Does Genesis 12:3 automatically entail support for Israel?
By Easton Martin | December 23, 2025
I want to make something clear from the outset: my intention is not to support anti-Jewish sentiment. In fact, I do not. My intention is to exegete Scripture rightly.
Genesis 12:3 is often cited as a proof text that we should support the modern state of Israel. Is that what the Bible says, though? The verse itself reads:
“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
In this passage, God is speaking to Abram. While it does not specifically mention Israel as a whole, another verse sheds some light on this matter, showing us that this promise extends also to Israel.
Numbers 24:1–9 makes it clear that the promise of Genesis 12:3 extended not just to Abraham, but to God’s people. In Numbers 24, Balaam says in verse 9, “Blessed is everyone who blesses you, and cursed is everyone who curses you.” He is here drawing clearly from God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12:3 and applying it to Israel.
Let’s assume for a moment for the sake of argument, that this verse does in fact reference modern Israel. What would it mean to “bless” Israel? Would it mean supporting every action they take, never criticizing them, and never pointing out faults? I think a helpful parallel is to think of your children. Of course you want to bless them. What parent would want to curse their child? But does that blessing entail blanket approval of everything they do? Does it rule out discipline, correction, or telling them they are wrong? Absolutely not. In fact, the best way to bless your children is to call balls and strikes, not to look past their wrongs nor to hold them against them, but to love them as Jesus would: celebrating the good and calling them to repentance where necessary.
We must now get to the pressing question: who or what is Israel? Paul provides key insight in Galatians 3:6–9:
“Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
Paul tackles this in more depth in Romans 9, stating:
“But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: ‘through Isaac your descendants will be named.’ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.” (Romans 9:6–8)
The fact is, the New Testament identifies those who trust in Jesus as the true Israel.
Does this mean we should not support the modern state of Israel? To be clear, the Bible does not speak directly to modern geopolitical matters, at least beyond principles of justice and wisdom. I think a very solid case can be made for supporting the modern state of Israel over a Palestinian state or some form of Islamic rule. That case, however, is not made directly from biblical prophecy, but from biblical principles of justice and wisdom.
The heart of Genesis 12:3 is actually Jesus. All nations were blessed through Abraham through Christ. All can become children of God through faith and can be grafted into His promises. In fact, it was God’s plan from the beginning to bless all nations through His Son, Jesus.
