Genesis 12-15
The first 9 verses of Genesis 12 hold SO much promise! In fact, we’ve all heard of a lie that starts out small but just grows and grows – that’s bad. But, what about a TRUE promise from the Lord Almighty that starts out in verse one and just grows and grows and becomes one of the largest and very best promises in the world? Sometimes this is referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant.
In Genesis 12:1 the Lord calls Abram (whose name will be changed to Abraham in chapter 17) to leave his country and father’s house and family to go to a land that God himself will show to Abram. God is telling Abram to leave the known and comfortable and so much of what has been important to him thus far. But God says when Abram does this, God Himself will show Abram the land that God has already picked out and reserved for Abram. In the next two verses we see 7 promises given to Abram:
- I will make of you a great nation
- I will bless you
- And make your name great
- So 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 12:2-3 ESV)
That’s a lot of promising promises! He is going to bless Abram in some big ways so that Abram can be a blessing to others, even to all the families of the earth! And God’s not done – He’s got even more good news for Abram. But first, Abram has to get moving. He has to believe the promise enough to start acting on it.
And he does. 75 year old Abram leaves his comfortable couch in Haran and starts out, not knowing where he is going or what the land will look like or when he will get there or what he will have to pass through to get there, but believing that when the Almighty gives His Word He is good for it and good will come of it. So, he moves out in search of the land God will show to him. I love that part! Sometimes decision making is hard and we find ourselves overthinking or second guessing so we don’t move at all. But God told Abram you get moving and I will show you the land! Maybe that means you go through some lands that aren’t the right fit and isn’t what God is saving up for you, maybe you try some ministries that give you more experience and empathy but aren’t where God is going to plant you. It is okay. It is part of the journey. You keep moving. You keep trusting your faithful God to show you when THIS is the land He chose for you.
Can you imagine all the feelings old, childless Abram who got moving and has just travelled about 550 miles from Haran and was now passing through the land of Canaan would experience in verse 7? “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ’To your OFFSPRING I will give THIS land.’” The promise just exploded and got so much larger! Not only was he now SEEING the land God had said He would show him, but now he also heard that he would somehow, someway yet have offspring?!? Abram’s response – he built an altar to worship the Lord, which also acts as a witness to others.
Sometimes we question God’s timing of the fulfillment of His promises. Is it now, God? When God showed Abram that this was WHERE, the question became WHEN. It wasn’t time for him to settle there, yet. But it was then also promised to his offspring, yet another great part of the promise.
It is good news for us that God does not take back his promise from Abram when Abram is less than perfect (telling less than the truth to try to protect himself in Egypt). In fact, it is after this that the promise has yet another amazing addition with some incredible implications for you and I. Genesis 13:14-16 (ESV) says: “The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.’” Did you catch the NEW piece of the promise? It’s a little 7 letter word that never ends! This land would be given to Abram and his (as of yet non-existent) offspring that would become as numerous as the dust of the earth FOREVER! Abram’s response – he builds an altar to worship and witness and he settles into the land that God had promised and God had shown!
As beautiful as those chapters are – don’t miss chapter 15. Abram is having some doubts. How could all this be? Sure, it sounds great, but he still doesn’t have any offspring! How long God until your promise is fulfilled? The word of the Lord comes to Abram and it is the first recorded time the beautiful, comforting, often repeated phrase, “FEAR NOT!” appears in the Bible. Why do we fear not? Because God tells us HE is our shield and our very great reward! HE has given a very great promise and He is working out the details. He has chosen the land and He will show it to those who believe enough to get moving and in His perfect timing we will settle there and in His perfect timing we will see and cherish our offspring as numerous as the stars. Verse 16 is quoted 3 times in the New Testament: “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” He believed. It doesn’t say he understood. He didn’t have to engineer the plan. He had to believe, and move, and let God show him the land.
Dear Lord, thank you for your promises that are always true and that just keep getting bigger and bigger. Please show me the land You have chosen for me to settle in – both now and when Jesus returns to set up Your Kingdom on this land. Help me get moving in the direction You have laid out. Thank you for the offspring you have blessed me with, help me also see and care for the spiritual offspring you have given. Help me worship You and be a witness to all You have already done and all You have yet to do. Thank you for being my shield and very great reward! Help me remember this so I do not fear but always believe in you and Your great Son. Thank you for your Word, and for keeping it FOREVER!
-Marcia Railton
Reflection Questions
1.When was the last time you made a covenant, a promise, or gave your word? Can your word be trusted? Can God’s word be trusted? How do you know? (Notice that God gave an example in Gen 15 of how trustworthy His word would be when he foretold the 400 years in Egypt and the exodus. Who do you think God included this information for?)
2. In what ways has God blessed you so that you can bless others?
3. What might have happened if Abram would have declined God’s offer and promise to show him a new land? Maybe he was just too comfortable in Ur, and then Haran? Maybe he had a project he wanted to finish? What if he loved his family too much to leave? What might be holding us back from setting out to find the land (or purpose or ministry or Kingdom) God has reserved for us? What might we miss out on if we stay where we are known and comfortable?
4. What similarities and differences can you find between God calling Abram which begins the Abrahamic Covenant and 2,000 years later Jesus calling the disciples at the start of the New Covenant? How are the two covenants connected? Now, 2,000 years after Jesus’ call, what do you feel you are being called to do? What part(s) of the Abrahamic and New Covenants are still being worked out by a faithful God? What land has God already shown you and what land are you waiting for your shield and very great reward to show you?
Seek Grow Love 