12:2
These verses contain the foundational promise, the promise that still stands. And in Christ we are heirs to this promise (Gal 3:29). Notice that there are two “I will make you...” When we follow Christ we are putting our life into His hands to make of us what He will. First, God will make him into a great nation, we are part of that nation, and He will bless us. Now God “blessing us” does not merely mean that He will give us lots of gifts! Rather it means that He places us at the heart of His plans and purposes. We stand in the purposes of God.
“I will make your name great.” We think that if we submit to God then we will be diminished. Indeed, this was part of the devil’s temptation to Eve. This is not true. God’s plans are to make our names great. Now this is not some sort of cheap celebrity type “greatness”, but to make us significant in His kingdom. God blesses us and we will be a blessing. When we stand in God’s purposes we become a blessing to others.
12:3
“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse”. There are serious consequences for how others treat the people of God. This applies to those who bless or curse the nation of Israel. This in no way means that Israel is perfect, or should never be criticised. But many have been, and are, vehemently anti-Israel, and treat her badly. Such peoples should watch out. It also applies to those who persecute the church. We need to be aware of this. The consequences are ultimately far worse for the persecutors than the persecuted.
After this severe warning we have “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”. We are part of that blessing. God’s people were meant to be a blessing to the whole earth. We are meant to be a blessing to the whole earth.
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