On the Road to Bethlehem #3: Blessed to be a Blessing

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 

—Genesis 12:1-3

As we walk on the road to Bethlehem this Advent season, we discover various clues about the coming Messiah. He would be a descendent of Eve that would crush Satan underfoot (Genesis 3:15), and He would be God and dwell among men (Genesis 9:27). He would also be a descendant of Abraham as our passage for today illustrates. Abram (soon to be renamed Abraham) was commanded by God to leave his country, his clan, and his father’s house for a land that God would show him. God promised to make him a great nation (v. 2), make his name great—in order that he would be a blessing (v. 2), and He would bless all the families of the earth through him (v. 3). This promise to Abraham is known as the Abrahamic promise, and was made on at least six occasions (Genesis 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-18; 15:4-5, 13-18; 17:1-8; 18:17-19; 22:15-18).

What does it mean when God said to Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”? How is it possible to bless all of the families of the earth through one man? The blessing would come through Abraham’s descendent, which is Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17). Jesus is the one through whom salvation would be provided to all people (Titus 2:11; John 3:16; Acts 4:12). And it is through our faith in Jesus that we are blessed by becoming beneficiaries of His atoning work on the cross. Paul explains,

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith”—Galatians 3:13-14.

By placing our faith in Christ, we become Abraham’s descendants, even though we are Gentiles (non-Jews) by birth, and not actual physical descendants of Abraham,

“Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith”—Galatians 3:7-9.

We, who are Gentiles, have been “grafted in” to God’s promise plan—beneficiaries of Abraham’s blessing through Christ in order that we may be a blessing to a lost and dying world (Romans 11:11-24). We, in turn, act as ambassadors on Christ’s behalf with “God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God”—2 Corinthians 5:20. As we implore others to be reconciled to God, we invite them to have their sins forgiven, repent of their sins and experience the joy of knowing Christ. May this Advent season be a time of joy as we celebrate the mystery of God’s saving plan made available to us. Amen.