Genesis 12

I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing

“Go from your country … to the land that I will show you” - Gen 12:1

There are early whispers about the Promised Land found in this chapter, and foreshadowing about what God will do for His people; however, for now, we focus on Abram, whose faith in the Lord will be known and venerated for generations. Abram does not ask the Lord who He is, as Moses did at the burning bush, rather, he is quickly obedient, taking Sarai, Lot, and all their possessions (cf. Gen 12:5).

“I will make of you a great nation,” - Gen 12:2

Abram will become the grandfather of Israel, thus being a patriarch of the nation. Though Abram is the chieftain of a tribe now, the Lord will greatly multiply his offspring so that they might become a nation. A ‘great’ nation is vague and subjective. How will the people of Abram be great? Will it be in their strength, size, or wealth? They will be great in their obedience and faith to the Lord: “you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” (Ex 19:6). It is in their service; that is, sacrificial worship, to the Lord that the people will be great. By this, they will come to trust in the Lord Who will provide for their needs. The Lord provides so that His people might know Him, not for His own glory, self-righteousness, or pride, but so that they may understand themselves: “Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear,” (GS 22).

“I will bless you,” - Gen 12:2

We should recall the blessing of God to Adam and Eve, and Noah and his family, as well as to the animals on the ark. This blessing enables them to be fruitful and multiply. As stated in the previous chapter, “Sarai was barren; she had no child,” (Gen 11:32). Though the Lord spoke with Adam and Eve, Cain and Seth, and to Noah, it is unclear whether Abram would have known the stories of the flood and the tower of Babel. With many of his older relatives still being alive when he is born, one would think that these stories would have been passed down through the generations. Therefore, Abram may have known that the Lord would bless him and Sarai with a child. This second promise may have shed light on the first one. Instead of conquering a neighboring nation, the nation the Lord would give Abram would come from him and Sarai.

“and make your name great,” - Gen 12:2

Abram is promised not only a nation, but a dynasty in the nation that comes from his line. We must remember that names also point to one’s role in salvation history, therefore, though he may have had no concept of the whole story, Abram knows that the Lord has chosen him for a great task. He will also be receiving a blessing from the Lord because of this making his name great.

so that you will be a blessing - Gen 12:2

We receive gifts, talents, and interests from the Lord so that we may use them to bring others closer to Him; so that others might come to know and love Him. The nation, blessing, and dynasty of Abram are not for his own glory or comfort in this life, but for the salvation of the world. If there is something good, it makes itself known. True goodness cannot be contained because it suffuses itself into all things around it. Goodness is not a treasure that is meant to be hoarded, but to be given freely to others. Even if one could hoard goodness for himself, he would be less satisfied with keeping it to himself rather than sharing it with others. Abram is to be a blessing to the nations so that they might also come to know the Lord. The nation that will come from Abram is to be a protector and teacher of the Lord’s commands so that all nations might come to know Him and delight in His statutes. Again, the Lord does not need our worship and attention to make up for some deficiency in Him, but for our own good, fulfillment, perfection, and flourishing.

“I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse;” - Gen 12:3

There are the beginnings of an oath being sworn so that a covenant may be formed. The Lord is giving His protection to Abram and his family, at the moment Sarai and Lot. Travel was dangerous in the ancient world, and with the Lord asking Abram to follow Him rather than giving a specific destination, this promise of protection may have calmed nerves or eased hesitations about packing up everything and leaving the land of his fathers.

the land of Canaan, … “To your descendants I will give this land” - Gen 12:5-7

The Lord promises to give the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abram. The Lord does not say when this will happen, but if Abram was unsure whether the nation and kingdom he would have would be from his own line or from another nation conquered by him, he knows that the Lord will bless him through his children. In the following books, we will see Israel’s conquest, with all its successes and failures, of this Promised Land.

he built there an altar to the Lord - Gen 12:7

Recall that in the trustee family, the father or patriarch serves in the role of priest for his family. True worship requires sacrifice. We will continue to see this reality throughout the books and chapters concerning worship in the Tabernacle and the Temple through the Gospels. These two words and concepts should become so intertwined that they become synonymous in our minds so that we can understand what the Lord means by worship, the occasions of idolatry, and other liturgical customs in the books of the Old Testament and how they come to fulfillment in the New Testament and the books of the New Testament.

Abram was also able to construct an altar between Bethel and Ai, as Noah was able to build one at the top of Mount Ararat because the world, from its foundations in the beginning, was to be a temple to the Lord, meaning that sacrifice was able to be offered anywhere. It is only after the Golden Calf incident in Exodus that the priesthood is established and after the construction of the Tabernacle and the Temple that worship was to be done in a specific location.

there was a famine in the land. … went down to Egypt - Gen 12:10

Though the relationship between the people of God and Egypt would become strained, Egypt is a place where the people of God would go for food and for protection. Egypt was not only a powerful nation, but was also known as the breadbasket of the ancient world. We will see Abram’s descendants go into Egypt because of a famine in chapters to come. Abram, like Christ, is a sort of forerunner and corporate personality for his descendants. Christ, especially in the servant songs of Isaiah, both represents the people of Israel as a whole and is one individual person; that is, the suffering servant of the Lord. He also shows humanity what will happen at the end of time, namely the resurrection of the body. Abram, likewise, is an individual person, but also foreshadows the journey of his descendants into Egypt.

“you are a woman beautiful to behold; … Say you are my sister,” - Gen 12:11-13

Though the Lord has offered Abram protection from his enemies, this is one of the first instances of many where he will try to take matters into his own hands, attempting to fulfill the promises of the Lord himself. In an effort to save his life, he tells Sarai to say that she is his sister so that an Egyptian does not kill him in order to take her as his wife. As we read on, we see how well this plan comes to fruition.

the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house - Gen 12:15

The language of being taken into one’s house or one’s room or chamber signifies marital relations are to take place. We should not, however, understand John 19:27 in this way: “Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home,” (Jn 19:27). The word ‘home’ does not appear in the original Greek of this text. Rather, a more literal reading would show that John took Mary into his heart, showing not only his care for the Blessed Mother after the death of her only Son, but also his own devotion to her as the Mother of God as an example for the Faithful to take the Mother of our blessed Lord into our hearts as well. But throughout the historical books, this language will continue in this way.

for her sake he dealt well with Abram; … maidservants, … and camels - Gen 12:16

Abram accepts this dowry from Pharaoh. In exchange for his wife, he received “sheep, oxen, he-donkeys, menservants, maidservants, she-donkeys, and camels,” (Gen 12:16). Though he has received material wealth, he has broken his marriage covenant for good, reminding us of the words of the Song of Songs: “If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned,” (Sgs 8:7). Abram offered love for wealth which would also be “utterly scorned” because he exchanged a person for things.

the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house … “What is this you have done to me?” - Gen 18-19

Another prefigurement of the Lord exercising lordship over the Egyptians, namely the Pharaoh who was thought to be a god. The Lord did not just afflict Pharaoh, but also his house; that is, his wife or wives, children, and all servants and attendants. A house, as we will see later in the books of Samuel and Kings, also refers to a dynasty and a kingdom. The Lord could have brought down suffering upon all of Egypt. And why? Because Abram broke his covenant of marriage. The Lord cares about Marriage; that is, not only the Sacrament of Marriage, but marriage as a primordial sign that images God. Just as when man forgets himself, he forgets God, as Dr. Savage said, when man does not understand the relation between Marriage, sex, and children, he will not be able to understand God. For if man cannot even see the image of God clearly, how would he be able to see Him face to face.

took her for my wife? - Gen 12:19

Taking, like knowing in the opening chapters of Genesis, also signifies not only marital relations, but the establishment of the marriage covenant. This is why in the old rite of Marriage, the spouses say, “I take you for my husband/wife.” This not only shows the intentional entrance into this covenant, but the understanding and gravity of this union. As we will see throughout Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and as we have seen already, the marriage covenant is regarded as one of the most sacred things, specifically because it points to God.

Here, we can understand the language of the body Saint John Paul the Great speaks about in the Theology of the Body. When the spouses enter into the covenant, now Sacrament, of Marriage, the spousal embrace consummates and incarnates; that is, makes visible the marital promises made by the spouses in the presence of God and the assembly gathered. Therefore, when two people come together in the marital act, whether they are legally married or never plan to be, they become one flesh. Here, the spouses say to each other, “I am yours,” and “you are mine.” This is why this is a marriage covenant and not a contract, because a contract deals with an exchange of things rather than persons. This is what the language of the body expresses in this sacred union. This is why Pharaoh says, “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife,” (Gen 2:19).

Pharaoh gave orders … and they sent him on the way, with his wife and all that he had - Gen 12:20

Pharaoh, realizing that the judgment of God was upon him and Egypt, sends Abram and Sarai along with all that Pharaoh gave him away. We see people react in this way after Jesus cast out a demon: “And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood,” (Mt 8:34). Instead of recognizing the presence of God as something that could be good for them and their salvation, they react in fear and only fear the Lord’s judgment and wrath. We must not have this false dichotomy in our minds that many people seem to have regarding ‘the God of the Old Testament’ and ‘the God of the New Testament.’ God is not a God of wrath. This idea must be discarded and forgotten. The earliest explicit revelation about the Lord being a God of __________ is in Exodus: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” (Ex 34:6). This is in the second book of the Old Testament; and we see Jesus say, “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. … And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers,’” (Mt 7:21, 23). We must remember, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever,” (Heb 13:8), and “I and the Father are one,” (Jn 10:30); therefore, there should not be a hard line between God the Father and Christ the Son. “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name,” (Ex 15:3), and “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,” (Ps 145:8).

Getting back to what is going on in this chapter of Genesis, Pharaoh, because of the mighty deeds of the Lord, sends Abram and Sarai away, along with everything Pharaoh gave him for Sarai, pointing forward to Jeremiah’s prophecy of Israel and Judah’s restoration: “Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who despoil you shall become a spoil, and all who prey on you I will make a prey,” (Jer 30:16). Abram and Sarai leave Egypt and return to Canaan.