A Covenant (12:1-3)
Faith is not based on feeling, though the emotions are certainly involved (Heb. 11:7). True faith is based on the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). God spoke to Abraham and told him what He would do for him and through him if he would trust and obey. “Great lives are trained by great promises,” wrote Joseph Parker, and this was certainly true of Abraham and Sarah. God’s covenant gave them the faith and strength they needed for their lifelong pilgrim journey.
We are not saved by making promises to God; we are saved by believing God’s promises to us. It was God who graciously gave His covenant to Abraham, and he responded with faith and obedience (Heb. 11:8-10). How you respond to God’s promises determines what God will do in your life.
The Bible records God’s many covenants, beginning with the promise of the Redeemer in Genesis 3:15 and climaxing with the new covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8). The Hebrew word translated “covenant” has several meanings: (1) “to eat with,” which suggests fellowship and agreement; (2) “to bind or fetter,” which means commitment; and (3) to allot, which suggests sharing. When God makes a covenant, He enters into an agreement to commit Himself to give what He promises. It is purely an act of grace.
God did not give Abraham reasons or explanations; He simply gave him promises: “I will show thee … I will make of thee … I will bless thee … I will bless them that bless thee” (Gen. 12:1-3). God promised to show him a land, make him into a great nation, and use that nation to bless the whole world. God blesses us that we might be a blessing to others, and His great concern is that the whole world might be blessed. The missionary mandate of the church does not begin with John 3:16 or Matthew 28:18-20. It begins with God’s covenant with Abraham. We are blessed that we might be a blessing.
Notice the contrast between Genesis 11:1-9 and 12:1-3. At Babel, men said, “Let us!” but to Abraham, God said, “I will.” At Babel, men wanted to make a name for themselves, but it was God who made Abraham’s name great. At Babel, the workers tried to unite men, only to divide them; but through Abraham, a whole world has been blessed, and all believers are united in Jesus Christ. Of course, Pentecost (Acts 2) is the “reversal” of Babel; but Pentecost could not have occurred apart from God’s covenant with Abraham (Gal. 3:14).
It must have seemed incredible to Abraham and Sarah that God would bless the whole world through an elderly childless couple, but that is just what He did. From them came the nation of Israel, and from Israel came the Bible and the Savior. God reaffirmed this covenant with Isaac (Gen. 26:4) and Jacob (28:14) and fulfilled it in Christ (Acts 3:25-26). In later years, God amplified the various elements of this covenant, but He gave Abraham and Sarah sufficient truth for them to believe Him and set out by faith.