The Abrahamic Promise: The People and Purpose of God

“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…. and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” —GENESIS 12:2-3

The Old Testament is primarily a documented history of the nation of Israel, which began with Abraham. It is the story of God getting the right people in the right place for the right purpose. Bringing these three components together has been the essence and fibre of God’s working amongst His people, in order to accomplish the end purpose, whereby all people of the world will be blessed. 

“Go to the land I will show you,” God said to Abram. He speaks of a place first, the land of Canaan, flowing with milk and honey. Secondly, He talks about a people. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.” Thirdly, God talks about purpose. “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Like a three-legged stool, if one of the legs collapses, the stool will not stand. Much of the Old Testament is about keeping these three components together. The right people in the wrong place lose the right purpose. The right people intent on the right purpose, but in the wrong place, will also forfeit the blessing that would be theirs. 

Many of the Old Testament stories and truths foreshadow and illustrate New Testament doctrine. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. As all roads lead to Rome, so all Scripture leads to Christ, and finds its fulfillment - its ‘Yes’ in Him.

The great danger is that we can enjoy being the people of God, living out of His resources, but forget the purpose for which He has us here. Or we can be taken up with the purpose, but not live out of His resources, and be operating in the wrong place. Either way we won’t be producing fruit that will last. The right people today are those who are “in Christ”. Paul tells us, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). He doesn’t speak of ‘seeds’, plural, but of one Seed who is Christ.

As Christians, we are the beneficiaries of the Abrahamic covenant, and where we are to live is not a geographical place, but in our spiritual union with Christ. The writer of Hebrews describes it as a land of rest in the sufficiency and strength of God. The purpose remains the same; that we might be a blessing to the world. As we rest in the sufficiency of Christ, our lives will overflow in blessing and benefit to the world around us.

Dear Lord, I ask that You put me in the right place with the right people, and make me a means of becoming a blessing to others. Thank You, Lord.

Have I found myself in a place I didn’t expect where God used me to be of benefit to others?