“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3
The prophet Jonah blessing the people of Nineveh
When the Lord called Father Abraham, he promised to bless him and also to make him a blessing. He promised that all nations of the earth would be blessed through him, that is, if they desired to be blessed. For sure, there is the potential in Abraham and in his seed for all nations and individuals to bless them and be blessed, or to curse them and
be cursed.
THOSE WHO EXPERIENCED BLESSING
We do not have to look far in history to see that some nations have experienced great degrees of this blessing. The United States began its history by emphasizing the Hebrew heritage of Christianity and by favoring the Jewish people. The Hebrew language was taught and greatly emphasized in the early colleges, and many children as well as early American cities were given Hebrew names. The Pilgrims looked with favor on the restoration of Zion since it was spoken of by the ancient prophets of Israel.
The new nation also opened its gates to a great influx of Jewish people from Europe. While the Jews had experienced hundreds of years of almost continuous persecution on the continent, this was not to be the case in the US. For sure, America has had its spasmodic and relatively minor outburst of anti-Semitism, but nothing compared with the virulent persecution of the Jews in Europe. Thus, the American Jewish community grew and prospered. As a result, America has been blessed with Jewish genius in almost every area of life.
For instance, Americans were able to lead the world in nuclear technology because of Jewish physicists like Edward Teller and Robert Oppenheimer. Jewish-American physicians like Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin gave the world the vaccine for polio. The world’s ears have been soothed with the music of American greats like George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. From Hollywood, the list of American Jews is virtually endless, including names like Jack Benny and Barbra Streisand. In all areas of American life, the Jewish people have been a continual but almost unnoticed blessing. One can only hope that America’s attitude toward Israel will not change so drastically that this blessing will be removed.
Among the other countries who have been noticeably blessed by their attitude toward Israel is the tiny nation of Holland. When the Jews were expelled from their homelands of Spain and Portugal in the fifteenth century, many thousands were welcomed in Holland. It seems from that point on, this little nation was unusually blessed. Holland became a great colonizing influence in the new world, far out of proportion to its size. Later, the most active period of the Dutch Empire (1600-1700) just happened to coincide with the most active period of Jewish commercial enterprise in that country. Today it always seems that Jews as well as Christian volunteers from Holland make up an unduly large and influential representation in the land of Israel.
THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED CURSING
While the examples of nations who have been blessed by favoring Israel are not numerous, there is a long list of nations who have been cursed by cursing the people of God. This list began with the Amalekites in ancient times. We learn from the scripture that the Amalekites may have been the very first nation to persecute Israel just as the latter was emerging form Egypt. As a result, the God of the universe chose to destroy the whole nation of Amalek and to blot out their memory from under heaven (Deut. 25:19). A few Amalekites were spared by Saul and as a result we probably have some around today, still spewing out their hatred for Israel with every breath.
Edom was another ancient kingdom who came under an eternal curse for their hatred of Israel. Edom was the nation founded by Esau, and initially blessed by God. This nation was located in the southern area of present day Jordan. The Edomites had such hatred for Israel that they attacked Israel on several occasions and finally assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC Because of this act, they came under the eternal curse of God (Jer. 49:13). The nation of Edom has long since disappeared from the earth, never to rise again.
We can think of many other great kingdoms who made the mistake of cursing and attacking Israel. All of the four great world empires seen by the prophet Daniel made that mistake. All four, Babylonia, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome have either vanished entirely from the earth or else have virtually ceased to have influence in today’s world.
But let us come to recent centuries. In 1492, Spain and Portugal were two of the mightiest sea powers of that day. Their mariners were sailing unexplored waters the world over. It is a relatively unknown fact that many of their expert cartographers were Jewish. A number of historians believe that Christopher Columbus himself was of Jewish origin. It is a fact that five of his crew, as well as his interpreter were Jewish. In this era of exploration, discovery, and colonization, Spain amassed tremendous wealth and a vast colonial empire. Spanish and Portuguese colonies soon spanned the globe.
However, in 1492, the Christian rulers of Spain expelled all the Jews who had lived and thrived there for hundreds of years. A few years later in 1496, the Jews were also expelled from Portugal. In a relatively short period of time, the vast influence of these two nations climaxed and went into a rapid and permanent decline. In 1588, the mighty Spanish Armada was destroyed by the British, and the latter took over control of the seas. After this, Spain became a second-rate power and never again played a major role in European politics. It is quite interesting that at almost the exact time of this great sea victory, there was beginning to arise a strong and favorable Zionist sentiment in Britain.
There are many other modern nations who have opposed Israel and have reaped bitter cursing. Consider Germany, Russia, and Poland for instance. These nations have been ruthless in their anti-Semitism. Today their nations are seemingly cursed.
Their people stand in long lines for the basic necessities of life, and their political systems seem bankrupt. Despite the recent unification East and West Germany, the Berlin wall stood for 45 years as a testimony of judgment upon these lands for the atrocities of Nazism, particularly the Holocaust.
The list of modern hateful and anti-Semitic nations certainly includes many Middle Eastern countries today. Consider the horrors in Lebanon for instance. This once beautiful nation attacked Israel in 1948. Later she opened her doors to the PLO when they were expelled from Jordan. Lebanon opened her doors so that fire could devour her beautiful cedars (Zech. 11:1). Today she and her people sit in mourning.
Consider also the example of the so-called Palestinians, who have despised Israel with an intensity unrivaled in modern times. They have therefore seemingly inherited an endless curse. Hardly have they noticed that their Druze brethren have received great blessing by living at peace and in cooperation with Israel. Druze soldiers serve in the Israeli army, and their beautiful and peaceful cities dot the northern landscapes of Israel.
But perhaps the most obvious example of inheriting a curse in modern times is Great Britain. Up until the early twentieth century there was tremendous support for Zionism in that land and it was expressed at the highest levels of government. God honored Britain by allowing her to be the guardian of the newborn child Israel. Britain was in an excellent position to do this since she had greatly assisted in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, and was left to carve up Palestine virtually as she wished. Interestingly, World War I had been turned to England’s favor with the discovery of a synthetic acetone for making explosives. That discovery was made by Chaim Weizmann, a Jew who ultimately became the first president of Israel. At the end of that war Britain was one of the mightiest powers on earth with colonies stretching the world over.
In spite of her noble beginnings, Britain failed miserably. Although she was charged by the League of Nations in 1920 to establish a state for newly emerging Israel, one of her first acts was to take 75% of the territory allotted to Israel and establish the Palestinian Emirate of Transjordan (today’s Jordan). Britain then proceeded to hinder all Jewish settlement in the land of Israel, while at the same time encouraging Arab settlement there from all the surrounding nations. This was precisely at the time when Jews were needing to flee from the coming Holocaust.
The British then almost single-handedly, and for their own selfish political purposes, began to create the myth of Palestinian nationalism. It is a long and complicated story filled with many intrigues. Finally, in 1948, the British were forced to turn the now sticky problem of the Jewish homeland back over to the United Nations. Britain was then forced to withdraw her once proud forces from Palestine in shame.
During this same period while Great Britain was abusing the sacred trust given her by God, she found herself fighting for her very life against Germany. Her capital city was bombed nightly by the Germans. Although Britain survived, she soon afterward lost her many colonies. Great Britain learned like other nations before her the high price of seeking to curse those whom God has blessed.
WHICH WILL IT BE – BLESSING OR CURSING?
So to this very hour the blessing of Abraham is available to the nations. The curse is also available. Many nations today continue on in the “valley of decision” concerning Israel. The New Testament teaches that one day, nations will line up before God as sheep and goats. The sheep nations will be blessed eternally, while the goat nations will be eternally cursed. We learn in Matthew 25:31-46, that the criteria for this great judgment will be none other than how nations have treated the brothers of the Lord – the Jews.
-Jim Gerrish
This updated article is presented courtesy of Bridges For Peace.
Picture credit Wikimedia Commons