Genesis 12 Commentary
Mesopotamia would be the land of the Chaldeans. Abram is scattered from here by the LORD for a special purpose. Acts 7 verses 2 and 4.
Adam’s sin saw mankind scattered from Eden. During Noah’s time, the LORD responded to disobedience by annihilating humans except Noah and his three sons. At Babel, mankind is scattered for similar reasons. Humans are stone heads! We never learn!
But the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. He blesses Adam in Chapter 1 verse 28. The blessing is repeated to Noah in Chapter 9 verse 1. The LORD ‘pastes’ the same blessing to Abram in chapter 12, today’s chapter.
The Abrahamic blessing differs slightly from the two former blessings, Adam’s and Noah’s. The difference is in the environment in which these men lived. Adam was the only human alive and he needed to rule over the ‘serpents’. Of course, he would have children – princes and princesses who would equally rule over the serpents. Noah’s situation is similar to Adam’s. Everyone else is dead apart from Noah and his three sons. Let the serpents fear him! Genesis 9 verse 2.
Abraham is one man among countless sinners. He has to contend with the rest. The blessing reflects this environment. The LORD promises to make Abraham’s name great. And the rest of humanity would be blessed through Abraham.
The LORD God wants everyone (His creation) blessed but it will be done through Abraham.
To have a great name is the goal but don’t do it yourself! Let the LORD do it. He knows best. Just like the clothing of leaves that Adam provided for himself wasn’t good enough, the name the citizens of Babel wanted for themselves was wickedness. So we have the LORD correcting things again but with Abraham. The LORD God defines life. He defines greatness; we don’t.
A good saint considers himself or herself blank until the LORD fills him or her. It’s not in our nature to consider oneself “wisdomless” and “intelligentless”; that’s where the money is! However, the saint is never one to be on top of things by himself. The LORD God defines life! It’s a place of trust; it’s a place of worship.
Abraham’s life would follow this path, often defying common logic. We shall see more of that in the next few days.
Adam’s children weren’t exactly godly. Noah’s children didn’t perform any better. Abraham’s offspring should be special to beat the formula of sin. So Isaac shall be born but he shall be a miracle baby. The symbols begin to take shape. The seed shall be a miracle baby – Abraham’s offspring to do what neither Adam’s sons nor Noah’s did.
But for now, we have the man Abram (not yet Abraham) to contend with. He lives in a physical world with physical limitations. He must navigate the waters of this earthly life like everyone else. He is a “work-in-progress” situation in God’s factory.
He has fears and can also lie. He fears natural disasters; he also fears for his own life. He must make decisions daily using tools of observation, logic, and experience. Abraham’s earthly life gives us important lessons for our own walk.
We can see that there are times when he is all by himself in the world of logic. The clothing of greeneries leaves him in trouble. We can see that we cannot trust ourselves to solve problems. The LORD God defines life.
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