Understanding the Abrahamic Covenant Promise

God’s covenant with Abraham included a powerful promise: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse,” and through Abraham God would bless “all the families of the earth”. In its original context (Genesis 12:1–3), this promise was given to Abram (Abraham) before Israel even existed as a nation. Many readers assume this means that anyone who supports Abraham’s physical descendants (the nation of Israel) will be blessed, and anyone who curses Israel will incur God’s curse. Indeed, the promise produced a great nation from Abraham’s line – Israel – and eventually the Messiah came through Israel. However, the New Testament provides a deeper interpretation of who truly inherits Abraham’s promises. Rather than mandating automatic support for any political entity, Scripture asks: Who are the true children of Abraham and heirs of the covenant? Understanding this is key to evaluating what it means to “bless Israel” in a New Covenant context.

Children of Abraham: By Flesh or by Faith?

Jesus and the apostles draw a sharp distinction between merely ethnic Israel and the spiritual children of Abraham. John the Baptist warned the Jewish leaders not to presume they were right with God simply because of their lineage: “Do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for God can raise up children for Abraham from stones” (Matthew 3:9). Jesus echoed this when confronting the unbelieving Pharisees. Although they were Abraham’s descendants biologically, Jesus said their actions betrayed a different father. “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did,” Jesus told them, exposing their intent to kill Him. “You are of your father, the devil,” He declared, because they rejected God’s truth (John 8:39–44). In other words, physical descent from Abraham was not enough – without Abraham’s faith, they were not true children of Abraham in God’s eyes.

The Apostle Paul makes the same point with great emphasis. He notes that not everyone descended from Israel truly belongs to Israel in God’s covenant sense: “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his descendants” (Romans 9: 6-7). The New Testament consistently teaches that faith, not ethnicity, is the defining mark of Abraham’s children. Paul argues that Abraham’s real sons and daughters are those who share Abraham’s faith in God, whether Jew or Gentile. “Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham,” Paul writes, and “Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:7–9). In fact, Paul explicitly cites the Genesis 12 promise to show that the blessing ultimately comes not through a bloodline alone but through faith: “It is those who are of faith who are blessed along with Abraham”. Thus, the New Testament flips the question of inheritance from race to grace. Being a physical Jew does not automatically make one a true Israelite in God’s sight – “it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise”  (Romans 9:8) who count as Abraham’s seed.

The Church as the “Israel of God”

Under the New Covenant, all who are “born of the Spirit” and trust in Christ become part of God’s covenant family – the Body of Christ, which the New Testament suggests is the new “Israel” in God’s redemptive plan. The apostles taught that in Christ the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile is removed, creating one new people of God (Ephesians 2:14–18). Paul’s metaphor of the olive tree in Romans 11 illustrates this continuity: unbelieving Jews (natural branches) were broken off and believing Gentiles (wild olive shoots) were grafted into the tree to share in the nourishment of Abraham’s root. Yet Jewish people who turn to Christ can be grafted back into this same tree – for there is ultimately one olive tree, one covenant people of God (Romans 11:17–24). Paul pointedly asks, when Gentiles are grafted in, “What are they grafted into?” The answer: “They’re being grafted into Israel,” into the longstanding people of God. He reminds Gentile Christians that before Christ they were “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel” but now, by Jesus’ blood, they have been “brought near” and made fellow citizens in God’s household. In other words, the Church (Jewish and Gentile believers united in Christ) shares in the identity and promises of God’s people Israel.

Paul uses the olive tree analogy to describe how Gentile believers are grafted into the covenant people of God. In this photo, new branches have been grafted onto an old olive tree stump – a vivid picture of Paul’s teaching in Romans 11.

The New Testament even uses Old Testament titles for Israel to describe the Church. For example, Peter calls the predominantly Gentile believers “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,” echoing God’s words about Israel in Exodus 19:5–6 (see 1 Peter 2:9-10). Likewise, believers in Jesus are called the “seed of Abraham” and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29). Paul addresses the Galatian Christians (comprised of both Jews and Gentiles) as the “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16), indicating that the community of believers constitutes God’s true Israel. As one summary explains, the New Testament writers frequently apply Israel’s language to the church – “All Christians are ‘fellow citizens’ … there is no national preference with respect to salvation. Just as we become spiritual ‘sons of Abraham’ by faith, so we can be considered ‘spiritual Israel’ when we receive Christ”. Far from teaching that God has abandoned Israel, the New Testament reveals that the faithful remnant of Israel (Jewish believers) together with believing Gentiles have been gathered into one flock under one Shepherd, Jesus (John 10:16). In this way, “the church is the gathered together remnant of Israel, assembled into the flock of Christ” – or as Paul terms it, “the Israel of God.” (Galatians 6:16)

Biblical Prophets and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

It’s important to recognize that being “Israel” (God’s chosen people) never meant unconditional approval of all Israel’s behavior. The Old Testament prophets consistently rebuked the nation of Israel – especially its leaders – when they strayed from God’s covenant. Rather than “supporting” corrupt kings or excusing injustice, prophets like Nathan, Elijah, Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah boldly confronted Israel’s wickedness in government and society. They were “divinely appointed to call out injustice, idolatry, and moral decay, urging rulers to return to covenantal faithfulness required by God”, delivering stern warnings and calls to repentance. For example, the prophet Amos thundered against the Northern Kingdom of Israel’s wealthy elite for oppressing the poor, declaring, “I know your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous” (Amos 5:12). He warned that Israel’s prosperity was not a sign of God’s favor while injustice reigned. Isaiah likewise cried that Israel’s rulers were “rebellious, companions of thieves” and that the nation’s worship was hypocritical while they neglected justice (Isaiah 1:4, 1:23). In short, the biblical prophets loved Israel enough to hold it accountable to God’s standard – they did not teach blind nationalism. Jesus followed this prophetic tradition, exposing the sins of Jerusalem’s religious establishment. In a pointed parable, He likened Israel’s leaders to wicked tenants of a vineyard who even killed the owner’s son to seize the inheritance (a prophecy of Jesus’ own crucifixion at their hands – see Matthew 21:33–45). Because of such unfaithfulness, Jesus warned, “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43). Thus, supporting biblical Israel never meant endorsing Israel’s rebellion against God. True loyalty to God’s people meant urging them to repent and honor God’s covenant – a principle that carries into the New Covenant as well.

Blessing the True Israel Today

Given this biblical background, what does it mean for Christians today to “bless Israel”? The covenant promise “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you” remains in effect – but the target of that promise, according to the New Testament, is ultimately Christ and His people, not a geopolitical nation-state. Those who bless (do good to, honor, or support) God’s covenant people in Christ will be blessed, and those who persecute or curse God’s people will face God’s displeasure. This principle is seen in Jesus’ teaching: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes Me… And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward” (Matthew 10:40-42). Likewise, at the final judgment Jesus will say, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these My brothers, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40), and “as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (25:45). Jesus so identifies with His followers that blessing or mistreating them is counted as blessing or mistreating Him. No wonder the risen Christ asked Saul, “Why do you persecute Me?” when Saul was hunting Christians (Acts 9:4) – to persecute the church is to persecute Christ Himself.

Therefore, the sons of Abraham by faith – all who belong to Christ – are the “Israel” that believers should especially bless and never curse. Practically, this means Christians are called to love, serve, and stand with fellow believers, including Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians alike, as one family in Christ. It does not mean we must automatically approve every policy of the modern political nation of Israel. While Christians may certainly pray for and seek the peace of all nations (including Israel) and oppose anti-Jewish hatred, the biblical covenant does not obligate uncritical political support for a secular state. Rather, as we have seen, God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled in Jesus – “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” ultimately points to the blessing of salvation in Christ spreading to all peoples. All who are “in Christ” are now heirs of that promise. They are the ones called the “children of God” (John 1:12) and the true offspring of Abraham (Galatians 3:29).

In summary, the New Testament reveals a profound truth: “Abraham’s sons, biblically, are the ones who keep the faith of Abraham, whether or not they’re blood relatives”. God’s covenant promises – including the promise of blessing for blessing – apply to those who hold the faith of Abraham. The “new Israel” is not defined by ethnicity or national borders, but by relationship to Christ. As one Bible teacher concludes, “the church is the gathered together remnant of Israel… the church is the Israel of God.” Therefore, Christians should “bless” God’s people (the Body of Christ) and never curse them. In doing so, we honor the intent of God’s promise to Abraham. Conversely, we should not invoke the Abrahamic covenant to justify unquestioning allegiance to a secular government. God loves the Jewish people and has a future for Israel in His plan, but the highest loyalty of Christians is to Jesus and His kingdom, composed of all who are born of the Spirit. Blessing the true Israel means supporting “those who wrestle with God” in faith – the community of believers – and remaining faithful to God’s covenant purposes as fulfilled in Christ. Such an understanding keeps our focus on the spiritual Israel that inherits God’s promises, ensuring we align our support with what God’s Word actually teaches about His people and His plan.