A blessing to all the nations

Genesis 12:1-3

God promised Abram a son. In fact, in this passage He promises Abram more than a son. God promises that Abram will become a great nation (v2) and become a blessing. This is then expanded on in verse 3 when God says, ‘And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed’. Abram was a nobody who had been plucked from obscurity in a far off city called Ur by his father, Terah, who had dragged his family across miles and miles of land to arrive in Haran (see Genesis 11:31,32). How could this man be a blessing to all the families of the earth? He didn’t even have a garden he could call his own.

And yet, God knew what He was doing! He was calling man of faith, a man who would take God at His word and believe Him (Genesis 15:6). That is the type of person God can work with.

Ultimately, the way Abraham would become a blessing to all the families of the earth is through the fact that one of his direct descendants was Jesus. Matthew opens his gospel with, ‘The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham’ (Matthew 1:1). It is through Jesus all people could be reconciled to God and there is no greater blessing than being reconciled to God. What a blessing to the whole world!

We see a glimpse of the full results of this blessing when we read, ‘After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ (Revelation 7:9,10).

Amazing that from one obscure man comes blessing to all the nations of the earth!

Further reading: Revelation 7:9-12              Matthew 1:1-17

Worship video

To think about:
What promises have you received from God? Which ones have happened and which ones are you still waiting for?

Creative Response:

An art journal page by Bernice

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