“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 12:3
Genesis 12:3 is the initial promise that God gives to Abraham that he’s gonna pour out blessing on him like descendants, land. When God says I’m gonna bless you and those who bless you, that is a loaded picture. God is pouring out blessing on Abraham.
Now the picture that I want you to see, we’ve gotta hear, as this verse goes on is this blessing is not just for Abraham. The whole point is, “And in you”, so in you, Abraham, “all the families of the Earth shall be blessed.” This is the very beginning of the people of Israel, Abraham, the father of God’s people receiving this blessing from God, but it was never about just the people of Israel.
God’s blessing did not stop with Abraham, and the same is to be true of the Christian. God’s blessing is intended to spread through His people.
“Through you, all the families of the Earth shall be blessed.” This wasn’t just about Abraham’s family. This was about the blessing of God being made known among all the peoples of the Earth. God was establishing Abraham as the conduit of his blessing, as the means through which his blessing would spread to the ends of the Earth.
Genesis 12:3 Lets Us Spread His Blessing Through Us
Think about this, and we see this all over scripture, that we’re never the end. God’s blessing among all peoples, that’s the end. When God blesses us in all kinds of ways it’s not just for us. When God blesses us, it’s for the spread of his blessing. Just as God shows grace to us, it’s not intended to stop with us. Therefore it’s intended to spread through us that more and more people might know his grace.
So think about that in your life today. Just think about the ways that God has blessed you in so many different ways, spiritually, like with knowledge of the Gospel, with his word, with the relationship that you have and are able to have with him. Then, you think about physical blessings. The fact that you are listening to this shows that you’ve got some kind of physical blessings in technology and a phone that you’re listening to this on and a car that you’re driving in and a house or an office building where you’re listening. Whatever it might be, you just think about the physical blessings, all the relational blessings, the people in your life, church. Just go on and on and on.
This Verse Reminds Us That God Blesses All Of Us
Just think about all the blessings God’s poured out on you and realize it’s not just for you.It’s not just for you. Because you are a recipient of his blessing intended to be a conduit through which his blessing is made known to other people. Think about the money you have, think about the time you have. Then think, most importantly, about the Gospel you have. However, none of these things were intended to center on you.
They’re intended to spread through you. So we pray, “God, today, help us to take the blessings you have given us in our lives and use them for the spread of your grace and your glory through our lives. God, help us to see everything we have this way. Help us to see the Gospel this way. God, we know the Gospel’s not just for us. It’s intended to spread through us. So God, we pray that the Gospel would spread through us today. Help us to share the Gospel with people around us today.
Genesis 12:3 Asks God To Help Us Not Center On Ourselves
“When we think about the resources, financial resources you’ve given us, ways you’ve blessed us, God, help us not to center on ourselves, to think, ‘Okay, all of this is intended just for me.’ So God, help us to think, ‘How can I make your grace, your goodness known among more people by sharing that blessing with other?’ By giving in a way that spreads your grace and your glory.
“God, how can I use the time that I have? How can we use our time to make your glory known? So God, please, just help us. Help us not see ourselves as if we’re the end of your blessing or the center where it’s intended to stop. Help us to see ourselves as the conduit or your grace in other people’s lives today. So God, please help us to make your grace known among people around us. Ultimately, among all the peoples of the Earth. May all the families of the Earth know your grace and your glory because of our lives and our churches. God, help us to be the conduit of your blessing that you’ve called us to be. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
