Why We Should Bless Israel

I recently wrote:


That statement deserves explanation. The issue is not just theological—there are real, practical consequences. Throughout Scripture, God makes it clear that those who bless Israel will themselves receive blessing, while those who curse or oppose Israel invite His judgment.

Genesis 12:3 is the most famous declaration of this principle: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse.” But that is not an isolated verse. The same truth reverberates throughout the Bible. In Balaam’s oracle, we hear, “Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you” (Numbers 24:9). God told Israel in Exodus 23:22, “I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.” When Rahab in Jericho recognized God’s hand on Israel, she threw in her lot with them and in turn her family was spared. Even the broader principle God gave in 1 Samuel 2:30 makes the connection: “Those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” To bless Israel is, in effect, to honor God Himself.

The prophets carried the theme forward. Isaiah warned that nations who refused to serve Israel would perish, while those who aligned themselves with her would be established. Zechariah described Israel as “the apple of God’s eye,” making it plain that to strike them is to strike Him. Later he foresaw a day when nations would go up to Jerusalem to worship, and those who refused would suffer drought while the obedient would receive rain. These are not merely poetic images—they reveal God’s pattern of dealing with nations according to their posture toward Israel.

The New Testament affirms the same reality. In Matthew 25, Jesus portrays the judgment of the nations, where those who showed kindness to “the least of these my brothers” inherit blessing, and those who turned away inherit condemnation. Paul, in Romans 15, reminded Gentile believers that since they had shared in Israel’s spiritual blessings, they owed Israel material blessings in return. Supporting Israel, in other words, is not an optional sentiment; it is the logical response of gratitude.

And yet, many reject this. Why? Much of the drive comes from an overrealized amillennial eschatology. Amillennialism itself sees the “thousand years” of Revelation 20 as symbolic, fulfilled spiritually in the present reign of Christ. The danger comes when that system is overextended—when interpreters insist that every promise to Israel must be spiritualized and applied exclusively to the church right now. The result is Replacement Theology, which claims God’s covenant with ethnic Israel is finished and that all references to Israel’s restoration are either allegory or already fulfilled in the church.

This overrealized position ignores the tension the New Testament itself maintains: the kingdom is already inaugurated, but not yet fully realized. It flattens the future into the present. Instead of seeing Paul’s words in Romans 11 as pointing to a future national salvation for Israel, it insists that “all Israel” is simply the church. Instead of taking Jeremiah’s promise that Israel will never cease to be a nation as literal, it is reduced to metaphor. In short, an overrealized amillennialism forces the text to fit its system, rather than allowing the text to shape the system.

For this reason, it is dangerous to dismiss Israel’s place in God’s plan on the basis of any one eschatology. Jeremiah tied Israel’s national existence to the very stability of the created order: only if the sun, moon, and stars fall from their appointed places would Israel cease to be a nation before God. Paul, writing after the cross, insisted that Israel’s rejection was partial and temporary, not final, declaring that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” And even Jesus spoke of the apostles sitting on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel in the kingdom to come.

Blessing Israel, then, is not about politics or nostalgia. It is about aligning ourselves with God’s revealed Word. From Genesis to Revelation, the testimony is consistent: those who honor Israel are honored by God, and those who despise her incur His judgment. That should motivate us to pray for Israel, to support her, and to beware of allowing an overrealized eschatology to erase the plain promises of Scripture. God is not finished with Israel—and He still blesses those who bless them.