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The Five-fold Blessing

By Seth Dralle | Comments (1)
November 7, 2008

Genesis is a book of beginnings. The beginning of the world. The beginning of man and woman. The unfortunate beginning of sin and exile. The beginning of the nations of the world, their languages, and their spreading out over the earth. These grand events transpired in the last two weekly Torah portions: B'reisheet and Noach.

As important as these matters are in the book of Genesis, they actually serve as just a prologue to the accounts of the Patriarchs. In this week's portion, Lech Lecha, we pick up on the key narrative of Genesis, and indeed even of the whole of Scripture. It is the beginning of the Promise.

Prior to this, the state of humanity was far from what God created in the Paradise of Eden. Exiled from the Garden and close communion with God, humanity was doomed to a life of curse due to sin:

To the serpent - "cursed are you above all livestock," Genesis 3:14
To Adam - "cursed is the ground because of you," Genesis 3:17
To Cain - "you are cursed from the ground," Genesis 4:11
To Noah - "the ground that the LORD has cursed," Genesis 5:29
To Ham - "Cursed be Canaan," Genesis 9:25

It is in Genesis 12 that God calls Abraham (then called Abram). It is a huge turning point in Genesis and in the history of man. Perhaps as a counterbalance to the five curses of Genesis 1-11, God balances them by using "bless/blessing" five times in Gen 12:2-3:

"I will bless you and make your name great," Genesis 12:2
"so that you will be a blessing," Genesis 12:2
"I will bless those who bless you," Genesis 12:3
"I will bless those who bless you," Genesis 12:3
"In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed," Genesis 12:3

In this, we see the very beginnings of God's promise to man being worked out through the family of Abraham.

But how are all the families of the earth "blessed in Abraham," when they aren't "in Abraham"? The answer, the Apostle Paul tells us, is that believers from all the nations are grafted into Abraham's family through faith in the Messiah, the Son of Abraham (Galatians 3:22). Without Messiah, we from the nations would have no access or right to the blessings of Abraham. But in Messiah, we become children of the promise and along with Israel can rightfully call Abraham our father.

"And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" (Galatians 3:29).

Paul goes on to tell us that as sons and daughters of Abraham, we must live lives worthy of such a name.

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:24-25).

If we desire to lay hold of the Promise, we must allow the Promise to lay hold of us.

May the five-fold blessings of Abraham bear forth much fruit in your life, as we live as disciples of the Son of Abraham, Yeshua the Messiah.

Want to learn more about the promises to Abraham and their fulfillment in Yeshua the Messiah? How does the promise to Abraham foresee in the ingrafting of the nations? Torah Club Volumes 1 & 5 answer these questions and more in their extensive commentary on the Abraham narratives. Become a Torah Club member today. For more information, click here.

About the Author: Seth Dralle worked in the fulfillment and shipping department and as a research and teaching assistant for FFOZ. He also contributed to messiah magazine, the Monthly eRosh and the Torah Club Online Dictionary.

Visitor Feedback:

Brother,

This was a beautiful and refreshing short read. Thank you, shabbat shalom to you and yours.

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The Five-fold Blessing

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