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𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗠

God’s covenant with Abraham reveals His unchanging  purpose—to bring redemption and blessing to all nations  through Christ.  

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗

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 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭𝟮:𝟭–𝟯

Abraham’s father, Terah, was dead. It was time for Abraham to move  on. He had lingered in Haran too long. 

Abraham’s journey had begun years before in Ur, a city devoted to the moon god. Like his family, Abraham had participated in the rituals of  idolatry. Each evening, they lit a lamp at their household shrine, whispering prayers for health, fertility, and protection from the dangers of  the night. Idolatry was woven into the fabric of his life—it was all he had ever known. 

But then the God of glory appeared to him and commanded him to leave Ur. Abraham obeyed without knowing where he was going. 

His father started with him on the journey, making it as far as Haran. They settled there until his father died. Then, Abraham left his house  for the covenant land of blessing.  

Blessing is the heartbeat of Genesis 12:1–3. Hebrew authors use  repetition to highlight the key message of a text, and in verses 2 and  3, “bless” or “blessing” appears five times. How can this be? The nine previous chapters catalog human sin from Adam’s fall to Babel’s  pride, and we expect condemnation. Instead, God speaks blessing. Missiologist Christopher Wright says,  

𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 12:1–3 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 3–11, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴.

Blessing means more than happiness. It is fruitfulness, fullness, abundance, peace, prosperity, long life, a thriving land, a growing family. Above all, it is life lived in harmony with God, experiencing His glory, through the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:14). 

God’s promises to Abraham, his family, and the world continue the  original blessing He gave to Adam in Genesis 1:28–30. They show that His mission to fill the earth with His glory has never changed. He  remains eternally committed to blessing all nations. 

We are joined to that same promise through Christ and receive  Abraham’s blessing. But we’re not just called to receive it—we’re called to share it. Just as God sent Abraham, He now invites us to be part of His mission to bless the nations.

𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭𝟳:𝟭–𝟴; 𝗣𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗠 𝟲𝟳:𝟭–𝟮; 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟵:𝟲; 𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟯:𝟴–𝟵 

𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

Abraham obeyed God without knowing where he was going, trusting Him completely. This obedience required leaving behind his past to  step into God’s promise. What is God asking you to leave so you can fully follow Him? 

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

Just as Abraham left behind old patterns of idolatry, examine your  own life for anything that competes with your devotion to God and  His mission. Choose one habit, thought pattern, or distraction to surrender to Him, and replace it with a practice that honors Him.

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

Lord, You called Abraham to go—to leave behind what was known and safe—and to trust You for something greater. You promised to bless him, not just for his sake, but so You might bless all nations through him. That same purpose remains unchanged. In Christ, You still call, bless, and send us to carry Your mission forward. 

Though sin has fractured the world, Your  purpose remains—to redeem and restore. Because You are faithful, we choose to walk by faith, trusting that You will lead us.  

We surrender to Your unchanging  mission, even when we cannot see the road ahead.

Give us the courage to go  where You send and to be a blessing to the world, just as You have blessed us. Amen.