Genesis 12 Devotional

Sent Out on a Promise

“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.””Genesis 12:3 (BSB)

Genesis 12 begins with a command and a cluster of promises. The LORD tells Abram to leave his country, his relatives, and his father's household for a land he has not yet seen, and he promises to make him a great nation, to bless him, and to bless all the families of the earth through him (12:1-3). Abram goes. Everything in his future now hangs on the word of God.

The chapter is honest about the man who received that word. Before long, famine drives Abram to Egypt, where he passes Sarai off as his sister to protect himself, and it is God who steps in to rescue her (12:17). The promise never depended on Abram's courage. Paul says the gospel was announced to Abraham in advance in this promise, because God would one day justify the nations by faith (Galatians 3:8). The same God still calls people to follow him before they can see the whole road, and he keeps them when their nerve fails.

To think about: Where is God asking you to trust his word before you can see where it leads?