Hey gang I’m writing a response back to my brother (Dick) who asked me about the powerful verses in Genesis 12:1-4. Recently, more people have been asking me for clarification of a variety of Scriptures, and concepts from the Book of the Covenants (OT) and the Renewed Covenant (NT).
I am posting only questions that impact the pulse of our culture and are vital for the health and welfare of the church. For me, they also provide clarification for the advancement of the Spiritual Kingdom of God here on earth. Below is a response to my brother:
His Question:
In light of what is going on in America and in Washington there is no doubt that the Jewish nation and the Jewish people are being cursed. While none of us know what God’s intentions are for our nation, I am curious what are your thoughts on these verses and how they apply to our current state of affairs. DE
Hey Richard, thanks for the question about Genesis 12:1-4, specifically verse 3.
1 “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; 4 and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.”
– Genesis 12:1-3 New JPS Translation, Jewish Publication Society.
This is the introduction to the Abrahamic Covenant.
The Abrahamic Covenant is the mother of all redemptive covenants. Every blessing experienced by the redeemed, (that includes us as followers of Jesus Christ today), both within Israel and the church, flows from this covenant. While the covenant is first introduced in Genesis 12:1-4, it is made in Genesis 15:1-21, it is reaffirmed in Genesis 17:1-21, and then renewed with Isaac in Genesis 26:2-5, and Jacob in Genesis 28:10-17. It is a covenant in which God unconditionally obligates himself to bring to pass definite promises, blessings, and conditions for the covenantal people. The three major provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant are 1) land to Abraham and Israel; 2) a seed which includes Christ; 3) a worldwide blessing.
I reiterate the fact that the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. This is important for Bible prophecy because at stake is whether or not God is obligated to fulfill his promise specifically to the original parties of the covenant. For example, we believe that God must fulfill to Israel as a national entity those promises made through the unconditional covenant in light of the Abrahamic Covenant. If this is true, then they must be fulfilled literally, and that means many aspects are yet future. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum has said:
“An unconditional covenant can be defined as a sovereign act of God whereby God unconditionally obligates Himself to bring to pass definite promises, blessings, and conditions for the covenantal people. It is a unilateral (the agreement of God without the agreement of Israel) covenant. This type of covenant is characterized by the formula I will, which declares God’s determination to do exactly as He promised. The blessings are secured by the grace of God.”
— Arnold G Fruchtenbaum, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology page 57
Referring to verse 3:
Those who “curse” Abram and his descendants are those who treat him/them lightly, despise him/them, or treat him/them with contempt. God’s curse for such lack of respect and disdain was to involve the harshest of divine judgments.
The opposite was true also for those who bless him and his people. “All the families of the earth will bless themselves.” What this means is when a country carries out the central laws and principles as revealed in the Bible they will be blessed and will bless themselves economically, morally, and sociologically. Historically, this has been true of America.
One does not have to be a Christian to acknowledge that this promise is held true. Nations who have treated the Jews favorably, the United States being the most obvious modern example, have been blessed with prosperity and freedom. It is important to remember that our Constitutional Republic was established and based on the Judeo-Christian ethic and many of our laws and statues are grounded in the Scriptures! The knowledge of The Founding Fathers of America was rooted in the Hebrew Bible, more aptly named the Book of the Covenants, and the NT (The Renewed Covenant).
The reverse is true pertaining to verse 3, “I will curse him (anyone) that curses you,” also applies.
Richard, before I proceed, I find it intriguing from my research in the John MacArthur Study Bible, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary and even the Henry Morris Study Bible, they have given a cursory treatment of verse 3! I woke up this morning April 29th, 2024, thinking about this. I think the reason they didn’t comment much on this is because “God’s Curse” on anyone, or any nation, can be somewhat subjective to determine. In other words, we don’t really know for certain if it is a judgment of God or not when something happens in the world. Or when something happens to America after what seems like a curse on Israel. We can speculate, for sure, and clearly I have my opinions about the reality that America is being cursed now or, at a minimum, is starting to experience the judgment of God. However, I also realized this is my subjective opinion and, therefore, I must be careful.
I believe judgments of God are not all overt catastrophic events which happen to a nation, or an individual. There is such a thing as “sowing and reaping judgments,” which simply come because of the result of a lifestyle of an individual, or the policies of a nation that has acted against God’s will.
[If you are interested, I wrote an article, but have not posted it titled, Is Confession Part of Your Prayer Life? In this article I provide a litany of sins that are being committed in America today which I believe are a justification for God’s judgment upon America. It is based on the prayer and confession that Daniel offered up for the nation of Israel in Daniel Chapter 9. It can be rather depressing to confess our personal and national sins, but I have laced it with some of the powerful attributes of Yahweh God and His magnificent character traits that we can praise! I will send this to anyone who requests it.]
We do know that God judged (cursed His own people) by dispersing them around the world because they defiled their land with their sins.
“And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.” – Ezekiel 36:19 KJV
We also know that God judges not only individuals but also nations. Obadiah 1:15 (NASV) affirms: “For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done it, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your head.”
David Barton in the Founders Bible is not hesitant to say that the judgment of God (curse) came upon America with the Civil War because of our acceptance, toleration, and practice of slavery.
I also find it intriguing to know that our Founding Fathers were very aware of the doctrine of National Accountability to God. Virginia delegate George Mason pointed out:
“as nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next World, so they must be in this. Chain of causes and effects, Providence (A common name for God in that era) punishes national sins by national calamities.” – Look to James Madison, The Papers of James Madison, Vol. III. Page 1391.
The reality is, public policies set forth by a nations’ leaders or authority brokers had spiritual consequences and directly brought either God’s blessings or judgments upon a nation and individuals in that nation (Matthew 2:32). This also pertains to followers of Christ. We will not be spared simply because we are Christians. Just think of all the godly people who died in the Civil War etc.
Slavery
I digress to talk about “Slavery” because it is misunderstood and is one of the hottest topics for leftists to use against America in particular. To make a generalization, that America is the culprit, is rather misleading. By doing a little research we can discover who the instigators were of slavery and particularly what political persuasion they held. It might surprise you!
It’s important to remember that American slavery is equivalent to kidnapping in the Bible! Exodus 21:16 says “anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.” This is reiterated in Deuteronomy 24:7.
Far too many equate “slaves” in the Bible with “American Slavery,” but this is false. In the vast majority of cases “slave” was referring to “indentured servant.”
Indentured servanthood is found in Exodus 21:1-6. Indentured servanthood was a means by which a pauper, debtor and/or thief could succeed in life. It was the only way out of abject poverty for vast numbers of people throughout history. Through indentured servanthood a person could work off a debt over a period, or the destitute found room and board working for no pay for a period of time. Between one half to two-thirds of all white immigrants who came to the British colonies between the Puritan migration of the 1630’s, and the Revolution, came under indentured servanthood. (Look to Abbott Emerson Smith, Colonists in Bondage: White servitude and convict labor in America. p. 336.)
In the Bible, there were stipulations like, an indentured servant will serve six years if necessary, depending on their need or crime, after which they were to be set free. Even if they were set free, Deuteronomy 15:13-14, is clear that you do not send them out empty handed. If they went out empty-handed, they probably would fall back into the same state prior to their willful decision to become indentured. (For a most intriguing clarification about indentured servanthood a must read is Prager’s commentary in the book of Exodus, specifically Exodus Chapter 21, p. 279-285.)
Indentured Servitude is massively overlooked by Christian commentators as well as secular pundits. One of the main reasons this has been overlooked in modern Christendom is because we have marginalized the Torah. As Prager quotes on page 158 in his Genesis Rational Bible Commentary: “The road to a good world is through the Torah and the rest of the Bible. The world ignores the Torah and the Bible at its peril.”
(I wrote an article about “Slavery” in my blog: www.daleebel.org, titled: Does the Bible Condone American Slavery?... dated April 15, 2021. Go to page 4.
Back to Genesis 12:3
In the medieval world, Spain went into economic and cultural decline after the 1492 expulsion of the Jews. In the modern era, Germany, the country that cursed the Jews of Germany and Europe with the Holocaust, then endured its own curse: during World War II, approximately seven and a half million Germans were killed, (German Red Cross estimate, 2005) about two million German women were raped (generally by Russian troops), almost a fourth of a million of whom died as a result, and Germany was divided for 44 years. Nor is Germany’s future even now secure given the massive immigration of people, many of whom who do not share Germany’s western values, and the very low birth rate of native Germans. Look to Leaving a Carbon Footprint? Dated April 8, 2019, please go to page 7 on my blog: www.daleebel.org.
After World War II, another group arose who has cursed the Jews — Many of the countries in the Arab and fundamentalist Islamic worlds. And they are almost the most benighted of societies. (Benighted means a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual and moral ignorance typically owing to a lack of opportunity.)
The Present-Day False Theology In The Church—Replacement Theology.
One of the significant ingredients that has played into the disregard for Israel is the false theology called replacement theology. This is a key component of deception within the church today and is often overlooked or ignored entirely–the idea that the church has replaced Israel.
Replacement theology is known by several names that you may have heard of, covenant theology, fulfillment theology, expansion theology, and restoration theology, among others. Whatever name it goes by, replacement theology has no scriptural basis and ignores the facts. Be that as it may, well known progressive pastors and seminary professors are substituting the church for Israel in this interpretation of Scripture. While replacement theology is popular today, it has ancient roots. Second century fringe Christian communities taught that because the Jews rejected Jesus Christ as Messiah at His first coming, God, in turn rejected them entirely. But this is not correct.
Even when God has disciplined Israel for their sins, this of course does not prove that God has rejected Israel, nor does it prove that the Jewish people will ultimately reject the Messiah. From Zechariah 13:8-9, we know that one-third of Israel will call for Him to return as they’re awaiting the Messiah.
“Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the LORD. “But one-third will be left in the land. 9 I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” – Zechariah 13:8-9 NLT
OH MY! How marvelous is this?
These passages show that the remnant comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Messiah by way of the fires of the tribulation. Two-thirds of the Jewish population will die, but the remaining third will experience cleansing. By means of the national confession of their sin, they will be purified. God will then answer their pleading for Him to come and save them. They will once again be His people and He will be their God!
God’s judgment and curse on his own people now, and in the future, only demonstrates that God held true to His word to chastise them.
Unfortunately, erroneous biblical interpretations have aided in creating a history of atrocities done in the name of Jesus Christ against the Jewish people. There is no doubt that this mistaken thinking has aided in the current Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS) and anti-Semitism.
I believe replacement theology also plays right into the hands of the Islamic agenda–as is manifested in the movement of the Palestinian’s vehement hatred of the Jews being expressed on university campuses across America. This false doctrine of replacement theology and Islam are self-serving bedfellows because both deny the current state of Israel’s right to exist. Many Christians who espouse replacement theology also reject prophetic portions of the Book of the Covenant’s (OT) and the veracity of Jesus’ promise to fulfill it. Yet, for Christ to fulfill biblical prophecy, Israel must be back in their land before His second coming, as they are today.
A most enlightening book by Jack Hibbs, Living in the Daze of Deception, will shed light on the challenges that we face in the American Church.
Well, Richard, I never seem to lack for words☹! But you asked and so I am attempting to provide a cogent biblical response☺!
I love you as you are a tremendous Christ-follower and Patriot, who understands the times!
“From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” – 1 Chronicles 12:23 NLT
Below are some action steps for those who are reading this on my blog:
- Please avail yourself to the knowledge of the Covenants. The simplest explanations I have found are in the book: The popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, by Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, p. 60-65.
Another paradigm shifting book is titled Lost in Translation, Rediscovering the Hebrew roots of our Faith, by John Klein and Adam Spears. Linda and I had the privilege of listening to Adam teach for three hours. He has a basic motto, “If you don’t know covenant, you don’t know Scripture.” Adam is the head rabbi and teaching pastor in the House of Covenant, a Messianic congregation in Bend, Oregon. Next time you are in Bend give them a visit.
- In view of what is transpiring in the world regarding Israel, the riots from pro- Palestinians on our college campuses, if you agree with my thoughts, please send this response to others within your sphere of influence.
- However, a better action would be for you to write your own thoughts on Genesis chapter 12:1-4. Or even consider creating your own blog and/or a YouTube addressing the subjects that interest you from a biblical perspective.
We can influence our local cultures little by little!!
- Your pastor might find this response interesting.
In Christ,
Dale
dale@daleebel.org