God Will Bless Those Who Bless Israel
Israel is God's chosen nation and the Israelites are His chosen people. This is a common theme in the Old Testament. We ask that God bless Israel and invite you to do the same.
TO BLESS
The command to bless and be blessed is found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible.
God will bless those who bless Israel as it says in the beginning book of the Bible.
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go 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, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:1-3 Berean Study Bible.
God bless Israel.
THE MEANING
The meaning of bless and blessing means to as God to look favorably on or share His divine favor on someone, some thing. In this case, we bless Israel and ask God to continue to show favor, protect and uplift the nation is Israel. Those who believe are assured God hears this request.
1 John 5:14 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." (NIV)
God will bless those who bless Israel.
Why should we bless Israel?
In the first place, it is God's command. Genesis 12:3 says in part, "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you;"
Proverbs 11:25 is one of the more varied translations among the many English versions of the Bible. All translations have this in common: As you bless others, you in turn will be blessed. (NIV) That is similar to Genesis 12:3, but not exactly the same. The Genesis version is situation specific. Proverbs is a generality.
Luke 6:38 says, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (KJV) Again this is a general statement about blessing.
To get specific about blessing Israel, turn to the Old Testament. Read how Moses led the people through the desert and who God showed favor on the people who helped Israel. Zechariah 2:8 puts this another way, "8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." (KJV).
In other words, whatever you do to Israel, God will feel it and will react accordingly. God blesses those who bless Israel.
Who should bless Israel?
Is this limited to the Jewish people? Does it include Christians? What about people of other faiths?
Genesis 12:3 makes that clear when it says "all the families of the earth will be blessed through." All means every person from uncontacted tribes to someone in the middle of Peking, New York City or Buenos Aires.
It even includes the people who wanted to see Israel destroyed, but came to see the error of their ways. Those who will not bless Israel and curse it instead will get the punishment referenced in Genesis 12:3. The Prophet Joel delivers that promise in Joel 3:1-2 “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.” (NIV)
God bless Israel.
So how do you bless Israel?
Pray. James 5:16 says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
We have many examples in the Bible of prayer being answered. James 5:17 speaks of Elijah and his prayer that kept the rain away for three years. One of the best examples is Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" (KJV)
Your post here, calling on God to bless Israel is a public sign of your belief and your support of the Bible. You are leading by example. You are showing the way to other people.
Remember, God will bless those who bless Israel.
What Happens when we bless Israel?
By blessing Israel, we also follow God's word. To curse Israel is to be a rebel and the Bible is specific about what happens to rebels. Furthermore, a curse against Israel is not effective. For an example of both, look in Numbers. Balak tried to get the prophet Balaam to curse Israel and the prophet cannot.
In Numbers 23:8 Balaam says, "How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced?" In Numbers 24, Balaam speaks blessings over Israel, much to Balak's chagrin. "He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you," says Numbers 24:9. (KJV)
Even so, Balaam was rebel. He went with Balak despite God warning him to stay. As a result, he was killed for his rebellion, Joshua 13:22.
Furthermore, God is defending Israel. You have a choice, You can be on the winning side or the losing side. "Yet their Redeemer is strong; the LORD Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon." Jeremiah 50:34. (NIV)
God blesses those who bless Israel. Be a part of that blessing by doing your part.