God's Covenants With IsraelSýnishorn

Day 1 – ‘I will’

The Lord God says, “I will” to Abram several times. He will show Abram the land where he must go. He will make him a great nation. He will bless him. He will magnify His Name. The Lord also tells Abram twice that he will be a blessing to the whole world (end of verse 2 and end of verse 3). God even says, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse.”

The theme that keeps returning in the beginning of chapter 11 is “let us”. Come, let us make bricks. Let us build a city for ourselves. Let us build a tower whose top will reach heaven. Let us make a name for ourselves. Babel represents the pride of humanity, which does not consider God. That does not recognize and honor Him and does not listen to Him or obey Him. It represents people constantly thinking about themselves and saying, “Let us.”

The first verses of Genesis 12 sound so different in comparison: Here, we see a man who listens to God and seems prepared to obey Him even if God asks him to do difficult things. But first, we read about the rich promises he receives from God. Genesis 11 is about humanity trying to make its own way up to God. Genesis 12 is about God, who comes down to humanity. Genesis 11 is about humanity thinking they can do great things [on their own] and especially wanting to do great things for themselves. Genesis 12 is about how God wants to do great things for humanity and how His glory is shown through this.

Thank God today for Who He is!