Presence Weekly 2/26/2024

[THE DEVO] The Mission of Blessing (Gen. 12)

Chapter 11
27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran. 

Chapter 12 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 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 11:27–12:3.

Last week, we began a multi-part series on the mission statements of Scripture by looking at the Creation Mandate of Genesis 1:28, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

This week, we move with the Scriptural narrative of redemption to what we will call the “Mission of Blessing” in Genesis 12 (see above). What’s important here is that the Creation Mandate of Genesis 1:28 is still in force. Genesis 12 is not a replacement for Genesis 1, but a further expounding of the original mission. If that were not the case, then God would not have said to Jacob,

“I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you." (Genesis 35:11-12)

The Mission of Blessing involves action! 

The historical background given in Chapter 11 connects this story to the Tower of Babel. You might remember from Sunday School that the Tower of Babel is a story of how we got our multiplicity of languages. While true, that’s a sloppy reduction of the narrative. What Genesis 11 is about is the continuing failure of God’s people to act on their mission. Once again, mankind has decided they don’t like the arrangement of “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…” Instead, they really like the land of Shinar and decide that there is no need to go anywhere else. Further, they decide that they will once again try to ascend to where God is (which failed miserably in Genesis 3), and double down by stating, “Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4)

And so, they are dispersed. Yet, by the end of chapter 11 they have once again decided to settle down. 

“Go!”

That’s the first word of this expanded mission statement spoken to Abram in chapter 12. What it contains is a message that God will repeat over and over to his people as the means by which they will fulfill the Creation Mandate. Yet, Abram is not just being asked to physically head to a new land, he is asked to leave all that he knows. The LORD asks Abram to leave the comfort, familiarity, and security of his village, his family, and his culture to go somewhere he is given absolutely no information about. 

Before moving anywhere, most people head to the internet to research the demographics of a potential new city. We consider crime, health care, schools, cost of living, restaurants, and the distance to the nearest airport. And, we can check our LinkedIn and Facebook connections to see who we know there already.

One of the things that we want to ensure is that wherever we are headed will provide all the necessary ingredients for recreating our comfort, familiarity, and security. This is not necessarily bad until it shifts to wanting to make sure that we have the ability to make ourselves great in our new environment. Those serving and leading in Washington know exactly how this goes. Washington is not the kind of place where one willingly makes a move to a new position that offers less certainty, less control, or less power. 

But Abram has none of this information! And yet, he goes. Why? Because he trusts the promises of God. 

The Mission of Blessing rests on promises. 

When did you last make a promise? When did you last break a promise?

Anyone serving and leading in the public square has undoubtedly heard the expression, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep – but in Washington, that’s all there are.” As a result of that, most folks working in the public square are leery of promises made by those in the public square. Not surprisingly, those outside the public square are just plain disbelieving of promises made by those inside the public square. This, of course, presents real issues for the sustainability of our democracy. However, promises should not present issues for the people of God, now known as Christians, especially when they are not made by us but to us.

1. I will make of you a great nation.

2. I will bless you and [I will] make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 

3. 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.

Consider the nature of these missional promises of blessing. God is saying that the responsibility of Abram and his offspring is simply to go and engage in the Creation Mandate somewhere new. But God takes the outcomes off Abram's plate. 

God will make Abram into a great nation – but not fully realized in his lifetime. God will bless Abram and make his name great – but not fully realized in his lifetime. God will bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him – but not fully realized in his lifetime. 

The best part of this entire passage, however, is the purpose clause - “so that.” Meaning, that the blessings that God promises to pour out on Abram and his offspring are “so that” they will be a blessing to those around them, and that ultimately, all the families on earth shall be blessed. Bible scholars will point out that the last part of that promise is specifically speaking of Jesus (see Galatians). I agree. However, this passage is not only speaking of the singular redemptive significance of Jesus. That would be too limiting to the missional call given to Abram. 

What is also being said, is that through the offspring of Abram, and that explicitly includes Christians today, the people of the world will receive blessing. Again, see Galatians, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

While only Christ blesses through redemption from sin, Christians are called to bless through cultivating the world toward flourishing for all. 

This means that God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. Wherever he has placed us. Whether inside or outside the public square. In blessing others we simply need to live as fully-formed disciples of Jesus. We can seek the blessing of others without the encumbrances of trying to make our nation great or our name great. Keep in mind, the promise of being a great nation geo-politically is no longer in force. That time has come and gone with the demise of the southern kingdom of Judah. What is in force is the promise that God is going to take care of whatever “great making” there is and does not need or want our help - except for blessing others!

Think of how freeing this is for those serving and leading in Washington! God promises to take care of blessing those who bless you AND to take care of handling those who harm you. He promises to take care of any personal promotion while making it clear that any personal promotion is “so that” the blessing of others occurs! “Great making” is never the goal, always the means. Thankfully God promises to handle that - and he never breaks a promise.

Those serving and leading in the public square are uniquely positioned by God "so that" they can "bless all the families of the earth." Whether that's as a policy analyst at a think tank, a research assistant, a lobbyist, a career Cabinet agency staffer, a Senate-confirmed General Counsel, a patent reviewer, a well-informed parent at a school board meeting, a foreign service diplomat, or even the President of the United States, you are participating in Christ's mission of making all things new.   

If you’re looking for specifics on how to be a blessing wherever you are, consider asking the four questions of Faithful Presence. 

1. What is good that need encouragement? Then get in there and encourage!
2. What is broken that requires restoration? Then start restoring!
3. What is missing that awaits creation? Then develop what is needed!
4. What is evil that demands opposition? Then stand opposed and work to eradicate!

Faithful Presence is here to assist and equip. Let us know how we bless you so that you can be a blessing.

Leave the rest to God and his promises! 

Last Things...

Go!