Read: Genesis 12:1-3
By the time we get to Genesis 12 in our Bible reading from chapter 1, it’s already clear that unless God steps in and acts decisively then the world will continue to spiral downwards. Just think about human achievement from chapters 1-11. Adam and Eve have disobeyed God and caused all humanity to live apart from and separated from God. Murder and violence have become ripe. The state of man’s heart has become so bad that God was so grieved that He put an end to all life except that of Noah and his family. The people have failed to spread across the earth as commanded and sought to build a tower to the heavens. They sought to make a name for themselves as they settled in the plains of Shinar (Babylonia).
It’s not looking too crash hot for the human race, but God does step in! In what seems like a trifling affair, God makes a promise to a relatively unknown person called Abram. But Abram was a descendant of Shem, Noah’s Son!
The promise to Abram is no ordinary promise! It is the promise that will span the future history of the world and touch all the people’s of the planet. It is eternal in its consequences. So what is that promise? There are 3 elements to that promise:-
¨ Abraham will be made into a great nation
¨ His descendants will live in their own land
¨ They will have a great name.
¨ The blessing will flow to all the people’s (“families” is a good translation of the Hebrew word) of the earth.
Added to this, the promise to Abraham is a promise of blessing. The word ‘curse’ is used five times in Genesis 1-11 and here in 3 verses we have 5 blessings! God is about to offset the curses coming out of the fall! He has begun to work powerfully in human history.
Prayer Points:
> Praise God for the new Mum’s who have been coming to M.O.P.’s.
> Pray for the leaders that they will have God’s wisdom in all necessary decisions to be made to cope with the growth of this wonderful ministry.
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