Gen. 12:1-3
There was no need to identify the line of
Messiah before the flood because everything would wind up in one family, that
of Noah’s. Afterwards, it was Shem whose
God would be blessed (9:26). It is
possible God even promises to dwell in the tents of Shem. But now comes the critical step as Moses
records the promise God makes with Abraham.
The “promise” is a “prophecy.”
The promise involved a piece of land, a nation descended from Abram, Abram’s
greatness, a blessing on that nation, and a blessing through that nation on all
the families of the earth.
Moses records times in which God repeats this
promise to Abraham, or parts of it, that add to its substance: 12:7; 13:14-17;
15:7-21; 17:1-15. The covenant was also
established, not with Ishmael but with Isaac (26:1-5) and not with Esau but
with Jacob (28:13-14; 35:9-15). Thus, we
see that the historical context of the Savior will involve the nation of Israel
in the land of Canaan which will become the land of Israel. This Man from God will be Adamic (Human)
through Noah, then Noah’s son Shem, and then through Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. Jacob would have twelve sons who,
collectively, would be the nation God promised to Abraham.
We should note that in 12:1-3 God made a
promise to Abraham. It was unconditional. The actual, official covenant was made in
Gen. 15. The context of this passage is
truly amazing. In Gen. 14 Abram rescued his
nephew Lot. On his return from that
event Abram met a King/Priest named Melchizedek, who was the priest of God Most
High (v18). If you have read Hebrews
in the New Testament, you know that this King/Priest was either Jesus Christ in
a pre-incarnate appearance or he was a precise picture of Jesus (Heb. 7). Moses does not tell us how much Melchizedek
reveals the Savior. God Himself will
tell us in Ps. 110:4, when speaking of His Son, says, You are a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Immediately after this story, the issue arises
with Abram who, already in old age, has not had a son. How can he have any ancestors without a
son? Remember: the Savior is “the Seed
of the woman.” Eve had wondered if Cain
was that son (Gen. 4:1) and later if Seth might be the One (4:25). For the promise to be true she had to give
birth to a son, and that would have to continue throughout history until,
finally, a woman would give birth to a son who would be God’s Savior.
Abram had no son. But God promised him that he would have a son (15:4) and would have the descendants God promised (15:5). The very next words are: And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Abram was justified before God. And the very next event is the official making of the covenant between God and Abram (15:7-21), a covenant where God does all the work. As with Adam and Eve, Abram needed only to receive the promise of God.
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