Commentary on Genesis 12,1-9.Lapsley
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Transcript of Commentary on Genesis 12,1-9.Lapsley
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Commentary on Genesis 12:1-9
Jacqueline E. Lapsley
Having made the world and seen it succumb to violence and sin in the first eleven chapters
of Genesis, in Genesis 12 God suddenly zeroes in on one couple -- Sarah and Abraham.
We are no longer looking at the huge canvas of the whole world, but at a tiny corner of it. Calling
him to leave all that he knows for an unknown land, God makes three big promises to Abraham
whom God has chosen: descendants, land, and blessing. This is the first of many times in the Bible
that we hear of Gods election of Israel, Gods choosing Israel in a way unlike other nations.
God chooses one nation among all the others to have a distinct relationship -- that is what election
means. But wait a second: Isnt that like parents preferring one child over the others? If you think
about it, it is a bit chilling. How are we to understand Gods choice of Abraham, and so Israel? Is it
really as exclusionary as it sounds? Christian tradition affirms that Gods election of Israel is for a
purpose, that is, God chooses Israel in order to bring blessing to the whole world: in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.
Part of that third promise of blessing is that Israels work of covenant obedience is not for its own
sake alone, but so the whole world will be blessed. The prophets pick up on this: the nations will
stream up to Zion to receive the life-giving blessing of life lived with God (Isaiah 2); Israel is a light
to the nations (Isaiah 49:6; 60:3; Amos 3:2). Later, God will work through the one man Jesus, the
incarnation of God on earth, for the blessing of the world. Particularity, working through one for the
good of the many, is themodus operandi of God.
Christians have long understood ourselves to be grafted into this tradition of Israels election: in
Christ we are blessed so that we might share that blessing with others. It is not something to be
kept to ourselves; the good news of Jesus Christ is to be shared. This is the idea of the missional
church, which is, according to missional theologian Darrell Guder, not just a program of the church
It defines the church as Gods sent people [O]ur challenge today is to move from church with
mission to missional church (Missional Church, 1998, 6). The church is not just about perpetuating
itself, maintaining its own survival; it is about being a blessing to and for the world.
So that is one aspect of Israels, and our, election: blessing others. But Gods love for Israel, and for
us, is not simply instrumental. It is not just about how we might be of use for a purpose, even such a
noble one. Rather, God loves Abram, Israel, us, not because we are useful, and not even because
we are lovable; indeed much of Gods love can be described as irrational, that is, there is no reason
given for it (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).
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The meaning of Gods encounter with Abram in Genesis 12 is greater than the three promises
taken individually: God establishes a relationship with Abram, that will last through and beyond his
journey by stages (verse 9), reaching down through his descendants to this very day.
Gods call to Abram is a call to serve, to be a blessing to others, but it is also a declaration of love:
God loves Abram, and God loves the world and so sends Abram on a journey that will bless the
whole world. R.W.L. Moberly says of Israels election: Even if that love brings with it a call to serve,
that service is a corollary to being loved, not the core of being loved. So too, the Israelites are loved
for themselves, prior to any impact for good that they may have on others (OT Theology, 2013, 48).
God recognizes the unique identity of Israel, and loves them without condition. In this lies the
guarantee that God loves all others, including us, in our unique identity. So being a blessing to
others comes second to our being loved, blessed, by God, for who we are, not what we do. The
larger Old Testament story is that God remains faithful to Israel, even as Israels faithfulness to God
waxes and wanes.
We do not always feel loved or blessed by God. We should, but we dont. Sometimes its a fleeting
feeling that is chased away by the grind of life. Or the screeching voices of our culture drown out
any whisper from our faith that we matter because of who we are, not what we do. The increasingly
loud shriek of our culture is that our outward wealth reveals our inner worth. This leads to a sense of
inferiority on the part of the less wealthy, and a sense of superiority on the part of the wealthy. Both
are not only false, but also debilitating to the soul and to community life.
We just never feel that we are good enough. But Abraham wasnt really good enough either.
Consider his record: true, he offered his son to God, as commanded, but he also gave his wife to
another man out of fear -- twice, and he exiled his son Ishmael, and Hagar, Ishmaels mother, to a
near certain death. God rescued them. Paul rightly stresses Abrahams trust, not his deeds, in
Romans 4. Blessing did not come from what Abraham did; he became a blessing to others because
he was open to the on-going relationship God offered him. In accepting that blessing, he could
become a blessing to others.