Abraham's Promises

Genesis 12:2-3 "And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

For one command, "Go", God promised much:
1. I will make you a great nation. When God removed Abraham from his own "roots", family, He promised to make him the head of a great nation. Abe had no children so this had to be a great promise! God knows how to fit His promises to our wants and needs. Sarah was barren and past the child-bearing years. This was truly what Rom.4: 18 means about hope against hope. Because God is faithful to His promises, Abraham and Sarah had Isaac.

2. I will bless you. To bless means that which is of the highest good; prosperity, abundance, happiness, satisfaction, peace, etc. Abraham was promised all manner of blessings as was the custom to pass the blessing to the oldest son, so God passed to Abe.

3. I will make your name great. By leaving his country, he lost his name. It is through the male child that a family name continues. He had no child. Do you see what great faith was required of Abraham? How does our faith measure up?

4. You will be a blessing. God gives each of us blessings in order for us to bless someone else. It's part of God's economy. How often we miss out on blessings because we just didn't feel like blessing someone else. It's true: what goes around comes around. You reap what you sow.

5. I will bless those that bless you and curse the one that curses you. God was saying He would be friends to Abe's friends, He would consider a kindness done to Abe as a kindness done to Himself; He would be against Abe's enemies. If someone cursed Abraham without a cause, God was saying He would throw it right back on the one who cursed. This is one reason why we are to bless our enemy and not curse them because it is God who will curse the ones who curse. Isaiah 49: 25b "I will contend with those who contend with you." (Did you notice that the blessings outweigh the curses? in that God said He would bless THOSE (plural) that bless, but He would curse the ONE that curses.

6. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. This pointed to the coming Messiah as He was of Abraham's lineage: Matt. 1: 1 & Luke 3:34 show the geneology of Jesus.

Abram's name was changed when he obeyed God's command. A new land, a new life, a new leader, a new name--Abraham.

Here's some good news: Galatians 3:29 "And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's decendants, heirs according to the promise." Abraham's blessings belong to us! WOW. That's something to shout about!!