Blessing

 He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you."
Numbers 24:9 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/num.24.9.ESV

Balaam was hired to curse the Israelites, but he was powerless to do so. All he could do was to bless them. Israel was like a lion, the most powerful of beasts.

Jesus is the ultimate Israelite, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Those who bless Him are blessed. Those who curse Him are cursed.

If we've misused the name of God, we need to repent if we want to be eternally blessed, not cursed. Whilst the Jewish people are still blessed to this day, there's a sense in which as those grafted into spiritual Israel, Gentile believers in the Jewish Messiah are blessed

There's an eternal dimension to this verse. In this life, those who curse God's people often get away with it. Eternally however, unrepentant persecutors will be cursed. Paul is a shining example of a persecutor who repented and came to faith in Christ.

'Dear Lord, we thank You for the blessings of being Your people. We pray You would help us to bless those who curse us, and that You would cause them to repent. In Jesus' name, amen'

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