Genesis 12:3 “… In you, all families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Salvation for Humanity
God is the creator of everything. He is both almighty and good, and His spoken Word brought everything into existence out of nothing. What He created was good. In the first ten chapters of the Bible, a two-thousand-year-long story is described about how people lived and acted before God. It is fascinating to see how God is engaged in a project spanning thousands of years, while we are so easily influenced by the tides of time. If we try to see the world through God’s perspective in the Scriptures, we will be surprised at how His eternal Word also guides us in the time we live in now.
In these first chapters, many of our fundamental existential questions are answered. Where do humans come from? How did everything come to be? Is there a God? Important truths are established within the first pages of God’s Word.
As the crown of creation, He shaped humans in His image. Humans were different from all other creatures that would live on land, in the sea, and in the air. Humanity was given a fundamental free will, a mandate to have dominion over the earth, and an opportunity to commune with the Creator Himself. It didn’t take long before humanity rebelled and turned its back on God. The result was that humanity was driven out of the Garden of Eden and had to leave the perfect harmony and beauty. Humanity’s fundamental calling and purpose to live in fellowship and community with a loving God was destroyed.
The following chapters reveal that humanity, without God, diminishes itself, engages in evil, and is lost. As Paul describes in the letter to the Ephesians: “You who were once far off, without God and without hope in darkness.” Humanity’s wickedness goes so far astray. In our late modern times, where people are accustomed to defining their own truth, we often struggle to acknowledge this side of ourselves. Noah grew up in a society where God had neither space nor place; instead, human hearts, thoughts and schemes were evil. The earth became corrupt, and God was filled with sorrow.
God begins anew with a new human lineage through the righteous Noah. Eight souls in the Ark survive the flood. From these eight, a new lineage grows on earth. Nevertheless, we don’t read more than two chapters before we see that humanity is again on the wrong path. Now they want to build the Tower of Babel and become like God Himself.
In Genesis chapters eleven and twelve, the Bible’s description of history changes quite dramatically. Now the story zooms in, and the upcoming books of the Old Testament focus on Abraham and his physical descendants through his son Isaac and the lineage of his son Jacob, which constitutes the Jewish people.
It is in this reality that the Jewish people and the nation of Israel enter the stage of history, long before the Great Commission and long before the first church of Gentiles would come into existence.
In Genesis 12:1-3, God reveals the entire purpose of why He chooses Abraham and the people who come from his descendants:
“The Lord said to Abram: ‘Go from your country and from your family and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you! I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse. In you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”
In the second part of the third verse, God gives the promise that through this people, the world lying in evil shall be touched by a good God: “In you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
In Galatians 3:8, Paul describes the blessing that God promises through the Jews:
“Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘In you, all nations shall be blessed.’”
This “good news” is the gospel. From the very beginning, God’s purpose with Israel is clear. The gospel of salvation for humanity is woven into the nation’s calling and purpose.
The story of Israel is the story of a merciful and gracious God intervening in human history and calling a man and a people to save back millions upon millions of His children, who shall be brought into His kingdom for eternal life. This story is not over; it continues today. If you have received Jesus, you have also become a part of this story that began almost 4,000 years ago.
Reflection Questions – Purpose
1. – How would you describe Abraham’s calling and selection?
2. – Why is Abraham called the “father of faith”?
3. – How do you understand Abraham’s blessing in light of the New Testament?
4. – Which Bible verses spoke specefically to you?
