Blessed to be a Blessing Part 2
II. The Blessing (Gen. 12:2-3)
A. Toward Abraham
1. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;”
God told him to leave everything, which was of course limited to his father’s household and property. But God is now giving him a promise that He will become a great nation; which means he will have children, land etc. That means God is going to bless him with far more riches and inheritance than he could ever have lost. Here we see the truth that we can never out-give God. The sacrifices we make for Him can never beat the immense blessing God will lavish upon us, especially when we obey Him.
2. “I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
In Genesis chapter 11, God dispersed the people because they wanted to have a name for themselves; in other words, to make their name great outside of God. God is now promising Abraham a great name! God’s purpose is that Abraham will not only have a great name, but will also be a blessing! In other words people will use his name to ask for blessing and also in blessing each other and say, “may God bless me just as Abraham has been blessed!”
The Hebrew root-word ‘barak’ for ‘to bless’ or ‘blessing’ has various usage and meanings just like any other Semitic languages. The verb meaning for ‘barak’ is “to kneel, bless, be blessed, curse.” The word is first used in Genesis 1:22: “And God blessed them, saying, be fruitful and multiply…” And the Noun ‘berakah’--’blessing’ is first used when God blessed Abram in Genesis 12:2: “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing [berakah]” “Of a more particular nature (of the blessing) was the divine blessing promised to the patriarchs” which became “a constant theme in Gen 12-50” Even though the usage of the word has to do with the blessings in terms of material prosperity (including land) and one’s productivity in relation to having children or numerical growth, “the primary factor of blessing is the statement of relationship between parties” Thus it has to do with God the creator and his relationship with his creation—mankind.
God first announced His blessing to man (1:28) but man failed Him and the relationship between God and man was broken. God made provision for the relationship to be restored through the line of Abraham to whom He renewed his covenant of blessing. Therefore the divine promise given to the Patriarchs has to be read with or along side Genesis 1 because it is “a re-affirmation of the divine intentions for man.”
The imperative ‘to be a blessing’ means that Abraham should not be just a recipient or be the ultimate goal of the blessing. He has to be “both a receptacle for the divine blessing and a transmitter of that blessing” to the rest of mankind.
B. Toward Mankind:
1. “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse”
God himself is taking the initiative to bless those who bless. God was concerned with Abraham’s welfare and He personally gave him the promise of blessing. At this point Abraham also represents Christ who was yet to come through his lineage. Therefore anybody who blesses Abraham will be blessed and those who refuse to bless him are already cursed because of sin.
We learn here how God is concerned with the well-being of those He calls His own. He doesn’t lead us where His grace cannot sustain us. He doesn’t take us where His provision and protection cannot reach us.
2. “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
This carries the idea of a continued blessing in the future. Through the promised “Seed” of Abraham, the blessing will continue to be offered to the whole world.
We are the spiritual descendants of Abraham and we are part of God’s promise to him. Through our spiritual heritage, we become recipients of God’s blessings. We have been blessed in and through Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:29 says, “If you belong to Christ then, you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” I believe that we are all alive today for a purpose and that is to be a blessing. Let me share with you my story.
Are you in a situation where you feel that God has not blessed you; that He has failed to keep His promises to you? You may be experiencing loss. You may be grieving. You may be in pain. You may even doubt that God is actually blessing you now so that you may be His blessing to others. Let me encourage you by saying that even amidst our bitter experiences in life and despite our brokenness, God is still blessing us and He still intends to use us to bless others.
A. Toward Abraham
1. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;”
God told him to leave everything, which was of course limited to his father’s household and property. But God is now giving him a promise that He will become a great nation; which means he will have children, land etc. That means God is going to bless him with far more riches and inheritance than he could ever have lost. Here we see the truth that we can never out-give God. The sacrifices we make for Him can never beat the immense blessing God will lavish upon us, especially when we obey Him.
2. “I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
In Genesis chapter 11, God dispersed the people because they wanted to have a name for themselves; in other words, to make their name great outside of God. God is now promising Abraham a great name! God’s purpose is that Abraham will not only have a great name, but will also be a blessing! In other words people will use his name to ask for blessing and also in blessing each other and say, “may God bless me just as Abraham has been blessed!”
The Hebrew root-word ‘barak’ for ‘to bless’ or ‘blessing’ has various usage and meanings just like any other Semitic languages. The verb meaning for ‘barak’ is “to kneel, bless, be blessed, curse.” The word is first used in Genesis 1:22: “And God blessed them, saying, be fruitful and multiply…” And the Noun ‘berakah’--’blessing’ is first used when God blessed Abram in Genesis 12:2: “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing [berakah]” “Of a more particular nature (of the blessing) was the divine blessing promised to the patriarchs” which became “a constant theme in Gen 12-50” Even though the usage of the word has to do with the blessings in terms of material prosperity (including land) and one’s productivity in relation to having children or numerical growth, “the primary factor of blessing is the statement of relationship between parties” Thus it has to do with God the creator and his relationship with his creation—mankind.
God first announced His blessing to man (1:28) but man failed Him and the relationship between God and man was broken. God made provision for the relationship to be restored through the line of Abraham to whom He renewed his covenant of blessing. Therefore the divine promise given to the Patriarchs has to be read with or along side Genesis 1 because it is “a re-affirmation of the divine intentions for man.”
The imperative ‘to be a blessing’ means that Abraham should not be just a recipient or be the ultimate goal of the blessing. He has to be “both a receptacle for the divine blessing and a transmitter of that blessing” to the rest of mankind.
B. Toward Mankind:
1. “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse”
God himself is taking the initiative to bless those who bless. God was concerned with Abraham’s welfare and He personally gave him the promise of blessing. At this point Abraham also represents Christ who was yet to come through his lineage. Therefore anybody who blesses Abraham will be blessed and those who refuse to bless him are already cursed because of sin.
We learn here how God is concerned with the well-being of those He calls His own. He doesn’t lead us where His grace cannot sustain us. He doesn’t take us where His provision and protection cannot reach us.
2. “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
This carries the idea of a continued blessing in the future. Through the promised “Seed” of Abraham, the blessing will continue to be offered to the whole world.
We are the spiritual descendants of Abraham and we are part of God’s promise to him. Through our spiritual heritage, we become recipients of God’s blessings. We have been blessed in and through Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:29 says, “If you belong to Christ then, you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” I believe that we are all alive today for a purpose and that is to be a blessing. Let me share with you my story.
Are you in a situation where you feel that God has not blessed you; that He has failed to keep His promises to you? You may be experiencing loss. You may be grieving. You may be in pain. You may even doubt that God is actually blessing you now so that you may be His blessing to others. Let me encourage you by saying that even amidst our bitter experiences in life and despite our brokenness, God is still blessing us and He still intends to use us to bless others.
posted by grace gaston-dousel | 2:58 PM
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