Several years ago, I had the privilege of going on our church’s cycle tour, an event which has become a regular part of the church calendar. One day, we rode to our lunchtime destination, which was at one of the pumping stations for the Lesotho Water Scheme. It was an amazing piece of engineering with huge pipes and powerful engines. Someone there explained to me that huge drills were being used to cut under mountains in order for the water to flow from precipitation-rich Lesotho to precipitation-challenged South Africa. Lesotho, in other words, was passing some of its blessings on to others. If I can put it in biblical terms, they were blessed to be a blessing.
So it is with you and me in God’s family. God has blessed us, in many ways, for the purpose of us passing these blessings on to others. We are to be like the sluices in a dam, pouring out its abundant water to those in need. We are to be churches of blessing; we are to pour God’s blessings on to others, who will pass those blessings on to others as well.
We see this principle illustrated in the life of Abram, with specific reference to God’s call to him as recorded in Genesis 12.
As we saw in our previous study, the Lord called Abram to leave his culture, country, clan and comforts and to go to a land that was unknown and unfriendly. Abram did just that. Yes, he seemed to hesitate at one point in Haran, but he heard the call of God again and set out for the unknown—simply because of the bare, spoken Word of God, which assured him of the sovereign will of God, which guaranteed that this would be a successful work of God.
But underlying all of these events and movements is a fundamental concept: that God blessed Abram in order for Abram to be a blessing—to the world. “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). “I will bless thee…and thou shalt be a blessing.” That is pretty clear, is it not? God plainly states that He is not merely blessing Abram for Abram’s own sake, but so that Abram will be a blessing to “all the families of the earth” (12:3). He was being blessed personally in order that others might be blessed corporately.
In this study, I want us to focus on this principle: we are blessed to be a blessing. We will do so by looking at what primarily the blessing is, the associated blessings that attend it, and what is required to pass these blessings on. May we who have been abundantly blessed with the downpour of grace pass this on to those downstream who are in the dry and thirsty land of spiritual barrenness.
The Priceless Blessing
First, we must acknowledge the greatest blessing that Abram experienced: Salvation.
As seen in our previous study, Abram was sovereignly blessed. That is, by the grace of God, Abram was given a blessing, blessings untold. But consider that, on the surface, there is not much that could here be considered a blessing—at least as we usually “count our blessings.” Consider that, at 75, Abram is told to leave his country, culture, clan and comfortable surroundings to emigrate several hundred kilometres to a land that would be, for the most part, hostile to him. This hardly seems like a blessing!
But consider this: Abram was an unbeliever, deserving of divine wrath; a man who was guilty of idolatry. And yet God graciously chose to have a relationship with him. God chose to save him; God chose to sovereignly call Abram out of the power of darkness unto the kingdom of His dear Son. That is blessing indeed!
As noted, Abram was not yet a justified believer at this point. This would not take place until Genesis 15. But the process had begun and Abram was clearly blessed to have been chosen and to be called, that he might soon be converted. When God promised to bless Abram, He was promising to confer abundance of life upon Abram (cf. Numbers 6:24-26). And, without debate, the biggest blessing conferred upon Abram was a saving relationship with Himself. And, therefore, though his life ahead would require great sacrifice and various hardships, he was blessed to be “salvifically called” by God’s sovereign grace. This spiritually-thirsting man was to eventually experience the soul-quenching, soul-satisfying water of life.
As we reflect upon the wonderful experience of Abram’s salvation, let us remember our own. Our geographic, cultural and environmental circumstances may have been different to those of Abram, but we too experienced the blessing of salvation in much the same way. We were lost, even reprobate, worshipping the creature(s) rather than the Creator. We perhaps were mindlessly and carelessly going our own way, assuming all was well—without a spiritual thought as to our sinfulness and eternal destiny. But then God came to us in our “Ur of the Chaldees” and shook us up by His voice—by His thunderous call. For some strange reason, we had the desire to go to church, to read the Bible, to have a change in life. Perhaps as you were at a party, a pub or some business meeting, an incredible sense of futility overcame you. And then God began to bring you along a process of coming to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. One day the scales fell from your eyes, the water of life quenched your thirst as you became aware that your sins were forgiven and that God was your Father through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Thus we celebrate that we, like Abram, have been blessed with salvation.
A friend, who died at the age of 45, had just such a testimony. As a “hippie” in the early 1970s, he walked into a telephone booth, and found a gospel tract lying there. Not quite sure why he was doing so, he picked up the gospel tract and put it in his pocket. When he got home, he put it in his drawer. Some time later, as he lay awake one night, he decided to read the tract that he had found. He climbed out of bed, read the gospel tract and, that very night, cried to God to save him. He became one of the most wonderful Christian whom I have ever met. Though his justification was instantaneous, as justification always is, there was a process that led to it. God met him in his Ur of the Chaldees, and brought him safely into the land of Canaan, where He bestowed wonderful grace in his life.
Some time after he died, I received from his wife a CD on which was recorded songs and words by the family as a testimony to his memory. Included with the CD were several pages of written testimony, in which his eldest son wrote the following:
In the days since the passing of my Dad, I am certain that the Lord has used his death in many ways I don’t even see, to help others and myself to become more conformed to the image of Christ, and more fitted to the work He has for us on this earth. There is one way that this stands out to me.
As I sat in my seat at Dad’s funeral, and looked at Dad’s coffin, I suddenly noticed the empty cross on it. My heart was filled with a new gratitude, really comprehending more what God had done for mankind. Though God had made my Dad into a wonderful Christian man, he, like all people, was a sinner, and therefore worthy of the righteous judgment of a Holy God. He would have been in Hell at that moment. Our beloved Dad would be eternally separated from us, experiencing the most awful loneliness, darkness and pain. My heart would have broken, I think, at the though of my Dad enduring that. But…God, “for His great love wherewith He loved us,” had intervened, to save us from this just and inevitable fate. Jesus had died on the cross, bearing all that punishment, and risen again from the dead. By faith in Christ’s sacrifice my Dad is in Heaven, rejoicing in the presence of his Savior, and that just as Jesus rose, so one day my Dad will be raised from the dead, and we will be reunited!
Hallelujah! Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus conquered our greatest fear: death! Now we can exclaim with the Apostle Paul, “O death, where is thy sting? O grace, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of death is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
So, whenever I begin to feel sorrow over the death of my Dad, I just remember, “Why grieve anymore? He’s in the presence of God, enjoying perfect fellowship with Him, and with the others there in Heaven, experiencing all the delights God had prepared for him.” And instead of having sadness, I once again rejoice in the great goodness of God.
My friend had been blessed with God by salvation, and had passed that blessing to his family and multitudes of others.
The ultimate blessing was not that Abram would have a great name, nor that he would be the father of a great nation, nor that he would experience God’s protection, but—again—the greatest blessing was the blessing of justification—for what does it profit to gain the whole world and yet to lose one’s soul?
The Provisional Blessings
But let’s look further at some other blessings that Abram was given.
A Spouse
Genesis 12:5 tells us that Abram was also blessed with a spouse—Sarai (later, Sarah). She also, at some point, experienced the gracious salvation of God. The Word commends her as a beautiful woman (12:11—lit. “beautiful of form”) but, more importantly, she was beautiful in her spirit (see 1 Peter 3:5-6) and in her spirituality (see Hebrews 11:11). Abram was indeed blessed with a wonderful wife, who was willing to follow him wherever he believed God was sending him. She was wonderful in her submission—even when Abram acted like a fool. She trusted in her God at those difficult times and God protected her (see 12:11ff; 20:1ff). She was willing to leave all that was familiar in order to obey her husband as he obeyed their God. What a comfort to him on their journey! Truly, Abram was blessed by God’s gift of a spouse.
Substance
But, again, notice in 12:5 that God blessed Abram with substance. And apparently there was a lot of it. Genesis 12:6 seems to indicate that Abram travelled with quite a lot of “substance” and we know from 13:2 that Abram was very wealthy. Truly, Abram was blessed, and perhaps even increasingly, with great substance.
Souls
Note that in addition to the blessings of salvation (which was enough!), a spouse and substance, was the added blessing of “souls.” We are informed that, when Abram went into Canaan, in addition to having Lot (who became a blessing in the form of a tool for Abram’s sanctification!), he had been given “souls…in Haran” (12:5). This most likely means that he had secured some extra servants while he had remained in there. And thus, as he set forth on his journey into Canaan, he went with a fairly large crowd of people. He would not be alone. He had been blessed with personnel (for the task ahead).
Success
But note also that Abram, according to 12:5, was further blessed with success. He set out for Canaan and into the land of Canaan he came. Imagine the celebration as they passed through “passport control.” “We’ve arrived! We’ve made it! God said we would and we have indeed!” Their labour had been rewarded and now they could, literally, eat of the fruit of their success. Blessed indeed!
A Seed/Son
But there is one other blessing that we need to identify, even though it is not directly mentioned in the text: the blessing of a son, a seed. Abram had been, and would again be, promised a seed, a son. In Genesis 21 this blessing is indeed added to the portfolio of blessings that Abram had “accumulated.”
Summary
Yes, let the record show that Abram was blessed abundantly. In addition to the greatest blessing of salvation (regeneration and justification), he was blessed with a spouse, with substance, with souls (servants), with success and with a son. But the question must be answered, “For what purpose?” What was the reason for all of these blessings? Were they simply for Abram’s sake, for the enriching of his life alone? Perhaps our self-absorbed culture would respond with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” But the text of Scripture will not allow it. For the Scripture says in 12:2, “And thou shalt be a blessing,” and 12:3 adds, “and in thee shall all the families [18:18—“nations”] of the earth be blessed.” Again, Abram was blessed to be a blessing. He received “top line” blessings, but also “bottom line” blessings. We need to see this very clearly, for what was true of Abram is true of us as well.
The Purpose of the Blessings
At first sight we might not see the fullness of the statement, “in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (12:3). However God has given us His commentary on this verse. In fact, in a very real sense, the entire Bible is such a commentary, but let us look specifically at Galatians 3:6-9, 14-16:
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham… That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
(Galatians 3:6-9, 14-16)
Paul argues in these verses that, not only was Abram justified by faith alone, but that all who share his faith are also justified. In 3:8, the apostle quotes Genesis 12:3 as scriptural proof that in the same way that Abram was justified so would also the Gentiles/nations/families of the earth be justified. Paul puts this in a most interesting way. He states that, when God pronounced these words to Abram, He was in fact proclaiming the gospel to him. That is, the good news of what God has done for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, of course, Abram did not probably grasp the fullness of this—no doubt, there was much mystery here—nevertheless Paul says that behind this statement was the theme of the gospel, the gospel which was to be preached and believed on in all the world. Of course, the gospel is inseparable from the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:14-16 then remind us that it was through Abram that the Lord Jesus Christ came into human history. That is, Jesus Christ was the promised Seed that would come through Abram. Jesus Christ “of the seed of Abram” (Abram being the father of the Jewish nation) was the means of the world being blessed. But please note that humanly speaking, Abram was truly the means of all the families of the world being blessed (John 12:32; 2 Corinthians 5:18ff; etc.).
To summarise, Abram was blessed by God to be the channel for the Seed, the Saviour through whom all people groups would experience salvation. Not every person, but every people group would have some saved; that is, not all without exception, but all without distinction. Yes, Abram was blessed to be a blessing. And so are we.
Practical Application of these Blessings
Let’s now look at how these priceless and provisional blessings to and through Abram became a blessing and make the relevant practical application to ourselves.
The Blessing of Salvation
First, Abram was blessed with salvation that others might be blessed with salvation. We need to consider the reality that God’s choosing and calling and converting of Abram was the “foundation” of multitudes coming to salvation. And thus multitudes have benefited from Abram’s salvation. God loved Abram. Abram, as an individual, was important to God. And yet it is also true that God saved that individual in order to save multitudes of individuals.
No one is “saved in a vacuum.” God blessed you with salvation as both an “end” and a “means.” God saved me as an individual in order to save my children, as a means to the salvation of others that have come to faith in my ministry. And the same is true of you. God saved you and established the blessing of BBC for the purpose of the salvation of others. In fact, this is how the Great Commission is accomplished: one individual blessed with salvation who channels this blessing on to others. Abram’s salvation was a blessing to him—but it was truly a blessing to the entire world. Let us be the same.
The Blessing of a Spouse
Consider, second, that Abram being blessed with his spouse was a blessing to others. Abram was to be the father of a nation—he would need a son, and so God gave him a spouse. And what a blessing she was! She supported him in his task, and her faithful testimony was a part of the fulfilment of God’s plan by which we have been blessed.
The work of missions is, in many ways, the story of God blessing a man with a godly and good wife, by which her ministry has blessed others. One thinks of the likes of the apostle Peter’s wife, Ann Judson, Maria Taylor, Katharine Luther, Bethan Lloyd-Jones, Patricia MacArthur, etc. These women were/are cherished gifts to their husbands, but they were/are also blessings to the church in the world at large. I can think in our own church of wives that have been given as a blessing in order to pour out further blessings: gracious Spirit-filled wives who support their husbands who involve themselves in the ministry of the church. Yes, marriage is a blessing, but those of us who are married have been blessed to be a blessing. Our marriages are to be used in God’s Great Commission of making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The wife of one of our missionaries recently came to South Africa for her grandmother’s funeral. While she was here, she had lunch with my family. Her husband is considering moving from his current place of ministry to another country, which is Muslim-dominated and is dangerous for Christians. In fact, not long ago, a Christian missionary was gunned down in that country by Muslim extremists as he walked out of a shop. Our missionary is not yet certain that he will be moving to that place, but he has prayed about it and consulted his wife. As we had lunch, she said to us, “God has given me peace about dying.” What a wonderful testimony! What an encouragement to her missionary husband. To have a wife who is willing to support his ministry—even to death—is a tremendous blessing! And this is precisely the type of families that are needed in the Great Commission: families that are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel.
The Blessing of Souls
Third, Abram was blessed with “souls,” with servants who would be a blessing to the church at large. Consider that Abram would need help in his gaining some kind of foothold in Canaan and these servants, no doubt, were essential for this. In Genesis 24, God used one of the servants that was given to Abram to further His cause. Blessed to be a blessing.
Again, I think of the servants that God has given to Brackenhurst Baptist Church. Why? For our own benefit alone, or for the blessing of the world, the church at large? To ask the question is to answer it. God has abundantly blessed us for His purpose of conquering Canaan for His glory. We need to be careful of clinging to our leadership and begrudging them “leave of absence” for other ministry. When God calls for them to leave, then we need to obey God and let them leave. We have enjoyed the blessing, but there often comes a time when God wants us to be merely a channel of these blessings. The first “missionaries” in the new covenant church were sent from Antioch in Acts 13:
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
(Acts 13:1-4)
Can you imagine that? Having not only a wonderful spiritual leader like Barnabas as a church member, but also the apostle Paul? And having Barnabas and Paul called to the mission field? I wonder how many of us would be reluctant to send them? What a great benefit they could be to our own church; why on earth send them to the field? But such resistance was not found in the Antioch church. Quite to the contrary, they immediately sent them from the assembly to the ministry to which God had called them. This is precisely what is going to be expected of us at times; to send the servants that God has given us to serve in other ministries.
The Blessing of Substance
Fourth, God blessed Abram with substance that he might be a blessing to the world. Note that for Abram to survive he would need substance—he would need provision. And so God blessed him with provision in order that he be a blessing. And clearly this is the same with you and me.
We need to face this issue squarely and very scripturally. We have been blessed with material provision—specifically with money—for the purpose of being a blessing. The gospel has been freely provided, but it is expensive to spread. It takes money—lots of it—to bless the nations with the gospel. And clearly God has provided His church with all the “substance” that is needed for the task. He owns “the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). This, of course, does not limit what God owns to one thousand literal hills; rather, the psalmist is using the picture to teach that God owns everything in this world. And because of this, He certainly has the resources to accomplish the task that He has set for His church. We have indeed been blessed with abundance that we be an abundant blessing to the church at large. Allow me to make some very biblical and thus relevant applications.
God gives to us in order to give through us. That is, the “substance” that God brings to us is not all to stay with us. God expects for us to be channels instead of reservoirs. But sadly, much of our money doesn’t go into Canaan; it ends up staying in Ur.
Even before the law, Abram understood this principle: in Genesis 14, “he gave tithes of all” (14:20). Abram recognised that God owned it all—even that which Abram had taken as spoils—and thus he gave to God, willingly and worshipfully. Later in the law, God mandated at the least a tithe. And this tithe was used to support the priesthood. The people were blessed to be a blessing. Other offerings were given in order to build and furnish the tabernacle. Other offerings were given for the sacrifices. Other offerings were given, or “left” in the field, to care for the poor. The point is, God’s people were blessed with “substance” in order to be a blessing to others; specifically, so that the spiritual light would burn bright for the glory of God amongst the nations.
The apostle Paul was aware of this principle. To the Corinthians, he wrote that they were blessed to be a blessing (2 Corinthians 8:12-15) and he also reminded the Philippians of this (Philippians 4:15-19). When he spoke with the Ephesian elders, he exhorted them with this principle (Acts 20:33-35). He wrote to the Ephesian church about it (Ephesians 4:28).
Did not our Lord teach this when he received the young lad’s lunch and “blessed it” and it became a manifold blessing?
Indeed, God has blessed us financially to be a blessing to others. So the question that confronts us is: are we being a blessing? Well, we weekly have the opportunity (1 Corinthians 16:1-2) and this week particularly we have the opportunity to make the commitment to do so.
We need to face the fact that we are all tempted to keep the blessings that should be invested in Canaan. We often receive money and intend to bring it “forth into” God’s assigned “land of Canaan” and yet “into the land of Canaan” it never comes!
Sadly, many believers just never seem to survive the blessings. It is noteworthy that Abram was successful—in many areas; and yet the most significant success was that he properly invested his blessings for God. He brought them to their God-assigned destination. He was a wonderful, faithful steward of the blessings, not the slave to them. He mastered them, they did not master him. He saw himself as a channel, not a reservoir. Again, many in churches today are failing to be good stewards of their blessings, and the blessings are becoming a curse. Have we not all seen it?
For example, a church member begins to climb the corporate ladder and soon church attendance falls off, and there is no time for ministry though a lot more time for recreation. Possessions and investments begin to pile up with perhaps only a grudging “tip” given to God. And the sure sign that the blessing has been inverted into a curse: he complains that “all the church talks about is money!” Money is a wonderful servant but a horrible master. Sadly, there are many who play fiscal games with God—a form of “money laundering” takes place when it comes to giving our tithe. People seek to hide income from God in the same way others try to hide it from the taxman.
Dear Christian, let us be done with the sin of robbing God and be ever be faithful in our tithes and offerings. We have been so abundantly blessed and we are to pass a significant portion of this blessing on to others. May we continue to do so with the realisation that blessings that are shared are blessings that are replaced (Philippians 4:15-19).
The Price to Be a Blessing
Finally, we must address the issue of what it will take to be a blessing in the face of being blessed. Again, consider that Abram was sovereignly blessed by God to be a blessing. But what, on Abram’s part, would bring this to pass? I believe that at least two things were necessary.
Submission to God
First, Abram would need to submit to God. And submit he did. He heard God’s call and he left all. He submitted to the sovereign will of God and thus he was blessed and he became a blessing.
The same is true for you and me. We must take up our cross and follow Christ if we will be a blessing. Rejecting God’s Word is never the path to blessing. But to the degree that we submit to Him, to that degree we will be a blessing in this world. We must take God’s Word seriously in all areas: tithing, missions giving, ministry involvement, making disciples, etc. (Matthew 9:26-29).
Sacrifice to God
Second, we must be prepared to sacrifice to God. Clearly, Abram’s move from Ur to Canaan was an act of much sacrifice—sacrifice of country, culture, clan and comforts. “Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?” must have been ringing in his ears as he marched kilometre after kilometre. But the sacrifice which we usually think of when it comes to Abram is that recorded in Genesis 22: the offering up of Isaac, the son with which he and Sarai had been wonderfully blessed. But when he was called to offer up this ultimate sacrifice, Abram simply obeyed. By faith he offered up his son, knowing that God was able to raise him up again.
We must not miss this: it was by this ultimate sacrifice that Abram did, in fact, become a blessing to the world (22:15-18). For it was by offering up his greatest blessing that he became the greater blessing (see Galatians 3).
Note that Abram “offered up” Isaac and God gave him back. And Abram knew that He would (cf. Genesis 22:5; Hebrews 11:17-19). This is the promise that we also have in Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” God promises to meet our needs. But note that, in the context, the “need” to which Paul refers is the “need” that had been created by the Philippians’ sacrificial giving of “substance” to meet Paul’s need (4:15-18). The promise of 4:19 is thus that of God resupplying when we are obedient. Thus, when we give sacrificially, we do so with the promise that God will indeed resupply, thus meeting our need. This, like Abram, requires faith and we know that faith pleases God.
And so it is with us. When we are willing to let go of our greatest blessing, then we become a great blessing. So let us thank God for His blessings of material prosperity, and then let us offer these up (remembering that we will see them, “receive” them again—Matthew 7:19-21). Let us be thankful for all our blessings from the hand of God, and let us realise that we have been blessed to be a blessing. God has opened His hand of blessing to us; may we open our hands and pass the blessings on to others.
As we close, let me point out that Jesus Christ saw Himself as blessed to be a blessing. On a human level, He saw Himself as blessed (Matthew 3:17); He knew that He was the “blessed God” (1 Timothy 1:11; 6:15) yet He came to be a blessing to others and thus He was willing to “lay aside” these blessings (Philippians 2:5-8). He thus submitted to the Father, took up His cross and sacrificed His blessings to God. The result is that all the nations are being blessed while He is being wonderfully blessed (Philippians 2:9-11). My question to you is: have you been so blessed? You can be, today.
Will you see and confess your need for the blessing of salvation? Will you repent of your sin and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Will you ask God to deliver you from the curse of condemnation through the blessing of salvation?
Have you indeed been blessed with salvation? Wonderful! Since you have been blessed with salvation, you can be a blessing of salvation to others. May we live with this perspective. May we drink deep at the fountain of the water of life and then pass it on to those in a dry and thirsty land who so desperately needs this blessing. Whatever the cost, whatever the “risk,” may we pay the price to be a blessing in light of the priceless blessing we have received.