Genesis 12:1-3 communicates that the covenant between God and humanity is established.25 God is beginning the solution to humanity’s alienation from himself and providing a new creation through Abram.26 God calls for Abram to leave his country, home, and family and go to a land that he will show him (Gen 12:1). Abram obeyed God and departed with his family (Gen 12:4a).
22 Thomas R. Schreiner, The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013), 15.
23 Brian Vickers, Justification by Grace through Faith: Finding Freedom from Legalism, Lawlessness, Pride, and Despair, Explorations in Biblical Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2013), 55.
24 N. T. Wright, Christian Origins and the Question of God (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 262.
25 Frank Thielman, The New Creation and the Storyline of Scripture, Short Studies in Biblical Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 35-36.
26 Gentry and Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant, 225.
Abram’s Name Made Great
God tells Abram that his name will be made great; not by his means but by God’s divine intervention (Gen 12:2). Abram’s ancestors were Enoch, who walked with God (Gen 5:22), and Noah, who was righteous and blameless in his generation (Gen 6:8- 9), but no status or acclaims were given to Abram. Brian Vickers notes, “Abraham’s only claim is that the Lord chose to call him from the line of Shem and bring him into special relationship through which the Lord would save the world.”27 Because Abram has nothing to boast in regarding God’s divine action, readers can confidently observe that Abram’s call was by grace through faith.
God expounds on Abram’s name being great by pronouncing five types of blessings (Gen 12:2-3).28 God’s five blessings contrast with the five curses he gave humanity in chapters 3-11 (Gen 3:14, 17; 4:11; 5:29; 9:25). Sin’s effect in chapters 3-11 caused loss of freedom and power (Gen 3:14), division between humans and soil (Gen 3:17), estranged human relationships and wandering (Gen 4:11), and brought shame on humanity through wickedness (Gen 9:25).29 The Lord pronounces a reversal on the curses by a five-fold blessing. Peter Gentry notes, “The fivefold repetition of the word blessings in Genesis 12:1-3 indicates that the call of Abram will change the situation:
broken relationships are to be potentially and progressively repaired. The ruptured relationship that had developed between man and God and man and man are to be eventually restored.”30 God brought Abram out of chaos into order (Gen 12:1). God kept the promised seed alive (Gen 11:10-32). God promises to bless all the families of the world through a promised seed (Gen 12:3).
27 Vickers, Justification by Grace, 56.
28 Morales, Exodus Old and New, 20.
29 Gentry and Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant, 242.
30 Gentry and Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant, 242.
Genesis 12:3 supports an understanding of salvation by grace through faith because God promises to create a distinct nation from Abram’s offspring. This nation represents a new people group who will occupy land where the curses described in chapters 3-11 are undone. It is important to note that this great nation is not ethnic-specific but instead produced by faith (Gen 12:3). The great nation God is formulating will commune in his presence.31 Paul explains that those who place their faith in Jesus are children of Abraham because they too have faith (Gal 3:7-9).32
God promised judgment in Genesis 3, while in Genesis 12 he promises
salvation.33 Genesis 12:1-3 reveals a reversal of the curses given in chapters 3-11, teaching salvation by grace through faith.34 Scripture later teaches that Abram’s obedience to leave his country, home, and family was caused by his faith in God’s Word (Heb 11:8).
God alone is directing the steps for humanity to come back into his presence and guiding those who walk by faith toward redemption.35 The land Abram is promised is not disclosed yet, but hints are found that it represents a new Eden (Gen 3:8; Lev 26:11- 12; Deut 23:15).36 This is supported by the way Israel is later described as they set up
31 William R. Osborne, Divine Blessing and the Fullness of Life in the Presence of God, Short Studies in Biblical Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 64.
32 Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty, 82.
33 Hamilton, God’s Glory in Salvation, 82.
34 John H. Walton, Genesis, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 393.
35 Keith H. Essex writes,
This covenant promises Abraham personal, national, and universal blessings. Because He based this covenant on Himself alone, the final fulfillment of the promises to Abraham has no human
conditions. However, the faithful obedience of man determines the participants in and timing of its final fulfillment. Although Abraham experienced personal blessings from the LORD in the past and some Israelites and Gentiles enjoy spiritual blessings at present, the full and final fulfillment of the covenant, particularly the “great nation” promises, await the future coming of Jesus Christ. (Keith H.
Essex, “The Abrahamic Covenant,” The Masters Seminary Journal 10, no. 2 [1999]: 212)
36 L. Michael Morales explains, “The progress toward inheriting Caanon is nothing less than a groping toward the Edenic presence of God. While the chronological movement from Abraham to the sons of Jacob will be characterized by a gradual distancing from the experience of God’s presence, yet Abram’s
camp in the promised land (Gen 2:8-10; Num 24:5-6).37 God will walk with his people and all the curses described in Genesis 3 will be mended through the promised seed of Adam.38 Abram will father a new nation where its residents will walk uprightly by the power of God alone.
Genesis 12 presents the solution to the catastrophes of Genesis 3-11. Humanity desired to be the center of the world. This desire was met with judgment as God scattered humanity across the globe (Gen 11:9).39 Genesis 12 presents God as the center of the universe by outlining a political structure founded on his Word, not humanity’s achievement.40 For Paul, God’s people occupy God’s place under God’s rule through Jesus (Gal 4:1-7). The promises of Genesis 12 find their climax in Paul’s declaration of the freedom found in Christ’s righteousness (Gal 5:1-2). The remedy was given in Eden, promised to Abram but fulfilled in Christ (Gal 3:23-29).