Reading Genesis 11:10-12:20; 13-14
We enter into the start of God’s long (and I really mean LONG) redemption plan that he first made mention of in Genesis 3:15
“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
This long redemption plan for mankind starts from Abram. Genesis 12 does not explicitly mention why God chose Abram to carry out his redemption plan, but it did. This is the words of God to Abram (Genesis 12:2-3):
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
We often remember these verses, but neglect the context in which this promise will be fulfilled. In verse 1, we see that this promise is condition upon Abram leaving the land that he was in and embark on a pilgrimage to a place that God will show him. This makes verse 4 critically important.
“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him”. This sets forth the promise God made. Genesis will now track for us how through Abram, this promise will start to manifest itself through the Abram. Now, Abram is by no means without sin. Yet God chose compassion and decided to carry out his redemption plan through the line of Abram.
Immediately we see God’s promise fulfilled protecting him in Egypt and his encounter amidst the battles of the kings of the lands. This is only the beginning as we will see God make a greater promise that will be fulfilled. We shall see this in the next lesson.
But what is important in these 2 lessons is the need for us to act in faith. Often we ask why God is not blessing me when we ourselves have not been faithful. How do we expect God’s promises to manifest itself in us if we do not meet the preconditions. Of course, God can still choose to carry out his promise if we are not faithful, but that is the result of the compassionate character of God. We should not mistake it for our rights. Our right is eternal separation.
Just like how God chose to act through his kindness and goodness by choosing Abram (who is himself sinful), we should not expect anything from God. All we can hope for is his kindness and mercy to be upon us. Even then, God’s convent promise of blessing us and through us will manifest itself if we following God in faithfulness, anything else is out of God’s compassion.
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