A Blessing or A Curse?
“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:3
God was speaking to Abraham, the patriarch of the nation of Israel. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, who was later renamed Israel by God, was the father of twelve sons, the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. From time to time we hear via the media about conflict between Israel and one or more of the Arab countries, which gives us glimpses of the pages of scripture unfolding before our eyes. These conflicts have been going on for thousands of years. When the descendants of Israel finally made it to the promised land after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years due to their disobedience and complaining, God told them not to fraternize with the idolatrous people who were living in the land of which God had given to Israel. However, like many other times, they did not heed God’s warning, and allowed the idol worshippers to influence them, leading them away from the God of Israel.
It became what we call a “vicious cycle”. God’s people would be living obediently, but then they would begin to fall under the influence of their neighboring countries, succumbing to idol worship and abandoning the LORD God. Because He loved them, He would punish them to bring them back to repentance and obedience, in which they would comply, for a while, but then, the cycle would repeat over and over again. This is why it is important to read and study the Old Testament because it makes clear that man is unable to live righteously on his own. He must have a Savior.
The modern day Palestinians are the descendants of the Canaanites and other “ites” from whom God had warned Israel to keep themselves apart, and these and other Arab nations are still vexing Israel. One day, though, Israel will make one final return to the Lord according to scripture. Until that time, Israel will continue to be at war or on the verge of war with her neighbors. No amount of “peace negotiations” will bring a solution to the constant wars and rumors of wars until Jesus returns, but regardless of that, efforts to maintain peace should be sought. God promised to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. God meant what He said.
There has been some discussion in the news very recently about the lack of communication between the new U.S. administration and Israel. Every president since Ronald Reagan has reached out in the first few weeks of office to the leader of Israel. The nation of Israel is probably the greatest supporter of the U.S., particularly in the Middle East. Does it matter whether or not the U.S. maintains support of Israel? You can bet your bottom dollar that it matters. The U.S. is already precariously close to being abandoned by God and for good reason. It is likely that only the prayers of the people of God have so far prevented the judgment of God from completely decimating our land. We are already seeing areas in our country where judgment is evident, and I am afraid we will see more and more evidence of God’s judgment as we continue to slide down the slippery slope of sin and continue to reject our Creator.
Is there hope for a revival to righteousness and a return to God and His standard for living found in His word? There is always hope, but as Chris Widener, a Christian motivational speaker, wrote on line, “God is more concerned with the purity of the church (His bride) than the destiny of America.” Without action upon the part of believers, that is, a commitment to godly living and taking a stand for truth in love, then revival will likely be ineffective to “right the ship” of America. If God meant what He said about how other nations relate to Israel, and I know that He did mean it, then it is more than likely that if America abandons Israel, God will abandon us. That is a sobering thought.