“I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3 NKJV). 

If blessings are expressions of God promoting our happiness and welfare, why hasn’t God already blessed the whole world from the beginning? 

He has. 

“He gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). 

Would you rather believe nothing Big Banged into something, evolved into you, and now you have all that you have?  

Why would He give such a magnificent promise to Abraham about blessing and cursing? 

Because Abraham believed God.  

Same as you and I must do. 

You knew Abraham begat Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and the humanity of Jesus? 

This is how all the families of the earth would be blessed. 

Here is the good part, by faith, you and I are the children of Abraham. Yes, there still is a prime place for Israel in the current fulfillment of Bible Prophecy; but, in the meantime, we do inherit claim to the blessing and curse of Abraham. 

“6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:6-7 KJV). 

Just a moment. The blessing and curse of Abraham? 

If blessings promote someone’s welfare and happiness, then curses take away from one’s welfare and happiness. 

If you are not being blessed, then you are being cursed. That is thoughtful and logical. 

God said He would “bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you” (Genesis 12:3 NKJV). 

You can reasonably understand spiritual salvation would be part of that blessing, but does it extend to the physical or non-spiritual realm? 

Yes. 

After Abraham passed his test about his willingness to sacrifice Isaac and have him resurrected from the dead, the LORD repeated His promise to Abraham. 

“Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:17-18). 

Nearly immediately, all of Abraham’s near relatives began to have children. 

“Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah” (Genesis 22:20-24). 

Yes, physical blessings were included in God’s promise to Abraham. 

What about the curse or curses of Abraham? 

Since Abraham died not too long after, we must wait for a considerable time later, when the sons of Abraham were coming out of bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt. 

The story of Balaam illustrates the curse of Abraham. 

Israel was on its way to Canaan and had moved in upon King Balak’s territory of Moab (Numbers 22-24). They were only passing through, but Balak saw them as a threat. He asked Balaam to put a curse upon Israel. Balaam was a prophet knowledgeable of the God of Israel but willing to be hired by Balak. 

“Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed” (Numbers 22:5-6). 

This is the Balaam, whose donkey saved Balaam’s life by refusing to move, only to be beaten. “Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” (Numbers 22:28). Balaam arrives for Balak and determines he cannot curse Israel. He announces to Balak a truth about cursing Israel, which is true about us, as well. “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?” (23:8). 

Jehovah would not allow any enemy to succeed in cursing Israel, when He had not cursed them. This is not only true, because Balaam said so, but it is true because Jehovah promised Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). 

What happened to Balaam? After failing to give King Balak an acceptable cursing of Israel three times, Balaam was sent home. However, Balaam figured out how to be paid by Balak to bring a curse upon Israel. He encouraged the Moabite women to seduce Israel with prostitutes and idolatry, so God Himself would bring a curse upon Israel. “Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD” (Numbers 31:16). 

The LORD rewarded Balaam for his exceeding treachery against Israel and Himself. “The children of Israel also killed with the sword Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, among those who were killed by them” (Joshua 13:22). Verily, Balaam received his reward, but not what he thought. “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled” (Isaiah 5:14-15 KJV). 

Is it necessary to remind the LORD to judge the wicked? 

Apparently so. 

“O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (2Chronicles 20:12 NKJV). 

God takes especial delight, when His people look for Him to act. We have not been commissioned to exact God’s vengeance. “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). 

Sometimes, judgment alone will satisfy the LORD. When we are battling for the LORD, it may not always be possible for the LORD to exercise mercy, since mercy is entirely God’s decision; otherwise, all would automatically be saved. “O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2). 

We supplicate for God to show mercy, but God cannot always wisely prevent sin. “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes” (Matthew 18:7). 

God sovereignly curses whom He wills to curse and blesses whom He sovereignly wills to bless. 

“13 As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. 19 You will say to me then, Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will? 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, Why have you made me like this? 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:13-23). 

Yes, we can pray blessing and cursing based upon the promise of the LORD to Abraham. 

LORD, bless those who have been a blessing to us. 

LORD, will Thou not judge them, when they come against us to destroy us and we know not what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee. 

Father, we pray that Your Church would apprehend understanding of Your Word that we may call down blessings from Your Word. May we never exercise the meaningless authority of our name to accomplish Your work. May You alone receive the credit for blessing and cursing. May we be as Your prophets of old calling down fire to consume the sacrifice upon the altar. Restore to us the certainty that the one we bless, will be blessed. And, if we must ever ask You to judge them, they will be judged. LORD, accomplish all Your will in the earth. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your all powerful name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

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