Be a Blessing

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.” — Genesis 12:2-3

We live in a world where the mentality is “what’s in it for me?” Before many of us agree to lend a hand, get involved in a cause, or lend our support to someone else, we first want to know how we are going to benefit from it. What is it going to cost me? Why should I help that other guy?

Imagine if Abraham had sat there and considered the cost when God called him to leave his home and move to a “land I will show you”? Suppose he said, “What if I don’t like it there? What if I get lost? What if I lose all my cattle and sheep on the way? How will I make a living? What if my family doesn’t want to move?”

Of course, God did make Abraham some incredible promises if he did obey and go: He would make Abraham into a great nation; Abraham would be blessed and his name would be great. Those are some compelling reasons to obey, don’t you think?

Then we come to God’s second command to Abraham: “be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). Many translations render this more as a prediction, “you will be a blessing,” but in the Hebrew, it literally means, “Be a blessing.”

Abraham was called to be a conduit of blessings, not just a recipient. We tend to think of receiving blessings. We even pray for God to bless us. But how often do we seek to bless others? How often do we pray that God would use us as instruments of blessing in someone else’s life?

God’s two commands are related in a sequential way. Abraham couldn’t be a blessing unless he first left to go where God was sending him. As Abraham obeyed the first command, God would bless him. Then, as a result of God’s blessing, Abraham could obey the second command to be a blessing.

Sometimes we can’t see how we can be a blessing to others. But if we obey God, we often find ourselves in a position to do exactly that. God loves to bless people, so when we are obedient and available to Him, we find new opportunities that we didn’t see before.

God may not ask us to leave our home to go to another land, but our willingness to obey whatever God asks of us is the first step to allow God to work in and through our lives to bless others. Why not try it today?

With prayers for shalom, peace,


Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein