Abram, the root of blessing

(Gen. 12:1-9)

Introduction: Last Sunday’s sermon title was ‘The Babel event’ based on Gen. 11:1-9. After the Flood, mankind tried to build a tall tower in order not to be scattered on the earth. Although God made a promise that He would not destroy the earth and men with a flood, they wanted to take care of themselves by building the tower. However, because of the very tower they tried to build, God scattered them across the earth and made them confused with the language. Along with the language confusion, human life span was greatly shortened because of the Babel Tower. Even after the Flood, men lived for about 500 years. But after the Babel Tower, the life span was reduced to around 200 years. It is wise for us to realize that if we ignore God’s Will in the Bible and make decisions for our own benefits, these decision will ruin our life. Today’s passage is Gen. 12:1-9. There was a man named Terah among one of Shem’s descendants. When he was 70 years old, he had three sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran. He lived in a place called Ur of the Chaldeans, nowadays around Iraq. Then he wanted to move to Canaan, so he took his son, Abram and daughter-on-law, Sarai, and his grandson Lot, and came to the land of Haran. Terah died in Haran at age of 205. Today’s passage describes God’s words to Abram, Abram’s obedience, and God’s blessing.

1) The root of blessing (1-4): According to Joshua 24:2, Abram and his father Terah did not know God and worshiped other gods when they were in Ur. God came to Abram, gave him a blessing, and asked him to leave his hometown because Abram was worshiping idols. God said He would bless those who bless Abram and curse those who curse Abram. Abram became a blessing itself. All people on the earth will be blessed through Abram. By this blessing of God, Abram actually became the blessing of God, and all people on the earth including us received God’s blessing of the gospel. By receiving Jesus in our heart, we receive eternal life, eternal redemption, and the privilege of becoming children of God. That is the biggest blessing we can expect, and that blessing came from Abram, the root of blessing as God said. God also gave us the blessing of His protection. Anyone who blesses us will be blessed, and anyone who curses us will be cursed. This is the blessing we have received from God through Jesus as Abram received God’s blessing through faith.

2) Building an alter (5-9): After his father died in Haran, Abram and his wife Sarai along with his nephew Lot left Haran and went to Canaan. Abram traveled to the city of Shechem in Canaan. There God appeared to Abram again and told him that God would give the land to Abram’s offspring. Abram built an altar there to God. Building an altar to God in the Old Testaments and worshiping God in the New Testaments are related to each other in terms of glorifying and respecting God. God seeks those who worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Worshipping God through our worship service is the first step to having fellowship with God. Having a quiet and devotional time is a good way to maintain a good relationship with God. Studying the Bible is another good way to get to know more about God and Jesus Christ for our salvation and God’s blessings. That is why we say attending the worship services, having the quiet time, and studying the Bible are three important spiritual activities we Christians should practice. Thanks you.