God’s Redemptive Work and our Response: Genesis 12:1-3

1. Renewal is essential for people to maintain and sustain their work effectively. This is why people value vacations and holidays in their lives. By experiencing a different environment for a while, they seek to release their accumulated stress. When people cannot properly manage their stress, they begin to struggle with various situations and eventually experience burnout. This principle can also be applied to the Christian faith journey. If Christians do not renew their faith and life daily with the help of the Holy Spirit, their faith may become a burden rather than a blessing. Without regular renewal, they may fail to understand and follow God's way and covenant. Today, we will explore the meaning of God's redemptive work through His covenant. We will see how God has been accomplishing His work through covenants with His people throughout history. Let us begin by reading Genesis 12:1-3.

Genesis 12:1–3 NASB 2020

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you into a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And 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.”

2. If someone asks which part of the Bible is most important for understanding God's redemptive work, I'd say it's Genesis 12. This is because the covenant God makes with his people is essential to his work. When we look at the Bible as a whole, it's a story of God establishing, renewing, and fulfilling his covenant. Therefore, to truly understand the Christian life and God's guidance, we must first understand the concept of his covenant.

3. While earlier covenants with figures like Noah or even the narrative involving Cain and Abel are important, the first truly meaningful covenant is the one God makes with Abram. This covenant is significant because it's not just about one individual; it's the foundation for a relationship with an entire nation. In this covenant, we can clearly see three key elements: land, descendants, and blessings.

Genesis 12:1 NIV

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

4. When God called Abram, there's no evidence that he was given specific details about why he was chosen or where exactly he would be led. He simply had to trust God's word. Interestingly, the journey to Canaan had already begun with Abram's father, Terah. Genesis 11:31 states that Terah took his family and set out from Ur of the Chaldeans "to go to the land of Canaan."  However, they settled in Haran instead of continuing to their original destination. The Bible doesn't explicitly state Terah's reason for stopping there.

Genesis 11:31–32 ESV

Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

5. In the ancient world, a person's identity was deeply connected to their land, family, and tribe. When God told Abram to leave his home, he was asking him to give up his old identity and accept a new one based entirely on His promises. The promised "land" wasn't just a physical place; it was the tangible goal that would anchor this new life of faith. The promise of a land was a continuous reminder of God's faithfulness. Even though the path was uncertain and Abram didn't have a detailed map, he knew his ultimate destination was guaranteed by God's promise. This divine direction gave him purpose. Without it, his journey would have been a meaningless wandering. The "land" became the purpose that fueled his journey, teaching him that his work was not for his own benefit but for the fulfillment of God's promise. 

6. Because God didn't provide a detailed itinerary, Abram was forced to rely on divine guidance with every step. His obedience to this "direction" was an act of faith. It was a constant reminder that he was a sojourner whose true home was found in God's will, not in a physical place he could control. Just as a physical map gives a hiker a sense of purpose and helps them track their progress, God's covenant gave Abram a spiritual map for his life. It defined his purpose and directed his every step, proving that the true value wasn't in the land itself, but in the process of following God's guidance to get there.

7. In Genesis 12:2, the Hebrew phrase "And I will make you a great nation" uses a grammatical form that points to a divine decree. It's not a suggestion or a conditional statement; it's a firm, unwavering commitment. The repetition of "I will" emphasizes that this covenant is initiated and guaranteed by God's own power. This makes Abram a symbol of God's power and a living confirmation that God's promises will be fulfilled. Abram's transformation from a childless man to the father of a great nation wouldn't happen because of his own efforts, but because God willed it. His life story becomes a testimony to the fact that God is faithful to His word and has the power to achieve His redemptive plan. The true significance of the covenant is that it's a unilateral promise from God—something He will do, making Abram the recipient of His grace and the key to His plan for blessing all humanity.

Genesis 12:2–3 NLT

I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

8. This grammatical construction signifies a direct and certain declaration of God's purpose. It's not a conditional statement or a mere possibility; it's a divine decree. The "I will make" and "I will bless" aren't just future promises, but firm commitments that God Himself will bring to pass. This reinforces that Abram's future greatness and blessing are not based on his own merit or ability, but are entirely dependent on God's power and faithfulness.

9. By declaring His will in this way, God established Abram as a symbol and a recipient of His power. Abram becomes the living proof of God's ability to fulfill His promises. His life, from being a childless sojourner to the father of a great nation, would serve as a constant confirmation of God's redemptive work in the world. This covenant was the foundation for everything that followed, securing God's plan to bless all humanity through Abram's lineage.

10. Therefore, God's covenant became the direction and purpose of Abram's life. Through it, Abram could leave his old life and begin a new life with God. This new life was not based on Abram's own ideas, but was provided by God through the covenant. This covenantal relationship provides a framework for us to understand a Christian's new life in God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB 2020

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Ephesians 2:7–8 NASB 2020

so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

11. God established His covenant on His own, and through it, He provided the way to save the world: Jesus Christ, our Lord. This path to salvation was not created by our own wisdom or methods. God knew that humanity could not save themselves or maintain their salvation by following the law or performing good deeds. Because people were constantly led astray by their own actions, God made the great promise to provide His own way of salvation. 

Jeremiah 31:31 NKJV

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—

Ezekiel 36:26–27 NLT

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

12. I was able to take a vacation from August 17th to August 30th, which my church approved. During that time, I visited friends on Vancouver Island and in Calgary. As I was sharing my story, I remembered how I ended up moving to Saskatchewan after finishing school in 2015. At the time, I had joked that I would go anywhere for my ministry—even to African countries—but not to Saskatchewan. I never seriously considered it as an option. However, when I started sending out my resume, a church in Saskatchewan responded, and I ended up moving there. God's plan was completely different from my own, but it was the perfect one for me and my family. As I've learned from Ezekiel 36, God gave me a new heart and a new direction for my life and ministry. Through this journey, I've seen how God has been changing and training me to be His disciple. When I shared this story with my friends, we all agreed that these changes weren't from me, but from God. They told me that I had become a blessing to them by sharing God's love and purpose. This experience helped me understand the true meaning of a blessing. When God told Abraham, "You will be a blessing," it didn't mean he would become rich or have a great amount of land. Instead, it meant he would show others who God is and what God can do through him. That is the real meaning of being blessed.

13. This summer, we were blessed with incredible moments during VBS, Day Camp, and our First Nation's outreach. We truly saw God's hand at work through His people. When we responded to His call, He allowed us to witness and be part of His great work, just as He did with Abraham and his covenant. I believe God is shaping our church to be a blessing for Yorkton and its surrounding communities. He is calling us as His people to be a blessing to our families, friends, and even our neighbors. Let's continue to walk as a blessing in our community and share God's covenant with those who need to hear it. Because we are the church, we are God's blessing to the world.

Podcast: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/dbf98f14-ed50-4f21-854e-1f7ea9be49b9?artifactId=312b5605-7783-4726-b64f-edc23e0e1577

Video Overview: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/dbf98f14-ed50-4f21-854e-1f7ea9be49b9?artifactId=0132c6ea-5048-4601-b323-e1ff547e5e94

Quiz

Instructions: Answer each question in 2-3 sentences.

• According to the source, why is Genesis 12 considered the most important part of the Bible for understanding God's redemptive work?

• What three key elements are clearly seen in God's covenant with Abram in Genesis 12?

• How did God's instruction for Abram to leave his home challenge Abram's identity in the ancient world?

• Explain the significance of the "land" promise to Abram beyond just a physical location.

• What does the grammatical form "I will make you a great nation" signify about the nature of God's commitment to Abram?

• How does the source describe Abram's role in relation to God's power and promises?

• How does the covenant with Abram provide a framework for understanding a Christian's new life in God?

• According to the text, why did God establish His own way of salvation through Jesus Christ, rather than relying on human wisdom or methods?

• Based on the author's personal anecdote, what did they learn about the true meaning of God's plan for their life?

• What is the "real meaning of being blessed" as explained in the context of Abraham and the church's role?

Answer Key (Quiz)

• Genesis 12 is considered most important because it details God's essential covenant with His people, which is fundamental to His redemptive work. The entire Bible is framed as God establishing, renewing, and fulfilling this covenant.

• The three key elements clearly seen in God's covenant with Abram are the promise of land, descendants, and blessings. These elements form the foundation of God's relationship with Abram and the nation that would come from him.

• In the ancient world, a person's identity was deeply connected to their land, family, and tribe. God's command to leave his home forced Abram to relinquish his old identity and embrace a new one based solely on God's promises.

• Beyond a physical place, the promised "land" was a tangible goal that anchored Abram's new life of faith and served as a continuous reminder of God's faithfulness. It provided purpose and direction to his journey, preventing it from being meaningless wandering.

• The grammatical form "I will make you a great nation" signifies a "divine decree," which is a firm, unwavering, and unilateral commitment from God. It emphasizes that this covenant is initiated and guaranteed by God's own power, not conditional on Abram.

• Abram becomes a "symbol of God's power" and a "living confirmation" that God's promises will be fulfilled. His life story testifies that God is faithful to His word and has the power to achieve His redemptive plan, making Abram a recipient of His grace.

• The covenant with Abram provides a framework for understanding a Christian's new life in God by demonstrating how God provides the direction and purpose. A new life with God is not based on one's own ideas but is provided by God through the covenantal relationship.

• God knew humanity could not save themselves or maintain salvation by following the law or performing good deeds, as people were constantly led astray. Therefore, God made the great promise to provide His own way of salvation through Jesus Christ.

• Through their personal anecdote, the author learned that God's plan for their life was completely different from their own, yet it was perfect. This experience taught them that God gives a new heart and direction, changing and training them to be His disciple.

• The real meaning of being blessed, as explained, is not about becoming rich or having much land. Instead, it means showing others who God is and what God can do through a person, becoming a conduit for God's love and purpose to those around them.