details.

Bad Culture Should be Abolished

The fact of the matter is that there is a great deal of “Bad Culture” and “Evil Traditions” that have been invented by demonic people in countries all over the world. It is complete nonsense for liberals to try and preserve all culture as if these practices were somehow “sacred” just because these traditions might have been followed for thousands of years. If a liberals were present in the time of Charlies Napier in India they most certainly would have protested that Charles Napier did not respect the culture of the people. However, in those days Great Britain became a world power because they based their own culture upon biblical principles of what is right and what is wrong.

Deuteronomy 28:13–14 (NASB95)
13 “The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,
14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

At the time when Britain was living in accordance with biblical mandates, this was the time that God empowered Britain and caused them to be above other pagan nations. The example of Charles Napier in India shows how he put a stop to the evil culture of “wife burning” and condemned it as murder. Herein we see that Christianity has a “cleansing effect” upon all cultures in that it has the potential (when enforced) to remove that which is evil out of pagan cultures (as seen in the cruel example of “wife burning” in India).

For a liberal to just proclaim that all culture should be respected and preserved (in wholesale manner) is a farce! This type of “liberal-equality” for preserving pagan cultures would result in the preservation of all evil cultural practices (such as wife burning). Instead God gives dominion to those who are godly so that they can bring godly influence to the world. The biblical values of Great Britain helped tremendously in upgrading and civilizing the continent of India which was overrun by pagan cultural practices (many of which survive until today). But if the worst and most destructive cultural practices can be stopped then this can still go a long way toward helping the citizens of India experience an improved quality of life.

Biblical culture (culture based upon the principles of God’s word – the bible) has historically helped nations all over the world to modernize and develop a quality legal system which is based upon God’s word.

This is why it is important for all believers (especially for civil leaders) to study God’s word exhaustively to learn what is right and what is wrong according to God’s point of view.

Child Burning Culture Banned by God

Demonic culture was practiced in the land which Israel took over under the conquest of Joshua. This bad culture had negative effects upon the Israelites who later fell away from God’s commands and started to engage in pagan culture like the heathens God had destroyed before them. This activity of pagan culture of “child burning” was inspired by demons.

See the link “Origin and Operation of Demons” for more details.

Jeremiah 19:5 (NASB95)
5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind;

The scripture above speaks about how Israelites (gone reprobate) began to burn their own children in the fire as a offering to pagan gods. According to demonic culture the demon-idol worshipper has to give sacrifice after sacrifice to the false gods to win their favor. So the greatest burnt offering they could give was the thing that hurt the most to part with. So they demanded they burn their children in the fire as an offering to these false gods.

But God rebuked this practice and said he never commanded that the people ever burn their children and never had such an abdominal thing ever entered the mind of God to command something so evil. Only demonic culture would so something so horrid!

But all over the world (even until today) there are places where people have engaged in human sacrifice in order to appease the demon idols they worship. Again this is bad culture that must be abolished entirely.

The reason we resist such bad culture is that a Christian nation knows that God hates human sacrifice and God hates burning children in the fire as a burnt offering in false pagan worship. God also hates wife burning of widows whose husbands died in India as a part of their pagan culture.

This is why when governor Charles Naiper arrived in India, he immediately put a stop to the evil cultural practices of wife burning.

Knowing What is Right and What is Wrong

The way that people can learn what is right and what is wrong is to study God’s laws given in the bible. God makes it clear that which is wrong and that which is right in God’s sight. If people will study and learn about God’s directives they can change their behavior and change their culture to come into line with what God’s commands of people.

The entire legal system sent up by the founding fathers of the United States was based upon the bible. These men actually came to the continent (of what is now the United States) for the purpose of pursuing religious freedom. They wrote their constitution and laws and entire legal system based upon the laws of God found in the bible. This caused them to be exalted as a nation just as Great Britain was before them. But when such nations fall away from God and break God’s laws then they will also be diminished. This has happened throughout all history of Israel as they followed God’s laws and were prospered and blessed but when they fell away and broke God’s laws they were cursed and diminished.

Blessings of Obedience

Deuteronomy 28:1–14 (NASB95)
1 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
2 “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.
8 “The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
9 “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
10 “So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you.
11 “The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
12 “The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13 “The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,
14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

All of the above blessings would come upon the nation of the people would obey and live by the commands of God.

Curses for Disobedience

Deuteronomy 28:15–68 (NASB95)
15 “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.
21 “The LORD will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it.
22 “The LORD will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish.
23 “The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.
24 “The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 “The LORD shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 “Your carcasses will be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
27 “The LORD will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.
28 “The LORD will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart;
29 and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you.
30 “You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit.
31 “Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you.
32 “Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them continually; but there will be nothing you can do.
33 “A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually.
34 “You shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see.
35 “The LORD will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
36 “The LORD will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone.
37 “You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the LORD drives you.
38 “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it.
39 “You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them.
40 “You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off.
41 “You shall have sons and daughters but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity.
42 “The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground.
43 “The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower.
44 “He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.
45 “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.
46 “They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever.
47 “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;
48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
49 “The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand,
50 a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.
51 “Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish.
52 “It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the LORD your God has given you.
53 “Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you.
54 “The man who is refined and very delicate among you shall be hostile toward his brother and toward the wife he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain,
55 so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else left, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns.
56 “The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and refinement, shall be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter,
57 and toward her afterbirth which issues from between her legs and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in your towns.
58 “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God,
59 then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses.
60 “He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you.
61 “Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring on you until you are destroyed.
62 “Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God.
63 “It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it.
64 “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known.
65 “Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.
66 “So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.
67 “In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see.
68 “The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

Above is an extremely long list of curses that God promised to bring upon those people who turned away from his commands and followed after pagan culture and broke all of God’s laws.

Galatians 6:7 (NASB95)
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

God treats all humans the same and if they are deceived to think they can break all of God’s laws they will experience God’s judgment. But if they repent and change their ways and do according to God’s laws they will be blessed by God instead.

This has application to all nations of people on earth and if they will learn what is right and what is wrong in the sight of God and act accordingly then they can experience God’s blessing upon their lives. But if they resist and persist in their godless pagan culture they will experience God’s judgment and eventual destruction.

Bad Things Purged from Culture

The main point here is that there exists some things that are bad within human cultures and it is these bad things that must be purged away. This purging can take place when people study God’s word -the bible and learn about what is right and what is wrong in God’s sight. If they will adapt their behavior accordingly then they can purge all that is evil within their culture. Only those aspects of culture which conform to the laws of God should remain. Culture is not sacred but is an invention of humans. Often these humans are inspired by Satan to do the evil things which they do (like wife burning culture). But they can invent some new culture that is based upon the principles of God’s word – the bible.

Whenever people engage in practices or culture that is self-destructive then they should be corrected or even “stopped by force” as in the case of governor Charles Napier in India putting a stop to wife burning.

All of this boils down to men doing what is right as is based upon God’s word. Those men in positions of civil authority should learn what is right and what is wrong according to God’s point of view then enforce what is right and good in God’s sight. This is what it means to be a real man and a godly leader just as Joshua was.

See the link “Men Topics” for more details.