22 days before Christmas! The second prophecy about the birth of our Lord Jesus is in Genesis 12:3. It says, "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you." The above verse is a promise of God to Abraham that Abraham will be a great nation and that all the families of the earth will be blessed through him. Abraham is the father of the Israelite people. God used Abraham's offspring or descendants to make a great nation, Israel. God had a son, Isaac, and Isaac had a son, Jacob, and Jacob had 12 sons. Through the 12 sons of Jacob, God multiplied their people to more than a million people, including women and children, to become the nation of Israel. God fulfilled His promise to Abraham that he would be a great nation with lots of people. However, the most important promise to Abraham is that God will bless the families of the world through His descendants. Our Lord Jesus came from the descendants of Abraham. Although Jesus' real Father is God the Father, for He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary, Jesus' earthly mother, was a descendant of Abraham. As a result, Jesus came from the descendant of Abraham. Jesus blessed the families of the world by dying on the cross for the sins of humanity.
Acts 3:25-26 says, "You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, 'Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.' When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways." The Apostle Peter was trying to convince the Jews during his time that Jesus was the one that God talked about in Genesis 12:3. It is so incredible that God talked about the coming of our Lord Jesus more than a couple thousand ago when the nation of Israel had not existed yet. The birth of our Lord Jesus was the perfect plan of God to give us the greatest gift of all: our salvation from sins and eternal hope.
Although Abraham was long dead when Jesus was born, God still fulfilled His promise to Abraham. God is faithful to fulfill His promise, and that gives us hope and confidence that God will fulfill all His promises to all of us.
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What does it mean that Abraham will be a blessing to all the families of the world? How did God show his faithfulness to Abraham? Do I believe that God will always be faithful to me?
Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.
Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, Thank you for blessing me through Abraham and for reminding me today that you are a faithful God. You will always fulfill what you promise. Please help me believe in your faithfulness and strengthen my faith so that I may experience your peace and joy in the midst of my situations. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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