In a recent podcast gone viral, Senator Ted Cruz stated, “As a Christian growing up in Sunday school, I was taught from the Bible: ‘Those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed.’ … Biblically, we are commanded to support Israel.” Either Senator Cruz or his Sunday School teachers have inserted “Israel” into Genesis 12:3. Leaving geopolitics aside, let’s try to focus solely on Scripture.
In Genesis 12:3, God says to Abram, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” As the story unfolds, Abraham’s call to bless all peoples continues through a select group of his “seed” (i.e., Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David; Gen 26:4; 28:14; 2 Sam 7:12). Significantly, God links this blessed line to royalty (Gen 17:6, 16; 35:11; cf. Gen 27:29; 37:8; 49:8-10). By the time we get to the gospels it’s clear. God’s blessing of all peoples on earth comes through King Jesus, the “son of David” (Matt 1:1-17).
Another thing to consider is that in the Bible, the word “seed” is always a collective singular, meaning that it can refer to many or one—just like “fish” and “sheep” and “moose.” In Genesis 22:17-18, we see the word “seed” transitioning from many to one. God again tells Abraham, “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your (collective) seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. Your (individual) seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your (collective or individual?) seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” H. Wheeler Robinson called this “the fluidity of reference, facilitating rapid and unmarked transitions from the one to the many, and from the many to the one.”
Paul picks up on this fluidity of reference. “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ” (Gal 3:16; also, Mary in Luke 1:55 and Peter in Acts 3:24-25). After Paul insists on the singularity of the “seed” (Christ), he adds the collective, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:29 cf. Rom 9:6-9).
Paul points directly to Genesis 12:3 and boldly concludes that God “preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed’” (Gal 3:8). How could Paul be so sure? Because Jesus had reworded “In you shall all the nations be blessed” to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15; Matt 28:19-20).
Although there is no biblical command to support Israel, Paul urges us to be kind and humble toward the Jewish people since “they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers” (Rom 11:18-20, 28). People may reject Jesus, but God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4; cf. Rom 11:1-2, 29). And it’s happening! Today, Open Door International estimates over 600 Christians still in Gaza, 180,300+ Christians living in Israel, and a whopping 800,000 Christians secretly meeting in Iran. I wish they were our Sunday school teachers.