A short study of God’s Blessing over Abraham from the Hebrew

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2) And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. (3)  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

— Gen 12:1-3 English Standard Version

Let’s focus on verse three. (click the hyperlink to get the original language with definitions — so easy!)

Most translations of the Hebrew get this “parallelism” wrong.  They wrongly translate the idea as “those who bless you I (God) will bless.  Those who curse you I (God) will curse.”    Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Here is a screenshot of the link above just to make certain that you see this.  It is crucial to see this!

screenshot from blueletterbible.org

 .

The Hebrew is written to be CONSPICUOUS in that the one word pops out at the reader.

It is NOT:

barak barak.       arar arar.

It IS:

barak barak.      qalal arar.

Strong’s word h7043 has the following meaning (again, blueletterbible.org)

Hebrew word qalal defined

.

God says that those who bless Abraham (and his “called/summoned/named” progeny through Issac*) — they shall be blessed.

But those who mess with Israel shall be cursed.  Here is a list of things that will get you or your nation cursed by God if you treat Israel or Jewish people in the following manners:

trifle with Israel or Jews

treat Israel or Jews as though she were of little account

treat Israel or Jews as though she were insignificant

to lightly esteem Israel or Jews

treat Israel or Jews with contempt or dishonor

to rattle Israel or Jews

to curse or besmirch Israel or Jews

to be impatient (swift) with Israel or Jews — to rush her along

——————————-

In Zechariah 2: 8, God says that those who mess with Israel have poked God in the eye!  You do not want to do that!

Rather, know that the Lord has restored Israel as a nation.  We are in the very last days of this era.  When Messiah returns, not as the suffering Lamb, but as the Lion of Judah, the prophecy of Jeremiah will be realized:

And this city (Jerusalem) shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it. “Thus says the LORD: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD: “‘Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’ For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the LORD.  “Thus says the LORD of hosts: In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks.  In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the LORD.   “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.   In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.   In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

— Jer 33:9-16 ESV

 Let this be the prayer of all those who love the Lord and His special People, the Jews.

————————————————-

 * “called” :  The descendants of Abraham who have been summoned by God are through the line of Issac exclusively; not Ishmael, the son of slavery.

Gen 21:12 ESV – But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy (Ishmael) and because of your slave woman (Hagar, his mother). Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”

This word “named” in the ESV is a fair choice.  The Hebrew word means to be “called, be proclaimed, be read aloud, be summoned, be named”.

 Just like the Church, Israel and the Jews are the “called-out” people whom God has elected.  God has put His Name upon us.  We are His heirs, joint heirs with the resurrected Messiah who is the “firstborn of many brethren.”