God would tie His future actions back to His promise to Abraham. A God who can do all those things certainly can keep His promises to Abraham. He is the same God who confused the languages of those at Babel, leading to the formation of the various nations and language groups of the earth. He is the God who destroyed every living thing on the earth (besides Noah and his family) in the great flood. How could Abraham know that God would be able and faithful to keep His promises? The God who made this promise is the same God who created the world and everything in it. God promised: to make a great nation from Abraham to make Abraham's name great to bless Abraham and those who blessed him to curse those who cursed him and to bless all the people of the earth through Abraham. God announced not only His involvement in the plan, but also His provision for Abraham in the midst of the plan. Abraham had two options: He could either stay in his current land with his family and his people, or, by faith, follow where God would lead Him. He was simply, by faith, to follow God wherever He would lead Abraham to go.
Abraham was not given a final destination to chart on a map. God initiated His covenant with Abraham (then Abram) with a command to leave his land, his family, and his relatives. Though God had clearly acted in His righteousness and justice to bring judgment upon sin, in this passage we see Him also acting in grace and mercy, establishing a covenant with Abraham and making covenant promises that would impact not only Abraham but all the nations of the earth. A God who acts, A God who promises (vv.1-3) Abraham responded to God's goodness with faith and obedience. God's covenant promises to Abraham show God's initiative, His grace, and His faithfulness. At this point in God's grand story of redemption, God acted to establish a covenant relationship with a people, giving them a land, and, through them, blessing all the peoples of the earth.
The world-wide judgment of the flood and the confusion of languages at Babel demonstrated evidences, both of God's judgment of sin and His grace and longsuffering toward sinners. IntroductionĪfter the fall, Adam and Eve, and those who came after them, demonstrated the devastating consequences of rebelling against God and pursuing one's own way. God was the one who established, and would be faithful to bring about, these covenant promises. God, in His grace, established a covenant with Abraham that promised restoration of the relationship, the establishment of a people, and the provision of a land. Man depended on God to restore the relationship that was lost through sin. Man, in his sinful and separated condition, could not do anything to restore his relationship to God. Man willfully rebelled against God's command, resulting in separation from God's presence and His bountiful provision in the Garden. He acted out of His divine prerogative to create for His glory and for man's good. God alone existed before He created the world.
Scriptures: Genesis 12:1-4 Connection to unit theme God Gives His Covenant Commands - Exodus 34 A Promise toward Paradise Regained - Genesis 12