Spiritual Law of Blessing Israel and the Jews
(Reading time: 3 minutes)
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” (Gen 12:1-3, NIV)
God made this promise to Abram — later to become Abraham — then led him to the land of Canaan and promised to give the land to him and his offspring forever (Gen. 12:7; 13:14-17). God later made separate covenants with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exod. 2:24; Lev. 26:42) and stated repeatedly the land would belong to their descendants forever (Gen. 50:24; Exod. 6:8; 32:13; Deut. 1:8). Their descendants are the Jews, the land in question is Israel, and the promise God made to Abraham is still in effect — “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” Everything God says has the same characteristics as any spiritual or natural law. It’s immutable or unchangeable. It’s inviolable, meaning those who try to violate it will hurt themselves. It’s universal because it applies to every nation and people.
There are many today who believe God abandoned the Jews because they crucified Jesus, so all the promises he made to them are now meaningless. But God declared he doesn’t change, so he won’t destroy or reject the descendants of Jacob (Mal. 3:6; Jer. 31:37). Instead, he’ll make a new, eternal covenant with them, and forgive their wickedness and sins (Jer. 31:31, 34; Ezek. 37:26). The New Testament confirms God didn’t reject his people, the Israelites (Rom. 11:1-2), but will take away their sins (Rom. 11:26-27; Heb. 8:8-12). He made Israel his people forever, made an eternal covenant with them, and promised them the land forever (Ps. 111:9; 1 Chron. 17:22; Isa. 60:21).
God never reneges on a promise and has plans to bless Israel in these end times and throughout eternity. That means his promise still stands; he’ll bless those who bless the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and curse those who curse them. We, as individuals, churches and nations would be wise to take God at his word. That doesn’t mean we must agree with everything every Jew or the nation of Israel does. However, it does mean we should acknowledge them as God’s chosen people and honor the promises he made to them, including their right to the land.
With this law and God’s commitment to Israel and the Jews in mind, we would be wise to find ways to bless them. For example, we could pray for Israel’s leadership and the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6), encourage our elected leaders to support Israel, oppose anti-Semitism, make friends with Jews, support Jewish relief agencies, and find other creative ways to bless them. If we fail to act when others oppose Israel and the Jews, we condone their actions.