Abrahamic Covenant

Then in chapter 12, suddenly, something radically changes, because it is there we begin to see where we had a problem, there is a solution. It is found in the fact we have a covenant God, and what God says is always true. What He promises, He will make good on. So, where the storyline in chapters 1-11 is going very fast, it really slows down in chapter 12. This is where we step into the story of Abraham. God makes an unconditional covenant, meaning there are no strings attached, and it is a promise of God. In Genesis 12:1-3, God intervenes into the life of Abraham and makes promises that there will be a people that will exist and reside in a land, and through that people and the land will come about a worldwide blessing. That covenant was ratified in chapter 15. It is reiterated from Abraham to his son Isaac. From Isaac to Jacob.

Jacob has a bunch of kids, and we follow the blessing that is carried through this people. At the end of the book of Genesis is the life of Joseph, and the people are in Egypt. Things are going well, and then Jacob dies and all Joseph’s brothers are worried. Then there’s a great statement that is really kind of a theme of the whole book in many ways. It says that Joseph’s words to his brothers were “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good”^[1] In many ways, that can be the theme of the book, because it kind of ties a lot of things together. There is a lot of bad that is going on, but God was at work.

By the time we wrap of the book of Genesis, it is pretty good. They are in the land of Goshen, and Joseph had been sent on ahead, and there is plenty for the line of Abraham.

^[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ge 50:20.