The Key to Abundant Blessings?

The Key to God’s Blessings

When Jude, the brother of Jesus, resolved to write to his brethren in regard to their common salvation, he felt compelled to urgently appeal to and exhort them to contend for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints [the faith which is that sum of Christian belief which was delivered verbally to the holy people of God].  Why? Because certain men of their own selves have crept in stealthily through a side door and are perverting the grace (the spiritual blessings and favour) of God into lawlessness and wantonness. (Jude 1:3-4)

Sadly, that time of which Paul warns in 2 Timothy 4 has already come. Precious few Christians endure sound doctrine and are opting for a more experiential and mystical false gospel rather than to contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints. They would rather heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts, having itching ears and an unhealthy gullible craving for more money, a better life and greater blessings.

When God called Paul to follow Him, He did not say to him, “Paul, I am going to teach how to use one of the most potent and supernatural keys to release blessings you could never have dreamt of in all your life.” No! He said:

Acts 9:15-16: But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

⁽¹⁶⁾ For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake (Emphasis added).

And by the way, suffering in behalf of Christ and his Gospel is the most blessed blessing a saint could ever ask for.

Matthew 5:10-12: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁽¹¹⁾ Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

⁽¹²⁾ Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

I wonder how the ministries of people like Sid Roth and Craig Hill will survive, if they should proclaim to their audiences what Jesus said in the above quote – one year, six months, one month? I really don’t think they would have survived a single day because the blessings Jesus Christ promised to his followers do not sit well with today’s so-called Christians who only want to be blessed with great health, much wealth and an over abundant prosperity. Allow me to remind them what Luke says in Acts 14:22.

Acts 14:22: Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

²² Establishing and strengthening the souls and the hearts of the disciples, urging and warning and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith, and [telling them] that it is through many hardships and tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. (Emphasis added).

When Paul suffered so much, as the Lord promised him he would, he did not release any blessings with a supernatural key that supposedly unlocks the great blessings he seemed to have missed out on (as Sid Roth says today’s Christians have lost). He rejoiced in his sufferings.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10: And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

⁽⁸⁾ For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

⁽⁹⁾ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

⁽¹⁰⁾ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (Emphasis added).

So, what should we do?

Beware of teachers who claim that the Holy Spirit has given them a new key to this or that, or has revealed to them secrets that have been unknown from the dawn of time to this day, or has revealed to them new methods to release God’s blessings. Please watch the following videos to see how these boldly stated avowals are gaining momentum in churches these days without the slightest compunction or twinge of conscience.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiVVOO4yAUk]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aSa56r8vOg]

The usual run of the mill argument is that the church has lost out on God’s blessings and needs to return to her Hebrew roots in order to regain her former glory, and to benefit once again from the blessings the Jews have been enjoying as a nation since Messiah the King’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension. Let’s briefly look at how Sid Roth introduces Craig Hill, the founder of Family Foundations International, on the first video.

And we have found a key, a supernatural key that the first Jewish believers in the Messiah understood. But sadly, today Christians have lost this Jewish understanding and have missed the key to the most extraordinary blessings of God, in your family, in your health, in your emotions, in every area of your life, and instead, settled for many, many curses that were not necessary. We’re going to show you how this key opens up the blessing and gets rid of the curses, and you can do it the way the book says you’re supposed to do.

To begin with, anyone who believes what Sid Roth said, is either not saved or are “saved” but following a false Christ, and to prove it we’re going to look at what the book really says about God’s blessings. We’re also going to look at how Craig Hill and his Family Foundations International have perverted the grace (the spiritual blessing and favour) of God into lawlessness and wantonness according to Jude verses 3 and 4. So, to kick off, let us turn to Ephesians and chapter one.

Ephesians 1:3 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

³ May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!

There are two elements in the above quote from Scripture that need to be emphasized.

1. God has already blessed all true believers (the Bride of Christ) with every – let me repeat that, with every – spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus.
2. God the Holy Spirit is the Person who has bestowed every blessing in the heavenly realm on the Bride of Christ, and not men of dust and ashes whom the maggots are going to devour in their graves.

Ask yourself the question. To what extent are the blessings of the fathers going to improve and enhance the blessings of the Holy Spirit? The blessings in Ephesians 1:3 are spiritual blessings and no blessing of whatever kind parents may confer on their children, can equal that of God the Holy Spirit. God’s blessings are complete, thorough and perfect. God’s saints have no need of any other kind of blessing. Yet Craig Hill boasts that he has unearthed a supernatural key (a spiritual key) that unlocks, unleashes and releases God’s blessings which He, in his awesome grace and mercy, has already bestowed on all true believers.

Speaking of believers in Christ, isn’t it downright deceitful of Craig Hill to refer to unbelieving and Christ-rejecting Jews to prove how God has blessed the nation of Israel? First Sid Roth says “And we have found a key, a supernatural key that the first Jewish believers in the Messiah understood” and then he turns to unbelieving Jews who reject their Messiah to prove how God has blessed the Jews. He explains God’s blessings on the Jews as follows in the first video:

We Jewish people are known as a blessed group of people. Our nation, Israel, is one of the most blessed people in the word. I mean, their currency goes up, our currency [goes] down. Their real estate just goes up and never stops. They’ve got some of the greatest inventions in the world. Why is that?

And then Craig Hill, with the wisdom of an ancient Jewish sage, says:

You know, I believe that the Jewish people understand the principle of blessing, Sid, [and] that most other people don’t. It’s incredible in the United States, Jewish people account for only two percent of the population. But, do you know that 40% of the Forbes 400 Wealthiest Americans, all billionaires, are Jewish? And it is incredible. Actually, 30% of all Nobel Prize Winners in science are Jewish. 25% of the Nobel Prize Winners, overall, are Jewish. Why is that? I think the key that they understand, is Jewish parents know how to release blessing for their children.

Since when did Forbes’ Jewish billionaires become a barometer for God’s blessings? Tell me, Mr Hill, how do you reconcile these plainspoken statements of Jesus Christ with God’s blessings?

Matthew 19:23-24: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

⁽²⁴⁾ And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

1 Timopthy 6:5-10: Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that [financial] gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

⁽⁶⁾ But godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁽⁷⁾ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

⁽⁸⁾ And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

⁽⁹⁾But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

⁽¹⁰⁾ For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

James 1:11: For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

James 5:1-3: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

⁽²⁾ Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.

⁽³⁾ Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

Revelation 3:14-18: “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

⁽¹⁵⁾ “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!

⁽¹⁶⁾ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

⁽¹⁷⁾For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

⁽¹⁸⁾ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (Emphasis added htroughout).

I would like to suggest that Craig Hill and his Family Foundations International ministry follow the example of this little girl to learn what the true blessings of God are. They don’t need to follow the ancient Jewish paths they so eagerly advertise. They only need to listen to this little girl.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Revelation 12:11)

Is The Jewish Nation The Blessed of the Lord?

To answer the question, we need to turn to the book of Deuteronomy. (Please read Deuteronomy 28:1-45). In this passage God sets down his ultimatum for his blessings and curses and no degree of Jewish parents’ blessings on their children can change or rescind God’s curses on Israel. And before you may think that the curses spoken of above are merely Old Testament language and can only be applied to the Jews who lived under the Law, listen to what Paul wrote in Romans 11 where he recites what King David said about the Jews.

Romans 11:8-10: as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”

⁽⁹⁾ And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

⁽¹⁰⁾ let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”

To this very day the Jewish nation rejects her Messiah and as a consequence have been dispersed throughout the world, their land has been ravished by their enemies, they have suffered exceedingly great holocausts, especially during the Second World War under the madman Hitler and are still a byword (a traunting) for the entire world. (Deuteronomy 28:37). Yet Sid Roth and Craig Hill call this a blessing of God? Their most excruciating suffering still lies ahead when Antichrist will at first sign a covenant with them only to persecute and kill most of them during the last three and a half years of the seven years tribulation. (Matthew 24). And yet Sid Roth and Craig Hill call it a blessing?

Nonetheless, did the Jews’ disobedience and rebellion against God cause Him to retract the blessing he promised to bestow on the Gentiles through Abraham in Genesis 12? God forbid!

Genesis 12:1-3: Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

⁽²⁾ And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

⁽³⁾ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

However, these blessings do not relate to health, wealth and prosperity or some kind of mysterious and supernatural blessing parents supposedly bestow on their children as Sid Roth and his guest, Craig Hill, suggested in the video, but exclusively to a spiritual and soteriological blessing that God Himself bestowed on all mankind. That’s precisely why Paul continues to say in Romans 11.

Romans 11:11-12: So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

⁽¹²⁾ Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

We need to stress once again that Craig Hill and his Family Foundations International have perverted God’s grace in regard to the salvation that has come to the Gentiles through Israel’s temporal relapse into sin and rebellion, into lawlessness and a kind of Forbes’ billionaire wantonness (Jude 1:3). Craig Hill’s Youtube Video called Secrets to Achieve Wealth/Disciple demonstrates this perfectly. By the way, this video illustrates how the prosperity cult abuses God’s Word to fit their agenda.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b470–XXYco]

Is the Supernatural Key to Blessing a New Messiah?

In his introduction of Craig Hill and his Family Foundations International ministry, Sid Roth (the naturally supernatural Jewish phenomenon) makes the following blasphemous statement.

There’s this ancient Jewish key that will unlock every problem known to mankind. But there are people that are watching right now and you are hopeless. You have no hope because of the circumstances in your life and you’re going to get the key.

Siddy, what’s the most common problem known to mankind? Isn’t it sin? And you say that Craig Hill’s discovery of the most potent Jewish key to blessing unlocks every problem known to man? This is pure blasphemy. Who needs Jesus who said He came to seek and to save lost sinners when we now have such a miraculous new supernatural key to blessing than Craig Hill’s Bar/Bat Barakah blessing ceremony?

And since when are people hopeless because of the circumstances in their life? There are countless Christians in Eastern countries – and I’m referring to true Christians and not those who claim to be – who are experiencing the direst of circumstances in their lives. Some have lost their loved ones, husbands, wives and children through persecution and beheading. Some of them no longer have a home to live in. Yet they are the most blessed of the Lord. (Matthew 5:10-12).

Imagine Sid Roth telling those whom Paul describes in Hebrews 11, “Hey guys, you need to change your circumstances with this newly discovered ancient Jewish key to success. Your dire circumstances prove that you don’t have this wonderful supernatural key and that you need to get it.”

And what were these dire circumstances the saints experienced in Hebrews 11?

Hebrews 11:36-38

⁽³⁶⁾ And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

⁽³⁷⁾ They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

⁽³⁸⁾ (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Just think of the miraculous deliverance these poor saint could have experienced if they had known Craig Hill’s newly discovered secret of the supernatural key to blessing and success. Hebrews 11:36-38 would probably have sounded something like this.

And the lives of those who expreienced trials of cruel mockings, courgings and the bonds of imprisonment were suddenly released by the miracululous ancient Jewish and supernatural key of blessing Craig Hil and his Family Foundations International ministry discovered in the Jewish Bar/Bat Mitzvah rite. They have been set free from every known problem to mankind, including sin and are now the top 400 Forbes billionaires in the world. Hallelujah!

Craig Hill and his Family Foundations International are very subtly and covertly proclaiming another gospel and another Jesus that can unlock every problem known to man, including sin, the very problem that separates man from God and causes the unrepentant to go to hell.

Galatians 1:6-9

⁽⁶⁾ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

⁽⁷⁾ Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

⁽⁸⁾ But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

⁽⁹⁾ As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Whereas Craig Hill and Sid Roth encourage their audiences to turn to an ancient Jewish custom for blessing and deliverance from their dire circumstances, Jesus said the very opposite. In the above quoted section from the Bible He mentions the Gentiles rather than the Jews having God’s blessing, and guess what, they wanted to kill Him for that. (Luke 4:28-30). How do we know? Well Jesus Himself said so.

Luke 4:24-27

⁽²⁴⁾ And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

⁽²⁵⁾ But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

⁽²⁶⁾ But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

⁽²⁷⁾ And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

Does God Still Curse Today?

You may recall what Sid Roth said was one of the main purposes of the blessing Jewish parents confer upon their offspring. To remind you, this is what he said:

And we have found a key, a supernatural key that the first Jewish believers in the Messiah understood. But sadly, today Christians have lost this Jewish understanding and have missed the key to the most extraordinary blessings of God, in your family, in your health, in your emotions, in every area of your life, and instead, settled for many, many curses that were not necessary. We’re going to show you how this key opens up the blessing and gets rid of the curses, and you can do it the way the book says you’re supposed to do.

This wonderful supernatural key to blessing supposedly lifts and annuls curses, even the curses God announces on people. Please listen to this, Messieurs Sid Roth and Craig Hill, as well as all the South Africans who are following a bunch of American false teachers who are out there to make a fast buck from the South African Christians’ gullibility. I never could understand why South Africans are so keen to follow the teaching of American false teachers. First it was Rick Warren and now it’s Craig Hill. Thank God for those American missionaries and teachers, although they are in the minority, who still proclaim the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ. Observe and ponder, my friends, the following curse IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.

1 Corinthians 16:22. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

²² If anyone does not love the Lord [does not have a friendly affection for Him and is not kindly disposed toward Him], he shall be accursed! Our Lord will come! (Maranatha!)

The King James says it thus:

⁽²²⁾ If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema (accursed) Maranatha.

This brings us to the actual ritual of blessing Craig Hill and his Family Foundations International promulgate.

Are The Father’s Imparting Blessings or Curses?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64OKUcOfE2o]

As you may have noticed, the Bar/Bat Barakah (son or daughter of blessing) is based on the Jewish custom called the Bar/Bat Mitzvah (son or daughter of the commandment/law). It is a Christianised version of the Jewish custom without the nuance of the Law. The question we need to ask, is why would Christians want to follow a ritual that is based on the Jewish Kabbalah (occult)? Wouldn’t they agree that God’s anger and curses rest on the Jewish Kabbalah? May I remind our Christian friends of the Family Foundations International movement what Jesus Christ once said.

Matthew 7:15-20: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

⁽¹⁶⁾ Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

⁽¹⁷⁾ Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

⁽¹⁸⁾ A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

⁽¹⁹⁾ Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

⁽²⁰⁾ Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Anything based on something of which its root is corrupt, is itself corrupt to the very core.

A Christian once asked a Jew, “Where is Jesus Christ in Kabbalah?” He received the following answer:

He’s absent, because I only base my teaching on the three main Kabbalists: Rashbi (The Book of Zohar), the Ari, and Baal HaSulam (view his available works in English). Just like any other science, Kabbalah bears no relation to any religion. It is the physics of forces that are perceived and examined through our sixth sense – the corrected desire.

Billy Phillips of the Kabbalah Centre says the following of Jesus Christ and the New Testament.

The New Testament is not the true teachings of Jesus, though his true teachings are included in it in the form of parable. The rest of it is paganism. But that is ALSO by the design of the Creator.

How dare Christians sanctify a Christianised version of a Kabbalistic ritual? How dare they borrow from an occult ceremony that has no room for Jesus Christ and his teaching? Are they crazy? They are not releasing a blessing on their children but a curse, the very thing they believe their blessings dissolve.

Another question we need to ask, is, do the fathers release their blessings on all their children (not only the first born), regardless of whether they know they are saved or not? If it were true that the parents release their supernatural key of blessing on all their children while some of them may not be saved, they are countering God’s words in 1 Corinthians 16:22. In fact, the unsaved children are not blessed but the wrath of God abides on them? (John 3:36).

The unsaved children are like a restless and troubled sea, casting up mire and dirt. There is no peace for them, says the Lord (Isaiah:20-21). Parents can bless their unsaved children until the proverbial cows come home, they will never absolve them from God’s curse of restlessness, agitation, inner conflict, distress and disharmony, until they come to Christ for their salvation. (Matthew 11:28-30).

At any rate, as was said earlier, parents do not need to release or to confer blessings on their children who are saved because God has already blessed them with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3). They are spiritual blessings and do not necessarily include temporal blessings like health, wealth and prosperity.

The poorest of the poor saved person is a billion times more blessed than the unsaved children of redeemed parents. Craig Hill’s example of the Jewish, Christ rejecting Forbes billionaires, is a disgrace. Why didn’t he rather use as an example non-Jewish Christ dishonouring so-called Christians like Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer and the likes? They are as stinking rich as the Jewish Forbes billionaires. The only difference is that the Jews worked for their money whilst the Word of Faith moguls are still cheating their followers out of their money with their so-called Christian ministries.

Parents, stop blessing your children with the so-called Bar/Bat Barakah blessing. You are not only sinning against God; you are sinning against your own children. Rather pray for them; for those who are not saved and for those who are already saved that they may remain loyal to Jesus Christ no matter what their circumstances. Rather pray for them and God Himself will bless them.

Oh, OK, you may say that Craig Hill gave credit to the Messiah when Sid Roth asked him, “Craig Hill, what would you say to someone that is hopeless, right now?”

You know, it’s incredible, Sid, that there is hope because of the Messiah. And I believe, Sid, as you just alluded to, you have hope because the same thing can happen for you even if you’re drowning in debt. You might be sick. You might have a horrible relationship in your family. There’s hope for you because the same thing will happen for you. Today, you’ll have an encounter with Jesus the Messiah that will change everything.

Where’s the Gospel in this inordinately unbiblical rambling of a man who claims to have unearthed a wonderful new secret that will change everything in your life? Their Gospel is to encounter a Messiah who will change your life from sickness to health, from debt to affluence, and from a horrible relationship with your family to a relationship of serenity and happiness. Compare this to Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:34-36. This is what happens when you proclaim the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 10:34-36

⁽³⁴⁾ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

⁽³⁵⁾ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

⁽³⁶⁾ And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

Their gospel will only change your temporal problems here on earth. Their gospel avoids realities like sin and separation from God, temporarily and eternally in hell if you do not repent and receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Who is this Messiah he says you will encounter when you start using the supernatural key to blessing? Well, obviously it is another Messiah.

Here’s what the true Messiah said, and not the Messiah Sid Roth and Craig Hill say you will encounter when you use the ancient and miraculous key to blessing.

Galatians 1:6-9

⁽⁶⁾ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

⁽⁷⁾ Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

⁽⁸⁾ But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

⁽⁹⁾ As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Isaac’s Blessing of Jacob

As we’ve seen from the first video, Craig Hill and his followers use Isaac’s blessing of Jacob and Esau as a kind of template to verify their own method of blessing their children during the Bar/Bat Barakah blessing ceremony.

Sid Roth who is a Jew and Craig Hill should know that the patriarchs in the Old Testament did not bless all of their children indiscriminately. They could inherit two things on the death of their fathers – property and a blessing. For instance, if the parents had three children their property was divided four ways. The eldest son usually received a double portion whilst the other children received a portion each. In addition to his double portion the eldest son received a blessing.

The blessing included a prophecy about his future and the future of his descendants. When a child received the blessing, he was then made the head of the family after his father’s death. The man to whom Jesus said “Follow Me” and pleaded to be granted some time to bury his ailing father, was probably the first-born and did not want to forfeit the double portion he would receive at his father’s death. (Luke 9:59).

In most cases the double portion was given to the eldest son. However, the father often chose to give it to one of his other children when the eldest son displeased him.

The blessing God afforded to Abraham and his descendants, the Jews, (Genesis 12:1-3; 17:1-4) was contingent on his descendants remaining faithful to God and his commandments. These blessings were related to their becoming a great nation and their inheritance of the land of Canaan. Indeed, they became a great nation and inherited the land of Canaan as God promised but forfeited this temporarily. Why? So that God’s blessing on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob could be extended to the Gentiles. This per se is the most important blessing because it involves a Person in whom all the nations of the world would be blessed (i.e. Jesus Christ).

Romans 11:28

⁽²⁸⁾ As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your [the Gentiles] sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s) sakes.

If Craig Hill and his Family Foundations International want to base their Bar/Bat Barakah blessing ceremony on the Old Testament patriarchal blessing, then they should only bless their eldest sons. Indeed, when the eldest son of Jacob, Esau coveted a blessing from his father, Isaac, after his brother, Jacob, had stolen his first-born blessing, Isaac blessed him in the following way:

Genesis 27:34-40

⁽³⁴⁾ And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

⁽³⁵⁾ And he said, Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing.

⁽³⁶⁾ And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

⁽³⁷⁾ And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

⁽³⁸⁾ And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

⁽³⁹⁾ And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

⁽⁴⁰⁾ And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

What child of the Family Foundations International brethren would want to hear this kind of blessing being conferred on him or her?

End Note on Craig Hill’s Blessings

It is very interesting to note that The Promise Keepers promotes Craig Hill’s teaching on parental blessings quite vigorously.

Please read this article on “The Promise Keepers.” It is a real eye-opener.