Gen 12:1-4 KJV Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (3) And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (4) So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Something came into my mind and spirit this week and I want to share it with you. To be truthful, I am a little unsure as to how to communicate this message to you! Let me try it like this.
Covenant
This scripture today is probably one of the most pivotal readings in the entire Bible. Since the Garden, God has been striving to have a relationship with mankind – in The Garden, and out of The Garden…
- But mankind seems doomed to always break relationship with God!
This is even true today. We see the results of empty people with no relationship with God walking among us! As a friend put it yesterday, “soulless” people are those who have fallen far from God.
Yet God found a man, one of his creations, to house all the promise to the entire world – in our past, present and even into the future.
Gen 11:27-32 gives us the lineage of Abram, but there does not seem to be anything special about him. He hasn’t done anything great that we can tell. He hasn’t been involved in any spiritual endeavor that would make us look up to him. Nor has he fathered a people that would be any sense of royalty that would make us respect him.
Yet, God saw him.
There must have been something about him, his lineage, his heritage, his stature. I really think God saw not the outward view of the man, He saw something of great value within.
Out of the blue, God speak to Abram!
Would you have enjoyed listening in to the conversation!??
- Not only is Abram encouraged to leave all that he knows, he is pointed into a direction he has never been!
- Not only is God Almighty going to Bless You,
- But everything you are will be a blessing!
- You will be a great nation and have a great name.
Today, Christians, Jews and Muslims call him the father of their heritage.
- And every family in the entire earth will be blessed because of you.
- Not only is his immediate family to be blessed, but every family on the earth!
In fact, his name is changed to reflect this distinction.
- Abram = High Father
- Abraham = Father of multitudes.
Adam, Enoch, Noah, nor Moses – none of these great leaders had this promise. Only Abram has this distinction. No one in the future even comes close to this high honor. King David has his part in the overall story, but he still is nothing without the Blessings of Abram.
What God does is makes a Covenant with mankind for all of time, beginning with Abram
Blessing
What is so special about this word that is used in here to describe something being poured out onto Abram.
God said: I will BLESS thee…(v2)
- Bless: H1288 בּרך -bârak (baw-rak’) A primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit);
In many cases, this means the bestowal of Good and the ability to increase in kind. God blessed the creation in Genesis 1 and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply… In other cases, that which is blessed is set apart for specific reasons.
- Gen 2:3, God blessed the seventh day of creation and sanctified – set it apart for His use.
In other cases, the order is reversed in that man is giving the blessing to God.
- Gen 24:48 – Abraham’s servant is Blessing God
Regardless of the case that it is used, there is something important here that needs to be noted and I want to point out several scriptures about this.
- Psa 1:1-6 KJV Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (6) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
- Counsel – Advice or Plan
- Delight – Pleasure, Desire
- Fruit – Offspring, not just the natural child born of mankind, but the spiritual offspring that comes from a person who is Blessed of God!
- Jer 17:5-11 KJV Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. (6) For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. (7) Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. (8) For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (9) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (10) I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (11) As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
Finally…
God isn’t the only one giving out blessings!
You are giving out blessings when you multiply, trust in God, follow His counsel and not the wicked, sitting in heavenly places, focusing on the Law of the Lord. Being Blessed is not about having lots of stuff, but it’s in being confident in God for His Blessings to flow.
Ps 103:1-5 We don’t just bless the Lord for PAST benefits, but for CONTINUING benefits (forgivETH, healETH, redeemETH, crownETH, satisfiETH)