Today’s chapter describes an interaction between God and a man named Abram. This event is a major turning point in God’s dealings with humanity. God chooses Abram to be the founding father, or patriarch, of the Nation of Israel. God says he will bless Abram and his descendants with greatness so that they can be a blessing to others. That’s a pretty big promise considering that Abram is seventy-five and Sarai, his wife, is sixty-five and without children.
This chapter makes it clear that Abram was not chosen because he was a tremendously virtuous person. He actually has some pretty major faults. Not only is he a liar, but also Joshua 24:2 implies Abram wasn’t even worshiping God before God talked to him. Essentially, the rest of the Bible will show how God blesses Abram, his descendants, and all of humanity through these people. The people we call Jews today are Abram’s descendants. The Bible you are reading was written almost entirely by Jews and Jesus was a Jew. God took someone who didn’t deserve to be blessed and blessed him so that people like you and me, who also don’t deserve to be blessed, could be blessed too!
Could God’s blessing of me be one of the ways God blesses others? Maybe I limit God’s blessings of others by not always listening to what he asks me to do.