Israel

Genesis 12:3 NASB95

3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

The other night I was looking at some videos and I saw an interview with Ted Cruz (Texas Sen) and Tucker Carlson. They got a little chirpy with one another as they talked about Israel and Cruz referenced Gen 12:3. He applied the verse to the nation of Israel and Tucker Carlson asked if that meant as a Christian you have to support the government of Israel.

He also asked; Is the Country formed in 1948 the same as the Nation of Israel as described in the Bible?

Cruz didn’t know how to respond. He sounded rather dumb, and a question and a thought rattled in my head for several hours.

The question: How does Genesis 12:3 apply to 2025?

The thought: Just like our sin, our ignorance can have a huge impact on our witness.

The Thought: You don’t have to be a Genius to be a Christian. You don’t have to know everything about everything to witness to people. Most of that is treating people how Jesus told us to treat people and knowing what the Gospel is…..

But if someone asked you about a religious topic you don’t know very well, don’t feel like you HAVE to give an answer. “I don’t know” is a perfectly acceptable answer.

Now… about Israel.

Was Genesis 12:3 just about Abraham or the entire OT nation of Israel?

Genesis 12:1–3 NASB95

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

INCONCLUSIVE

We see this played out in Abraham’s life…..Those that bless Abraham are blessed and those that curse Abraham are cursed.

Abraham told Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. Abimelech sent for her…. before he could do anything ..

Genesis 20:3 NASB95

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”

BUT did the blessing and cursing stop there?

Issac is born to Abraham and Sarah.

Issac had Esau and Jacob. He thought he was blessing Esau, but it was actually Jacob.

Genesis 27:29 NASB95

29 May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.”

FAST FORWARD

After Moses leads the Israelites our of Egypt and they are in the wilderness on the the edge of the promised land. The king of the Moabites hires a soothsayer (Balaam) to curse Israel.

Numbers 24:1–2 NASB95

1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

Numbers 24:9 NASB95

9 “He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

Deuteronomy 30:7 NASB95

7 “The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

So it is clear that when God said this about blessing and cursing, he was talking about the nation of Israel…..

What do we see in the NT?

Jesus heals the Centurions Slave…

Centurions slave is sick and about to die….Jesus goes to heal him, but the Centurion sent people to tell Jesus he was not worth of Jesus coming to his home, be if Jesus just said the word, his servant would be healed.

Why Jesus was going to heal the servant gets skimmed over.

Luke 7:3–5 NASB95

3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. 4 When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5 for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.”

Implication is that the Centurion blessed Israel and should be blessed. Jesus blesses him.

Paul muddies the water a little.

Romans 2:28–29 NASB95

28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

Romans 9:6 NASB95

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.

So who it Israel?

Galatians 3:6–9 NASB95

6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Later on:

Galatians 3:26–29 NASB95

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

It is clear that those that are in Christ, are Spiritual Israel and therefore heirs of the promise given to Abraham, including that of blessing and cursing.

Does that mean that God is done with the Jewish people; the nation of Israel?

Paul answers this clearly:

Romans 11:1 NASB95

1 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Some have been cut off and you have been grafted in…..(The idea of a Spiritual Israel.)

Romans 11:23 NASB95

23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

The new Jerusalem

Revelation 21:12 NASB95

12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.

From a geopolitical stand point, the US should stand with Israel.

From a historical standpoint. 20th century Jews and modern Israel has seemingly had divine protection.

Everyone that has opposed Israel has suffered great loses.

From a biblical standpoint, Abraham won’t get you into heaven. Only Jesus can accomplish that.