Creator, Father, King #51

I will make you into a great nation.

LET’S BE HONEST: THE first eleven chapters of Genesis, for the most part, are a real downer.

You’ve got talking serpents, devilish temptations, lies, rebellion, curses, violence, murder, anarchy, and watery worldwide annihilation (save for one family). Oh yeah . . . don’t forget a really tall tower of human pride. And we’re not even halfway through the first book of the Bible!

Sheesh.

Then, like a sudden breath of fresh air, Genesis 12 arrives, and suddenly, the tone changes.

Amid the chaos of human wickedness in the world, God broke through with a marvelous plan that nobody saw coming. The Lord’s sovereign strategy—formed before he created the world—involved a pagan.

Yes, an idol-worshiper.

His name was Abram. Here’s what God told him in Genesis 12:1-3:

Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 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.

What’s It Mean?

We often think of Abram (whose name would soon be changed to Abraham) as one of the great pillars of the faith—and rightfully so. But when the Lord first called him, he was a heathen. Abram grew up in “Ur of the Chaldeans” (Genesis 11:31), an idolatrous Mesopotamian city. Abram’s family worshiped false gods (Joshua 24:2).

Did you notice how God initiated the conversation with Abram? Israel’s future patriarch wasn’t seeking the one true God. There’s no evidence that he had even heard of God.

No matter.

God had a plan to change the world. Eventually, he would create a people for his glory and bring his promised Savior through them to bless the whole world. But the story would begin with the call of the people’s unsuspecting patriarch, Abram.

God is still doing the same thing today. When it comes to calling us to his plan for salvation, God always initiates the process, not us. That’s because we possess no inherent goodness. Colossians 2:13 says, “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.”

Praise God that he’s still calling people today, just like he called Abram thousands of years ago!

Now What?

For similar references to Colossians 2:13, read Ephesians 2:1-9 and Titus 3:4-7.

Did You Know?

The ancient city of Ur would’ve been located in modern-day Iraq.