Now [in Haran] the LORD had said to Abram, “Go away from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you [abundantly], And make your name great (exalted, distinguished); And you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others]; And I will bless (do good for, benefit) those who bless you, And I will curse [that is, subject to My wrath and judgment] the one who curses (despises, dishonors, has contempt for) you. And in you all the families (nations) of the earth will be blessed.” – Genesis 12:1-3 AMP
Warrior;
In the Beginning was the REDEMPTIVE ARC. Scripture gives us four primary “In the beginnings.” These are not just linguistic occurrences of the word beginning (which appear 140+ times), but the four foundational narrative beginnings that shape the biblical storyline. There are 4 ‘beginnings’ in the Bible that launch the 4 major Spiritual arcs of Scripture. This is another, “IN THE BEGINNING”. The 4 Beginnings are: Genesis 1:1; The Beginning of Creation; “In the beginning, God created…” This is the beginning of man’s time, space, matter, and reality itself. It is the first frame: God as Creator. John 1:1; The Beginning Before the Beginning; “In the beginning was the Word…” John intentionally echoes Genesis to reveal: Before creation began, the Word already existed. This is the beginning of revelation, incarnation, and new creation. Matthew & Luke Genealogies; The Beginning of Messiah’s Line; The genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 function as the beginning of the Messianic identity, tracing Jesus back to Abraham (covenant), to David (kingship), Adam (humanity). These genealogies are the beginning of the Gospel story; they frame Jesus’ earthly identity. Then we have today’s topic, the beginning of the REDEMPTION. These are the four “beginnings” that launch the four major arcs of Scripture: Cosmic beginning, Christological beginning, Covenantal/Messianic beginning and today’s focus; The Redemptive beginning. Which brings us to Genesis 12:1–3; The Beginning of Redemptive History. Genesis 12 is the beginning of the redemptive arc: “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” This is the beginning of: Israel, the covenants, the mission and redemption- reconciliation, the Messiah’s lineage and the Gospel itself. Everything from Genesis 12 to Revelation 22 unfolds from this beginning. The redemptive arc is God’s purposeful movement from creation, through humanity’s rebellion and covenant history, to reconciliation in Christ a renewed creation. This is why CHRIST was incarnate and why He had to die! This is why Jesus cried out in the garden: And after going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible [that is, consistent with Your will], let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39) This is not weakness; this is no doubt- this is the final test of obedience and the climax of the redemptive arc. Jesus was asking, “IF there is any other way to REDEEM a fallen man, to a HOLY GOD!” The silent answer from the Father spoke eternally! The cup DID NOT pass because, THERE WAS\IS no other way! The only solution to the problem called MAN, is the HOLY, RIGHTEOUS God stepping in and solving the problem called man!
Leader, The Bible is 1189 chapters. If we look closely at the Bible we will see that in the first 1% of the Bible, the problem is identified; MAN! The rest of the BIBLE, 99% of the Bible, is the REDEMPTIVE ARC. God fixing the problem called man! Jeremiah gives the clearest, strongest, most uncompromising statement in all of Scripture- outside of God’s personal feelings in Genesis 6- about the human heart, and. The Bible does not whisper about the condition of the heart- it shouts. Hear the Word of the Lord; The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10) Look at the first 1% of the Bible and you will see what MAN DESERVES: Separation from God for eternity…BUT GOD! Consider the following: 3 chapters in this roughly 1200-chapter book, the BOOK OF LIFE, God kicks us out of the house: Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24) 6 Chapters in God destroys the whole earth minus the SEED OF NOAH: The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the LORD said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing- all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Noah found favor with the LORD. (Genesis 6:5-8) In Genesis 9 God starts all over with the Seed of NOAH and immediately there is the CURSE OF HAM in Genesis 9:24-25; When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham: “May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.” By the 11th chapter, IN THE BEGINNING, God disinherits the nations at the tower of BABEL!
Conduit, God disinherits the nations in Genesis 11, HE puts lesser elohim, lower angels in charge of the 70 nations of the world. At Babel, man tries to make a name for himself. God confuses language and divides mankind. Deuteronomy 32:8-9 reveals what happened: “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance… he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD’s portion is his people.” Do you see it? In the first 11 chapters, less than 1% of the Bible man is: Exiled-Corrupted- and then Scattered. That’s the problem, MAN! Romans 6:23 and 3:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Then Genesis 12:1 happens. AS we start the REDEMPTIVE ARC, Its purpose is fellowship, communion: God bringing people into restored relationship with Himself, transforming them into faithful image-bearers, and bringing His creation under the life-giving rule of Christ. Forgiveness is essential, but it is not the entire destination. God redeems people from sin and death so that they may know Him, belong to Him, embody His goodness, and dwell with Him. The covenant language “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” makes that relational purpose explicit. It is all about REDEMPTION, about RECONCILIATION. Genesis 12:1-3 is the beginning salvo in this ministry of reconciliation- that is the purpose for the INCARNATE CHRIST. Here the Word of the LORD and the PURPOSE of the incarnate JESUS: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) Redemption has many purposes. Redemption in today’s verses brings blessings to the nations, and it brings people to God and gives them a purpose; ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (Exodus 19:4-6) Redemption serves many more purposes: it renews the heart and restores knowledge of God, it also gathers everything together under JESUS the CHRIST and reconciles man and God through the cross. Most importantly redemption ends in God’s purpose being fulfilled; Man, and God dwelling together. That is how this 1200 Chapter book of life began, God and man together- and that is how the book ends! Revelation ends where Genesis 3 began. Hear the Word of the LORD; I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:3-4) God brings us full circle. We start in the Garden with the tree of life, and we end in the NEW JERUSALEM, the new Garden and with the TREE OF LIFE, because Jesus was hung on the TREE OF LIFE! In Revelation 22, we see God’s original plan, was OUR PLAN!! If I may paraphrase: The angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. It ran down the center of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a fresh harvest each month. Its leaves brought healing to the nations. No longer will anything be under a curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be there, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. There will be no night, no need for lamp or sun, for the Lord God will shine upon them, and they will reign forever and ever. The angel said, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires His prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place.” Look, I am coming soon. Blessed are those who keep the words of this prophecy.” Amen! Stay focused WARRIOR!
