Genesis 12:1-9

Genesis 12:1-9

[1] Now the LORD  had said  unto Abram,  of thy country,  and from thy kindred,  and from thy father's  house,  unto a land  that I will shew  thee: [2] And I will make of thee  a great  nation,  and I will bless  thy name  great;  and thou shalt be a blessing:  [3] And I will bless  thee, and curse  him that curseth  thee: and in thee shall all families  of the earth  be blessed.  [4] So Abram  as the LORD  had spoken  unto him; and Lot  with him: and Abram  was seventy  and five  years  old  when he departed  out of Haran.  [5] And Abram  took  Sarai  his wife,  and Lot  his brother's  son,  and all their substance  that they had gathered,  and the souls  that they had gotten  in Haran;  and they went forth  into the land  of Canaan;  and into the land  of Canaan  they came.  [6] And Abram  passed through  the land  unto the place  of Sichem,  unto the plain  of Moreh.  And the Canaanite  was then  in the land.  [7] And the LORD  appeared  unto Abram,  and said,  Unto thy seed  will I give  this  land:  and there builded  he an altar  unto the LORD,  who appeared  [8] And he removed  from thence unto a mountain  on the east  of Bethel,  and pitched  his tent,  having Bethel  on the west,  and Hai  on the east:  and there he builded  an altar  unto the LORD,  and called  upon the name  of the LORD.  [9] And Abram  journeyed,  going on  still  toward the south. 

What does Genesis 12:1-9 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

"These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis , for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation." [1]
"Whereas chapters1-11generally portray man"s rebellion, chapters12-50 detail God"s bringing man into a place of blessing." [2]
". . . this is the central passage of the Book of Genesis." [3]
God"s revelation to Abram in these verses explains why his family left Ur ( Exodus 33:1-39).
". . . by placing the call of Abraham after the dispersion of the nations at Babylon ( Genesis 11:1-9), the author intends to picture Abraham"s call as God"s gift of salvation in the midst of judgment." [4]
"The primeval history thus explains the significance of the patriarchal story: though apparently of little consequence in the world of their day, the patriarchs are in fact men through whom the world will be redeemed. The God who revealed himself to them was no mere tribal deity but the creator of the whole universe." [5]
The fourth dispensation, the dispensation of promise, extended from Abram"s call to the giving of the Mosaic Law at Mt. Sinai ( Exodus 19-24). Man"s stewardship rested on God"s promises to Abram, which appear first in Genesis 12:1-3 but receive confirmation and enlargement in Genesis 13:14-17; Genesis 15:1-7; Genesis 17:1-8; Genesis 17:15-19; Genesis 22:16-18; Genesis 26:2-5; Genesis 26:24; Genesis 28:13-15; Genesis 31:13; and Genesis 35:9-12. Individual blessing depended on individual obedience ( Genesis 12:1; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:5). God unconditionally promised blessing through Abram"s descendants to the nation of Israel ( Genesis 12:2; Genesis 15:18-21; Genesis 17:7-8), to the church through Christ ( Galatians 3:16; Galatians 3:28-29), and to the Gentile nations ( Genesis 11:31). Individuals (e.g, Pharaoh, Genesis 12:17; Abimelech, Genesis 20:3; Genesis 20:17) and nations (e.g, Egypt, chs47-50; Exodus 1-15) that proved favorable toward Abram"s seed would experience divine blessing, but those that proved hostile would experience divine cursing ( Genesis 12:3; cf. Matthew 25:31-46). Christians are called upon to trust God as Abram did and so enter into the spiritual blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant, which covenant inaugurated the dispensation of promise ( Romans 4:11; Romans 4:16; Romans 4:23-25; Galatians 3:6-9). God"s promises to Abram and his descendants did not end with the giving of the Mosaic Law ( Galatians 3:17; cf. Exodus 32:13; 1711654222_6; Leviticus 23:10; Leviticus 25:2; Leviticus 26:6; Deuteronomy 6:1-23; Deuteronomy 8:1-18; Joshua 1:2; Joshua 1:11; Joshua 24:13; Acts 7:17; Romans 9:4). However as a test of Israel"s stewardship of divine truth, the dispensation of promise was superseded, not annulled, by the dispensation of law ( Exodus 19:3-8).