“I will bless you, to be a blessing” God’s Promise to Abraham in Genesis 12

“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. 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. 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.’”(Genesis 12:1-3)

I will bless you… to be a blessing. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

This is called the Abrahamic Promise, a testament of how God worked through his chosen people and works in us today. This is a covenant of God to the Jews first, and then to all of humanity: “be faithful and I will bless you”.

God asks us to be personally faithful and to place him first and foremost in our lives. As God works in us, we respond back to Him by faith, as Abraham demonstrated (Genesis 15-22; Exodus 32:13; Romans 4:13; Hebrews 11).

Abraham, as Hebrews 11 declares, walked by faith. He is the father of the Jewish faith and lineage. His example of obedience was responding to God by leaving his homeland and going to an unknown destination. He trusted in God for a promise and a future inheritance.

Abraham did not engage in blind faith, instead he modeled complete confidence in God because he is trustworthy.

Because of his faith and obedience, God declared Abraham righteous and made him the quintessential representative for faith and righteousness (Genesis 12-18; Romans 4; Galatians 3).

Our God keeps his word! He gave a promise to Abraham and has kept it for all generations. God told Abraham, “I will bless you and increase your descendants into a countless multitude of nations, and all nations will be blessed through you.”

Our faith is secured by God’s promise, and our faith can endure as we look to Christ. Abraham demonstrates that faith in God, and his story points to our hope and life in Christ!

We have a God in whom we can have assurance and take refuge. He is personal and trustworthy, so we can be faithful as Abraham was. We have an anchor for our souls, as he leads us to the safe harbor of his presence and plan.

God will bless you, and you will be a blessing. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you – what a powerful promise!

Abraham and Sarah did not get the promise of the land in their lifetime, but they received much more – a relationship with God and a place in eternity. Faith stretches us beyond what we think we can do, and as Abraham’s story shows us, God will reward us for our faithfulness. God promises that – if we follow him – he will bless us so that we may bless others.

Click here to read an earlier post by Richard.