Despite our many failures, God remains faithful.

Genesis 12

Before starting to comment on chapter 12, I want to say something about the second part of chapter 11, verses 10-32. These verses provide us with the background to the events which begin to unfold in chapter 12. The message of this long list names is this: God is moving on. He is fulfilling His purpose, as history (His story) moves on towards the call of Abraham and the promises of grace that were given to him. God’s purpose is carried forward by his grace and power. The promises of God (verses 1-3) are very great. From the standpoint of man, history is the story of weakness and sin. This is illustrated in verses 10-20. Despite the failure of man, God is faithful. His precious promises are not dependent on man. They are dependent on God: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself” (Hebrew 6:13). Man can and does lie, but “it is impossible that God should prove false” (Hebrews 6:18). This is the message that comes through to us here, It is not Abraham whom we trust, It is the God of Abraham.

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