TL;DR:
God's promise to bless all nations through Abraham and his descendants is foundational to both the Old and New Testaments. God's call for Abraham to move to Canaan placed his descendants at a key crossroads of the ancient world. This was an ideal place for them to be a "kingdom of priests" and a light to other nations.
Did God have a strategic reason for asking Abraham to move?
"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.'" (Genesis 12:1, 2011 NIV)
"On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, 'To your descendants I give this land.'" (Genesis 15:18a, 2011 NIV)
Parts of what became my home state of Oklahoma were opened to settlement through government-sponsored land runs beginning in 1889. At a signal, thousands of settlers rushed onto lands that the federal government had acquired from Native American nations. Qualified settlers could claim 160-acre homesteads if they lived on and improved the land.
The call and promise in Genesis 12 and 15 were not the proclamation of a one-man "land run." Abraham was not being offered the opportunity to "stake a claim" on land that someone thought needed developing. Nor was God trying to give him a nice "place in the country" in which to raise a family.
Genesis does not explicitly identify geography as God's reason for choosing Canaan, but the land's location offers a helpful perspective on Abraham's calling. For instance, I have heard people speculate that Abraham and Sarah needed to escape from life in the city because cities can be bad places where evil influences abound. That reasoning doesn't convince me. God was not simply giving Abraham and his family "a place in the country."
As Abraham's descendants multiplied, God commissioned them to be His message-bearers. Because of Abraham's move to Canaan, his descendants lived on a main thoroughfare of biblical times. Doesn't that location reflect God's desire for all people to know that He alone is worthy of worship? The area at the eastern end of the Mediterranean that was later parceled out to the twelve tribes of Israel was a land bridge for the ancient world. Important trade routes connecting Africa and Asia, with access to the Mediterranean world, passed through this region.
As empires rose and fell, this area remained a key international traffic artery. Trade routes linked distant regions with Egypt through the land where Abraham's descendants would eventually settle. At Sinai, God called these people to be "a kingdom of priests" (Exodus 19:6). Through Isaiah, God said His people would be "a light to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6). Abraham's move positioned his descendants so they could serve as a light for God to people from many nations. The opportunity was there for them to blossom as a "kingdom of priests."
People involved in real estate say that the three most important things about property are location, location, and location. Canaan's location helps us appreciate how Abraham's descendants were positioned to bear witness to surrounding nations. Moving Abraham and Sarah near a major transportation route of the ancient world fit well with God's expressed desire that the good news of salvation in Him be known throughout the world (Isaiah 49:6; Acts 13:47).
Like acrostics? Here are more of them.
"[T]hrough your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed" (excerpt from Genesis 22:18, 2011 NIV)
"Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham." (Galatians 3:7, 2011 NIV)
Genesis 12:1–3 is often labeled as "the call of Abraham." Those three verses are, however, more than guidance for one man and his family. God explicitly establishes His covenant with Abram in Genesis 15 and reaffirms it in Genesis 17. With this covenant—which also appears in Genesis 18 and 22—God took a big step forward in fulfilling a promise about a Redeemer that began unfolding as early as Genesis 3:15.
In selecting Abraham, God chose the family into which the Redeemer would be born. God then asked that family to move to the crossroads of the ancient world and challenged them to be a missional people.
This covenant is foundational to understanding not only the Old Testament but also the New Testament writings. We encounter Abraham's name about 70 times in the New Testament. That is not just because Abraham was the great-grandfather of the men whose families became the 12 tribes of Israel. It is because he and his descendants—spiritual and biological—were to be channels of God's blessing to the whole world.
Readers often emphasize the promises of nationhood, blessing, and a great name in Genesis 12:1–3, together with the promises of land and numerous descendants developed in subsequent chapters. However, this covenant is about far more than land, multitudes of offspring, or a man's legacy. This covenant, called "everlasting" in Genesis 17, is about bearing the news of the Messiah and His redeeming work to all peoples.
In Genesis 12:3, God reveals His purpose to bring blessing to all the earth. That blessing was not limited to wealth, health, or other things that often cause people to say, "God has blessed me." Galatians 3:8 connects the blessing God's people are to share with the good news of the gospel.
God's covenant rests on His gracious initiative and faithful promises. Abraham and his descendants were nevertheless called to respond with faith and obedience. With blessing came responsibility. As Bob Sjogren and other missiologists have noted, this covenant has a "top line" of blessing and a "bottom line" of responsibility. The message should have been unmistakable: with privilege comes responsibility.
That responsibility was restated by Jesus in His Great Commission of Matthew 28:19–20. The command to "go and make disciples" in that Great Commission is a reaffirmation of what God had said two thousand years before to Abraham: "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3, 2011 NIV).
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
These reflections are among more than three dozen articles in the "Heart of God" series originally published in Engage, an online missions magazine. That series looked at what the Bible says about world missions.
"The Church's commitment to world evangelism reflects how deeply it understands both the blessing it has received and its responsibility to share that blessing." — Kevin Juliano, Northwest Nazarene University student
The phrase "blessed to be a blessing" has roots in several biblical passages, particularly in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). One prominent example is in Genesis 12:2–3, where God speaks to Abraham:
"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:2–3, 2011 NIV)
God promised to bless Abraham and make him and his descendants a blessing to all people on earth. This promise was later reaffirmed to Isaac (Genesis 26:3–5) and Jacob (Genesis 28:13–15). God made clear that the blessings received were not solely for Abraham's benefit. He said they would extend to others around the globe. This concept is reiterated throughout the Bible. It is, therefore, important that Christ-followers understand they have been blessed in order to be channels through which the blessing reaches others.
Historical and cultural context is important when interpreting any ancient text, including Genesis 12:1–3 and 22:18. In the latter passage, God promises Abraham, "[T]hrough your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:18, 2011 NIV). Let's look at half a dozen historical and cultural factors:
Being aware of historical and cultural details like these six items can help us appreciate the richness of Genesis 22:18. They help us see the global significance of God's promise to Abraham as its fulfillment has unfolded over the centuries.
Noteworthy quotations about other Bible verses
Like acrostics? Here are more of them.
