I have a question for you. Did you know that we, as Christians, are biblically mandated to bless the Jewish people? Genesis 12 states that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed, and whoever lightly esteems Israel will be cursed. But what exactly does it mean to “bless Israel”?
Deuteronomy 23 gives us insight into this concept. In verse 3 it says, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever, (4) because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.”
These non-Jews did not bless Israel, and because of that, they were unable to enter the presence of God! What exactly did they not do? They did not provide water and food to Israel when they were on their way up to the promised land, and they hired Balaam to speak fake news about Israel.
People from the nations who bless Israel are a really big deal to God! Romans chapter 15 actually mentions the very same thing. Pauls writes in verse 27, “For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.”
Paul is saying, “Hey guys, you have received the word of God and the Messiah from the Jewish people, the least you can do is thank them by sending a token of appreciation!” Here again, we see that Gentiles physically blessing Israel is something that is on God’s heart.
Let’s take a look at one last passage of Scripture, Matthew chapter 25. Starting in verse 31, it says “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him…” (this is clearly talking about the second coming, and according to Zechariah 14:4 and Acts 1, this story will take place in Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives.)
The verse continues…“Then He will sit on the throne of His glory… (this will be on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem). (32) …all the nations will be gathered before Him.”
“The nations” is a common phrase throughout the Bible that refers to all non-Jews. You get the picture here. Jesus has returned to earth, He’s sitting with his people (the Jews), on his throne in Jerusalem, and all the nations outside of Israel are being brought in to be judged.
Verse 32 says “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. (33) And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. (34) Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (35) for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” The righteous ask Him, when did we do these things for you? (Verse 40) “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
In context, it is clear that Jesus is speaking of His brothers, the Jewish people. This directly connects with Genesis 12, Deuteronomy 23, Romans 15, and many other passages we don’t have time to get to today. Yes, according to the Scriptures, it is our God-given mandate as non-Jews to bring physical, material blessings to the Jewish People.
