February 2026
‘I will bless you ... and you will be a blessing' Genesis 12.2 (NIV).
These words are in a message that Abram received from God. He was called by God when he was living in Ur, near the river Euphrates in what is now Iraq. It was at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, a curve of land running from the Persian Gulf along the Euphrates, through Syria and Palestine and down to the Nile delta.
In Genesis 12.2 we are told ‘The Lord ... said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” ’. Abram and his childless wife Sarai and their nephew Lot had reached Haran in Mesopotamia when his father, Terah died. By then Abram was 75 years old; they had accumulated flocks and others had joined them. Perhaps this would be the place to settle they thought at first, but God still called them to move on.
God continues: ‘I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing’. There was to be more travelling to come, and it seemed a greater prize lay ahead. God gives Abram a personal promise and a blessing for all of mankind, to be fulfilled through him: ‘All peoples on earth will be blessed through you’ (Genesis 12.3). This did not seem likely especially as he and Sarai grew older and were unable to have children.
However Abram continued to listen to God and to follow even when the odds seemed stacked against him. God wanted him to be part of His plan for mankind. Even when Abram was given the most difficult challenge imaginable – to sacrifice his son, Isaac - he responded by obediently continuing along the path God had set before him. They had made a covenant with one another. He trusted in God to full His promise.
God is faithful to all who put their trust in Him: ‘I will bless you ... and you will be a blessing’. Along with Abram and all God’s people we are called into a partnership to build His kingdom on earth. As we spend time in contemplation listening to His Word we are guided along the path we should take during our earthly pilgrimage. Like Abram we must trust and obey.