4A5
© Jeff Stacey | Last updated: 16 March 2019
4A5. God’s nature expressed as love:
In grace, God declared to Abraham UNCONDITIONALLY, “Be a blessing!”
4A5(sub-title) In grace, God declared to Abraham UNCONDITIONALLY, “Be a blessing!”
Placing “blessing” in 4A5 may seem to overlap or duplicate some of God’s Covenantal gifts to Abraham that were also promises of blessing [see 4A9(b, d)]. But God’s statement translated as “and you will be a blessing” [NIV for Gen 12:2d] is in the Hebrew language actually another of God’s exultant declarations (imperative verbs) [4A3(c)(i)]. Literally it meant “Be a blessing!” or even “You are a blessing!” This differs from God’s other four promises or statements of His intentions Gen 12:2a,2c,3a,3b [see 4A9(title)].
So just as previously [1A6(a-e) and 3A6(c)(iii)] God’s blessing was exultantly declared by Him. God was stating UNCONDITIONALLY that Abraham would receive God’s favour, being the expression of His sustained love fo him. That is, God would be accomplishing His primary purpose by expressing His own nature of love TO and THROUGH Abraham, by means of blessing him.
God did in fact express His unchanging love for Abraham by blessing him throughout the whole of his life Gen 24:1,27a, 25:7-8.
4A5(a) God’s blessing of Abraham, in grace, began His strategy to bless all people
God’s declarations and promises of blessing to Abraham meant that in grace He was also going to give His divine provision and enabling TO Abraham’s chosen descendants. Eventually their whole national life would express God’s own nature! THROUGH them God’s love for all peoples was to be made known. This would continue to be so influential that ultimately it would be universal Gen 12:3c.
So by means of this strategy of blessing beginning with Abraham, God intended to accomplish His primary purpose eventually in all of His creation! [4A3(c)(iii)].