I will make you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great’ and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. Genesis 12:2-3
God has promised over and over in His word to bless us. There are many principals we can follow to be blessed: Deuteronomy 28 promises blessings when we diligently obey the voice of God, Psalms 1 promises a blessing to those whose delight is in the law of the Lord, Jeremiah 17:7-8 tells us that blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, Psalm 34:8-9 there is no lack in those who fear the Lord, and Psalm 133 promises God will command His blessings on those who dwell together in unity. Jesus even preached the beatitudes to teach how mankind can be blessed. God has made it clear that when we put Him first and obey His commandments, we are bound to be blessed. In Genesis, God called Abram to leave his father’s country and to follow Him to a land that He would show him. Along with the command to leave everything that was familiar and follow God, Abraham was promised not only to be blessed, but to be a source of blessing for all the people of the earth. Abraham chose to honor God and walked with God the rest of his days. God kept His promise to Abram (and changed his name to Abraham), blessing Him and making his name great. How to be blessed is a popular message in the modern church. While I whole heartedly believe God still wants to bless His people, I think there is confusion to what it means to be blessed. To be blessed does not mean we have everything we want when we want it(Abraham waited over 25 years for the promise of a child), it does not mean we will never have any problems (Abraham went into Egypt two times to survive a drought), or that we will live a life free from conflict (The blessing of God on Abrahams life created conflict with his nephew Lot because the land could not hold all their blessings, the livestock.) or that there would never be battles to fight (Abraham pursued the five kings who took Lot and his family captive). So, what does it mean to be blessed? Blessed is defined as: 1-Endowed with divine favor and protection, 2-Bringing pleasure or relief as a welcome contrast to what one has previously experienced, and 3- Made holy, consecrated. There is much confusion in the body of Christ about the concept of having divine favor and protection. One extreme almost puts having things above having God Himself, while the other side of the pendulum thinks it is a sin to have financial blessings. Throughout scripture God highly favored and blessed many people with massive wealth, who followed and honored Him. When Solomon dedicated the temple, God asked him what he wanted and Solomon asked for wisdom to lead God’s people and God told him because of his request, God would also give him wealth. While there is much controversy in the church over being endowed with material blessings, I do not know anyone who does not want the divine protection of God. When a person is blessed of God, they should be able to turn and bless those around them. The church should bring pleasure and relief as a contrast to what the world has to offer. We should have an abundance that can be shared with those in need, not only financial, but things like peace, joy, love, and hope. The last definition of blessed is to be holy, consecrated. The modern church has failed to teach the concept of holiness and consecration. Just like Abraham was called to leave what is familiar and follow God to a new land, as Christians we are called to leave our life of sin and to follow God on a daily basis, allowing Him to change us. I think it is relatively easy to grasp the concept, that when put God first and do things His way, we will live a truly blessed life. Why did God promise Abraham that He would bless those who bless him, and curse those who curse him?
God knew Eve would be deceived and Adam would sin in the Garden of Eden, and mankind would need a plan of redemption. Scripture tells us the Jesus was the lamb slain before the foundations of the world. Jesus would lay aside Hid Deity and come toearth b, born of a virgin, live a sinless life, die on the cross and rise again three days to redeem mankind from the law of sin. For the plan of salvation to work, a pure blood line was needed. God chose Abraham to Father the nation that Jesus would be born into. He chose one family that became a small nation from which the Messiah would come and all humanity could be restored. God called Abraham out of the culture he was living in and into the journey of a lifetime of walking and talking with God. The bloodline of Jesus can be traced through Abrah and into his great grandson Judah, down through David all the way through Jesus. That is why Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. After David planned to build a house for God to dwell in, God promised him, “Your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”2 Samual 716. How can this promise be? Israel has not always been a nation, and there certainly has not been a physical king from David’s bloodline that has ruled continually since the promise made to David. Isaiah 9:6-7 “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.” Revelation 19:14 “He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” The promise was not limited to an earthly kingdom, it was for an eternal kingdom. Jesus said ln John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world.” Part of God’s covenant with Abraham of being a blessing was that salvation would come through his descendants. Those who are saved are separated, holy. God keeps His promises!
There is a false belief that has permeated the modern church, teaching that the New Testament Church (which the church is part of today) has replaced Israel. The replacement theology states in a nutshell, that when Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, God poured out His wrath on Israel, destroying the nation and the temple, that He washed His hands of them, and now the church has the blessings and covenant Israel rejected. This falsehood goes back to the beginning of Christianity and the roots of anti-Semitism is founded in this false doctrine. People began to view Jews as Christ killers and justified mistreating them. I am unable to find any scripture that states the church has replaced Israel. In fact, just the opposite is true, through the precious blood of Jesus, we can be counted as one of Abraham’s descendants. Ephesians 3:6 “The Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body, and partakers of the promises of God. Romans 11 promises that the believing Gentiles are drafted into the same olive vine as the Jews. Jesus said in John 15:5 “I am the vine and you are the branches.” True believers do not replace Jews, but become grafted in to the same vine, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:16-17 “We are the children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” We do not replace the Jewish people in their blood line, we are joined in with them. The Jews are still God’s chosen people. Another issue is when we believe God has no use for a group of people, we can rationalize mistreating them and taking what belongs to them. Hitler professed to be a Christian and in 1925 published a paper referring to Martin Luther as a “great warrior, a true statesman, and a great reformer.” Then in a later speech he stated, “I am acting in accordance with the will of Almighty God as I announce the most important work that a Christian could undertake -and that is to be against the Jews and get rid of them once and for all.” His misguided theology lead to the death of six million Jews. Anti-Semitism, the hatred of the Jewish people is spreading and has found a place in America. In 1948, The British Army left the land known as Israel, and on May 14, Israel was acknowledged by our President Trueman. This fulfilled the prophecy of Ezekiel 36:24 “I will gather you from out of the nations, I will gather you from all the countries, and bring you back into your own land.” It seems like the minute God’s prophecies are fulfilled; the enemy tries to destroy the promise of God. The very next day, five neighboring nations attacked Israel trying to steal what God had promised them back in the Old Testament. There has been constant fighting and unrest in and around the Gaza strip since Israel was recognized as a nation. The United States has stood with Israel until the last 20-258 years, and as a nation we keep backing away from supporting them. When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7,2023, many people in our government condemned Israel and said they had not right to defend themselves. Riots broke out all our college campuses and on major bridges, trying to stir up a hatred of Israel. Too many people in the church have allowed a hatred for Israel to seep in and they no longer pray for the peace of Jerusalem, much less try to bless them. While American flags are burned in prominent places, the Palestinian flags are hung in their place. Dearborn Michigan has a sector that is ruled by Sharea law which is part of the Islamic cult. Too many churches have failed to teach all of God’s word including that God will bless those who bless Israel and He will curse those who curse Israel. Antisemitism has crept into our churches. If God has not given up on Israel, what makes us think we have the right to curse Israel with our words and actions. Salvation is one of the main blessings that comes form blessing Israel, there are more tangible blessings that I believe the God promised to those who blessed Israel. President Trump acknowledged Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the four years he was president, our nation was at peace. Jacob’s father-in-law. Laban knew that the blessing of God rested on Jacob and that God even blessed Laban for Jacob’s sake. How can a person bless Israel? One of the most important ways is to stand and support them as a nation and their rights to defend themselves. You can send offerings for the Jewish people. We should all make it a habit to pray for Israel. Psalm 122:6 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee.” If you have allowed a critical or Anti-Semitic attitude to take root in your heart, confess your sin and ask God to five you a love for the Jewish people. I believe the United States of America has been so blessed is because it was founded on our founding Father’s love of God and because we have stood with Israel. Pray for our government to have discernment and the backbone to stand with Israel again. The more we withdraw our support, the more we will be blessed.
Cathy Nesmith