God's Purposes With IsraelSample

Day 2 - Being a blessing

God’s first words to Abraham could hardly have been any more direct. Right after telling Abraham to leave his country and his family God makes His intentions clear: You will become a great nation and will be a blessing! All of humanity (“all peoples on earth”) will share in Abraham’s blessing.

By the way, you could also translate the original Hebrew of this verse with “All peoples on earth will wish to be blessed like you.” You can find this version in some Bible translations. But this reflects a kind of exclusivity. As if God would bless Abraham more than the rest. As if Israel is God’s VIP club and all the rest of the world can do is watch from the sidelines.

Abraham’s life witnesses to the first interpretation, as was beautifully worded by the late British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his book Not in God’s Name.

Abraham himself, the man revered by 2.4 billion Christians, 1.6 billion Muslims, and 13 million Jews, ruled no empire, commanded no army, conquered no territory, performed no miracles, and delivered no prophecies. Though he lived differently from his neighbours, he fought for them and prayed for them in some of the most audacious language ever uttered by a human to God – ‘Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?’ (Gen. 18:25) He sought to be true to his faith and a blessing to others regardless of their faith. That idea, ignored for many of the intervening centuries, remains the simplest definition of the Abrahamic faith. It is not our task to conquer or convert the world or enforce uniformity of belief. It is our task to be a blessing to the world.

This is God’s purpose for Israel. Through this nation, God graciously comes to us godless people. Not with great displays of heavenly power, but through people like you and me, who have a Heavenly mandate to be a blessing. Does that sound familiar?

Something to think about: How can you be a blessing to those around you?