(Transcribed from the Word & Work Radio Ministry)
It is great to be together again as we look into the Word of God. The title for the message is “All Peoples on Earth.” And our primary study text is taken from the Old Testament, the book of Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 through 3. Please listen to the Word of God.
“The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; And I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Wonderful words of truth from God Almighty and may He add His blessing to the public reading of His Word.
I want to direct your attention to a prophetic passage of Scripture with modern day application that is playing out with clear application now before the world’s eyes and ears.
In Genesis chapter 12 and verse 1 it again states “The LORD had said to Abrahm, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.’” This refers to what God had previously spoken to
Abram as affirmed in Acts chapter 7 and verse 2 “While he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran.” “Mesopotamia” means “between two rivers,” here referring to the land between the Tigres and Euphrates Rivers well east of the land of Canaan.” Where God directed Abram to go. Harran was a city well north of the city of “Ur of the Chaldeans” which was where Abram was from, which were Abram’s people. His name “Abram” means “exalted father” or “father of the multitude.” “The land I will show you” again refers to Canaan.
Abram was directed by the one true God that he must leave the settled place of his ancestors, “Ur” of the post – Babel peoples, and begin a pilgrimage with God to a better place of God’s making.
Listen to further light in the New Testament regarding this pilgrimage of Abram. Hebrews chapter 11 verses 8 through 10 found in the New Testament which says “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
“Abraham” (God changed his name from Abram to Abraham (Genesis chapter 17 and verse 5) which means “father of nations;” by faith was looking forward to “the city with foundations” meaning permanence, not roaming about, in contrast to living in tents. Also, “whose architect and builder is God!” which ultimately is referring to the New Jerusalem.” (Revelation chapters 21 and 22). Abraham has references directly or indirectly in Scripture from Genesis to the book of Revelation.
Therefore, here in our passage in the very first book of the Bible Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 through 3 begins the striking story of how “the LORD “ Yahweh the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus chapter 3 verse 16), refers to the God of Abraham, the God of Israel (as referred to in Exodus chapter 5 and verse 1), created for His glory a people, meaning the Israelites, who acknowledged Him as the one and only true God, and who had as their homeland a place in the world that would in effect be called “their own land which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses.” This according to Joshua, the book of Joshua chapter 22 and verse 9). It was “Canaan,” the “promised land,” the “Holy Land,” yes, the promised land to Israel is referred to as the homeland in Zechariah chapter 2 and verse 12.
This great theme that relates to Abram’s pilgrimage moves ever forward toward the total fulfillment of God’s purposes for Israel- God’s original covenant people. We are now witnessing for ourselves, today, in these days, a piece of this great prophetic passage playing out before our eyes and ears in modern times. This prophetic unfolding is God always at work. He never slumbers.
Genesis chapter 12 and verse 2 “I will make you into great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
“Into a great nation” of course, means Israel. At its ancient high point under Kings David and Solomon, Israel was extremely prosperous and powerful.
For example, listen to First Kings in the Old Testament (First Kings chapter 4 and verse 21) which says “And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River (modern day Iraq) to the land of the Philistines, (next to the Mediterranean Sea), to the West, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.” According to biblical scholars Solomon ruled for 40 years.
Today the modern nation of Israel is only the size of the United States state if New Jersey making it fourth smallest of the fifty American states, the fourth smallest of the U. S. states by land area. Yet today Israel is again prosperous and powerful. Israel has a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of $521.3 Billion while having only about 8,300 square miles of land area and only 9.4 million in population. According to the “Global Firepower Index,” 2025 edition, Israel, little Israel today ranks 15th out of 145 countries.
This military firepower index takes into account a comprehensive mix of quantitative and qualitative metrics including military manpower, equipment strength, financial resources, and logistical, that is supply efficiency. Yet incredibly, according to the “U S News and World Report,” of 2022 it reported Israel’s combined military was ranked 4th strongest in the world, after only the U.S., China, and Russia! You should understand that as the modern sovereign nation of Israel it has only existed 77 years, since May 14, 1948! So, all of those details, all of those things that I just referred to shows, indicates, exhibits that modern day Israel is incredible, even almost miraculous because that’s Almighty God’s promise to His original covenant people! Even in the year 2025.
“Make you into a great nation” could also be interpreted as God’ promise to Abram that his descendants would become a large and powerful group of peoples and nations. Concerning God’s promise to Abraham, listen to Hebrews, in the New Testament Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 12 which says, “And so from this one man, and he was as good as dead, (regarding his age of 100) came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” This is hyperbole (meaning a figure of speech using exaggeration) is to stress, to emphasis the vastness of the population down through the centuries that would come from
Abraham’s loins, not just Israelites through Isaac and Jacob, but also Arabs through Ishmael! Today, there are 22 Arab nations. For example, Egypt alone has a population of 111.2 million. We should understand that Iran is not an Arab nation, it is Persian.
In the Islam religion Abraham, known as Ibrahim, is a revered prophet and messenger of God, considered a key person in the lineage of prophets leading to Muhammad. Muslims see Abraham (Ibrahim) as a crucial ancestor through Ishmael. He (Ibrahim) is considered the first Muslim and a model of faith and submission to God.
Therefore, as (Genesis chapter 12 verse 2) also states of God’s promise to Abram: “I will make your name great”. Abraham’s name is great toward believers of three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, today, including peoples numbering most of the nations of the world: professing Christians are about 2.3 billion, Muslims over 1.6 billion, Jews about 15.8 million who all name Abraham as Great! That’s incredible, no that’s Almighty God who ALWAYS keeps all of His promises.
Genesis chapter 12 and verse 3 “I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
God will “Bless those who bless you.” That is bless, that is (honor) Abram and especially his primary descendants by Sarah the Israelites, the Jews. Yet also to bless or curse. Abram was to bless or curse Abram’s God, the one true God, the God of Israel significantly: the one true God of all nations.
By application continuing in 20th and 21st centuries AD, of course, what nation most blesses the one true God? The fact is that there are more professing Christians in the United States in America than any other nation today. And what nation most blesses (favors) the modern nation of Israel? It is the United States of America. Has and is America blessed, generally blessed by God? Is America the most prosperous and powerful nation on earth today? Yes, yes, yes, and has been for perhaps a century, certainly since 1948 (post WWII) and the rebirth of the nation of Israel which was May 14, 1948.
And it also says in Scripture “Whoever curses you I will curse.” Cursing the one true God of Abram, cursing the nation of Israel, the primary nation from the loins of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, is serious sin. Think of this: The UK or United Kingdom meaning Great Britian broke their promise to the Jews to help them establish a homeland in Palestine through the “Balfour Declarations” issued on November 2, 1917. Soon afterwards Great Britain began losing their many colonies, particularly in Asia and Africa. The British Empire is no more. After WWII Britian’s status as a dominant world power began to disintegrate. Many British colonies gained independence including India, the nation of India, it’s crown jewel which became independent in1947, Israel became a state in 1948. A modern new state again on this earth in 1948. In fact, the United Kingdom abstained from the United Nations Security Council vote on Israel’s membership as a new nation on December 17, 1948. The United States of America voted Yes. In fact, America was the very first country to recognize Israel’s independence as a modern nation. Then President Harry Truman granted recognition 11 minutes after Israel’s proclamation of independence on May 14, 1948. Consider another example, Nazi Germany which started WWII that formally began on September 1, 1939, eventually murdering more than 6 million Jews as reported by historians. At the end of WWII Germany was reduced to a state of military occupation by the United States, by the United Kingdom, by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, the USSR, and France.
Germany lost its sovereignty. Even Berlin, its capital, was divided into four occupation zones by the victorious Allies. Germany lost a significant portion of its pre-war eastern territories to Poland and to the Soviet Union. German reparations included dismantling of German industry for years. All manufacturing equipment, machinery, and machine tools were transferred to the major allied powers. All railroad cars, locomotives and ships in German stock were transferred to the allies. Such was the crushing humiliation of the prior powerful German state. Why? Because killing Jews certainly played into this. Even 6 million Jews exterminated, killed, murdered by Nazi Germany.
Another example, more to the point today, the “Islamic Republic of Iran” whose radical Islamic leadership has been literally cursing Israel since 1979 the year of their revolution, the Iranian revolution now amounts to some 46 years. Here are a few literal threats toward Israel, the modern nation of Israel: “Wipe Israel off the map,” “Annihilate Israel,” “Death to Israel.” The Ayatollah Khamenei stated translated literally into English is “superfluous and fake Zionist regime will disappear from the landscape” another curse.
All curses leveled at the modern nation of Israel. God and Israel have had enough. Iran is getting and got what ‘is written’ “whoever curses you I will curse.” “I of course, meaning Yahweh, the God of Israel, the God of all nations; sadly, many non-combatants, civilians, men, women, and children have and will die on both sides of this all-out war between Israel and Iran even thou it was short lived as is always the case.
Yet that is not the most important part of (Genesis chapter 12 and verse 3) this is: “and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” That is through Abraham! How is that? Answer: (Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1)
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Meaning in His humanity Jesus Christ (or Messiah) is a direct descendant of Abraham. This indicates that Jesus’ lineage goes all the way back to before and to Israel’s inception as laid out prophetically in God’s Abrahamic covenant. All peoples on earth will be blessed.” refers to mankind’s sin for reconciliation and so can potentially be saved by Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross through faith in Him. And so, we have Praise God; prophecy continues to be fulfilled in many amazing ways! That’s incredible. No, that is Almighty God! May we be blessed by the proclamation of His Word.
David Johnson ministers at the Sellersburg Church of Christ and resides in Sellersburg, IN.