“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; 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; 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 shall be blessed.” Gen 12:1-3

We have been studying the passage in Beresheet (Genesis – the Book of Beginnings) where God promises Abram that He will make his name great by making him the father of a great nation; He also tells Abram that He (God) will bless those who bless him and will curse those who curse him.

I would like to wrap up this mini series of blogs on this topic by suggesting that blessing in the Bible always comes with a commitment, and often is prophetic. It is also important to note that the words, “I will bless you” do not always refer to richness or wealth, although it may be true in some cases. When God says to Abram that [He] would bless [him], He is actually making a commitment for the present and the future, implying that this blessing would be forever.

God is not like us…when He says He will do something, He does it! He never speaks empty words (like us) just to make someone feel better, nor does He ever forget what He’s promised. God’s commitments are real and will stand forever. In this specific promise, we can find an indication of what we will see not only in the life of Abram himself, but also what will come through Abram’s seed in the future. The promise here is a real promise to bless Abram today and always.

Yeshua is the promised seed of blessing that came to the world through Abram. However, in this prophetic promise, we also find a land, and within that land a nation, which in reality the world has been greatly blessed by. I can think of the endless examples of how the Jewish people and the modern Nation of Israel have blessed the world through beautiful art forms, important scientific discoveries, technological and medical advances, and its advanced humanitarian first aid response teams. Even now, just days after the devastating earthquake shook Nepal, a large Israeli rescue team with special equipment flew to Nepal within hours to bless the Nepalese people.

Let us not forget, however, that in the same way the promise of blessing is real, so is the prophetic promise to curse those who curse Abram and his offspring. God is a keeper of His word, and He will not be mocked; man will reap what he sows (Galatians 6:7).

Make a choice today; in which camp will you be found?

Shabbat Shalom,

Moran