When God called Abram, He established a covenant with him. This devotional reading looks at the last blessing in that call.
Nuggets
- We use this verse to say that those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed.
- God had an ideal in view when He made the choice of Israel to be His peculiar people.
God’s call to Abram – His first covenant with him – promised that his descendants would become a great nation. They would be blessed.
But God said that all would be blessed through him. What was that all about?
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Abraham the Emigrant series
Blessing to Others
“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt ...” (Gen. 12: 3 NLT)
We use this verse to say that those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed.
Maybe. Maybe not.
I think the bless those that bless you part is talking about Jesus. God has already talked about the Messiah (Gen. 3: 15). He is going to take care of our spiritual condition before a physical condition.
Don’t get me wrong. The bless/curse Israel part is written out specifically later. “The nation is like a mighty lion; When it is sleeping, no one dares wake it. Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed, And whoever curses Israel will be cursed” (Num. 24: 9).
So those calling for global intifada best be careful.
This is a general, descendant-wide blessing. But this is also an individual blessing. It is for Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Mary, Peter, Paul – and every other Tom, Sally, and Elaine.
Evans made a good point. The Jews almost made Abraham into a god himself.
Resource
- “‘But we are descendants of Abraham,’ they said. ‘We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, “You will be set free”’? (Jn. 8: 33 NLT).
- “‘Our father is Abraham!’ they declared. ‘No,’ Jesus replied, ‘for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example’” (Jn. 8: 39 NLT).
The Jews thought salvation came through Abraham. Jesus said, “Wrong. It comes through me.”
Pearse told us exactly how God blessed Abram. He blesses us in the same way.
- God Himself came to Abram and told him what was required.
- God Himself told Abram what He wanted Abram to know about Him.
- God Himself told Abram what He wanted Abram to do.
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God comes to us. He doesn’t force Himself on us. We have to be obedient, like Abram, and listen to His call.
Bless You; Blessing to Others
“... All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12: 3 NLT)
God had an ideal in view when He made the choice of Israel to be His peculiar people.
One promise was to bless everyone through Abram. Yes, he was going to have enough descendants to become a nation. But even people not his descendants were going to be blessed – even Ham’s descendants including Nimrod’s.
We just have to grab hold of that blessing. “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence” (Jer. 17: 7 NLT).
The opposite is to be cursed. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord” (Jer. 17: 5 NLT).
God’s Word gives us another way to say that. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding” (Prov. 3: 5 NLT).
Aitken is correct. He wrote, “These two types of experience are contrasted with each other — not primarily, with respect to their outward moral characteristics.”
Resource
It has nothing to do with our moral characteristics – being a good person. Salvation is based only on our relationship with God. We have to be a good, not evil, person before we can do good for others – spiritual or physical.
From our review of God’s Word, He hasn’t — at this point — really given us many clues on how He wanted us to live. He didn’t do this until after the Exodus.
But we talked about the Noachite Laws. Some believe were given to Adam on Day 1 of creation.
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If they were given to Adam — even if they weren’t given until Noah — God’s requirement for our behavior was already given. Even if they weren’t written down, Abram knew how God wanted him to act.
Because Abram was obedient to the Noachite Laws, God gave Abram five promises.
- I will make you a nation (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will bless you (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will make your name great (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will bless those who bless you, curse those who curse you (Gen. 12: 3).
- All will be blessed through you (Gen. 12: 3).
We don’t want to miss this. God made one man – Adam – and, through his family, created all humankind. God made one man – Noah – and, through his family, saved humankind from distinction. God made one man – David – and, through him, really made Israel into a nation. God made one man – Jesus – and, through His sacrifice, saved all humankind from our sins when we accept Him as our Savior.
Don’t think one person doesn’t have influence.
Think of how many years it has been since Abram was alive. We still know his name and at least some of his descendants.
We could call that being famous. But really, we know about him because we know about God.
Yes, the “… Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family …” (Gen. 12: 1 NLT) part meant Abram gave up a lot. God promised him a lot in return.
The most important thing Abram gain was that his descendant – Jeus – became the Savior for all, not just the Hebrews/Israelites/Jews. That is what everyone from Adam on down needed/needs.
Making the Connections #1
The problem with the covenant with Abram was that the Israelites focused on the covenant. “I will make you into a great nation …” (Gen. 12: 2 NLT emphasis added).
They took the you as a singular you instead of a plural you. They missed “… All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12: 3 NLT).
It seems to me that — every once in a while — the Israelites felt that the covenant gave them a pass. (Ooo, baby. That sounds familiar.)
Making the Connections #2
The covenant with Abram — and the old laws — could not save them — or us.
So, yes. They were God’s chosen people, but there was still this sin issue.
That did not mean their election failed.
It meant that was only Step One of the plan. God always intended to send Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer.
Making the Connections #3
So, was the act of leaving – Abram’s works – what justified him? No.
Abram wasn’t relying on his knowledge and abilities to make the journey. He was relying on God that he was to go to Canaan – without even knowing that was his destination. He believed God to make the plan and get his there.
Making the Connections #4
Whether Abram was called from Ur or Haran – or both – he was being called from the fallen people. He was coming from the Land of Nod – anywhere where the Garden of Eden wasn’t – to where God wanted hm to be.
But even from the move from Ur, Abram had to have faith. Talking about Stephen’s speech at his stoning, Ness reminded us of this fact. He wrote,
“This that blessed pro-martyr Stephen (being filled with the Holy Ghost) [intimated], to convince those superstitious and bloodthirsty Jews (who conceited that religion was confined to Canaan or Jerusalem) that Abraham had the true religion even in Chaldea and in Charan, before ever he saw Canaan or received circumcision, or before any ceremonies were appointed by the ministry of Moses, and before there was either tabernacle or temple.”
Resource
Abram moved from Ur to Haran to Canaan because the Sovereign God – the God of Shem – told him to go. Whatever he knew in Ur was enough to get him going – and he grew from there.
Making the Connections #5
Several sermons talked about this being the first time we see a personal religion. I don’t know if I agree with that.
- Abel’s faith was personal because Cain did not share it.
- Noah was thought to have been the only righteous man before the flood, even though three sons and all their wives went with him on the ark.
- Enoch was taken without dying because he walked with God.
Making the Connections #6
Dods stated that this passage reported the first time that God revealed Himself to Abram. Yeah, God could have just nudged Abram to leave Ur.
Resource
If this would have been given in Genesis 11 when Abram was in Ur, I could see that.
I don’t know. Wouldn’t Abram have needed a little more than a nudge? Wouldn’t God have wanted the call to be more than an unknown nudge from Someone?
Wouldn’t Abram have thought it was just one of the false gods he was worshiping in Ur? Wouldn’t God have wanted him to know it wasn’t?
I mean, how was Abram supposed to sell this to dear old dad? “I’ve got this feeling that I am supposed to leave everything here to go somewhere unknown. You want to come with me?”
I don’t think God wanted Abram to rattle off a name of one of the false gods he was worshiping and credit the move to it.
This is God appearing to Abram just as He appeared to Noah to warn him of the flood. Did God use this as a type of conversion experience? Maybe.
I think Moses put this out of place. He should have put the call before explaining all about Terah’s family.
Whenever and wherever the call came, it did begin a lifelong journey of faith in an unseen God. What we do know is that Abram obeyed that call immediately.
How Do We Apply This?
- Go immediately when God calls, whether we know the complete plan or Step 1.
- Trust on God, knowing that we are going to be different from the worldview people.
- Make it a habit to always trust God.
Resources
Father God. You do ask us to give up sin. Sometimes, You ask us to give up other — harder — things: family, dreams, preferences. But when we are obedient, You bless us beyond our imagination. Thank You. Amen.
What do you think?
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