Genesis 12:1-2 “The Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a GREAT NATION; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.”
After Hamas attacked Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, and then Israeli retaliated against Hamas in the ongoing war in Gaza, and now the attack on Iran to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability, there are Western voices – especially in America – who are now questioning America’s support of Israel.
While podcasters argue back and forth over Israel and America’s involvement, those of us who believe the Bible is the authority on truth need to go to the Bible to understand God’s position on this.
This article examines the first of many questions: “Where in the Bible is Israel first mentioned?”
Can we identify where in the Bible the creation of Israel as a nation is first described?
We begin with God’s calling to a man named Abram in Genesis 12:1-3. Notice the man’s name is ‘Abram’, not ‘Abraham’ (that name doesn’t show up until Genesis 17:1-10). Here is Genesis 12:1-2:
“Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; you shall be a blessing.”
“I will make you a great nation” = God is talking here about a people group – the nation Israel. Notice nowhere in Genesis 12:1-3 is the name “Israel” stated, so how can we be sure this is Israel?
In biblical terms, a “nation” is not a political entity but a people group bound by a shared covenant with God. “I will make you a great nation” is God’s promise to create something that did not previously exist – a people chosen to be a unique witness to the world. Through Abram’s lineage would come a nation – a people set apart to live in a relationship with God and reflect His nature to surrounding nations.
5 chapters later in Genesis 17:1-10, God changes his name from “Abram” (“exalted father”) to “Abraham” (father of many nations”), with an explanation of his descendants – this “great nation” of Genesis 12:2:
“When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.’ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.’”
I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
Also, I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised.’”
Here, Abraham’s descendants are described as both:
#1) “giving to them the land of Canaan, and circumcising every male child” (this is the nation of Israel),
#2) “being the father of many nations” (this includes more than just Israel).
Can we reconcile both of God’s promises? In this article, we focus on #1, which answers our question “Where in the Bible is Israel first mentioned?” We will cover #2 – “father of many nations” – next week.
So here, from Genesis 12 through Genesis 17, we can see God is including in Abraham’s descendants a nation who will live in the land of Canaan, whose male children are to be circumcised. This is Israel.
Starting with Exodus 1:7, the children of Abraham, the Israelites, are in fact a great people (the “great nation” in Genesis 1:2a): “The children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land (of Egypt) was filled with them.”
Exodus through Joshua records how Israel became a nation with their own land and law. Judges and 1 & 2 Samuel document Israel’s leadership with a king, followed by the establishment of David’s dynasty.
I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” = Establishing Israel as a “great nation” was not merely about territorial boundaries or political influence but about being a people through whom God would bless the whole world “you shall be a blessing.”
This part of Genesis 12:2 is explained in Deuteronomy 4:1,6-7. God says His election of Israel to possess the land comes with God’s mission to be a blessing to all surrounding nations by representing His character as revealed in His law:
““Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you.
Therefore, be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?”
The apostle Paul confirms this is in Romans 3:1-2: “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.”
God gave Israel 6 main responsibilities, all of which are to be blessings for all of mankind:
1) Keep and preserve His Law (Joshua 22:5);
2) Teach other nations about Him (Deuteronomy 4:6-7, Romans 3:1-2)
3) Be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6)
4) Bring “renown and praise and honor” to His name (Jeremiah 13:11).
5) Point other nations to His promise of a Redeemer, Messiah, and Savior (Genesis 3:15)
6) Bring the Messiah into the world as a Jew – fulfilled perfectly in the Person of Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 18:18-19, John 12:49-50 and many others)
God further explains in Deuteronomy 7:7-9 He chose Israel for 2 reasons:
#1) God loves Israel as a people/nation,
#2) God made a promise to Israel’s FATHERS – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He keeps His promises.
“The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
In this article, we have gone deep into Genesis 12:2 to show 3 things directly in Scripture:
- Israel is first mentioned in Genesis 12:2 as the “great nation” coming from Abraham,
- God loves the nation of Israel,
- God made a promise first to Israel’s FATHERS, to bless the world by through the nation of Israel:
- Abram Covenant = Genesis 22:17-18 = “In blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Isaac Covenant = Genesis 26:3-4 = “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”
- Jacob Covenant = Genesis 35:10-12 = “’Your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.’ So, God called Jacob’s name Israel… Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.”
Here we have the connection from Genesis 12:2 all the way to Genesis 35:12 – the nation of Israel is the descendants of the fathers!
Next week, we examine Genesis 12:3b – “In you (Abram) all the nations of the world shall be blessed.”
“The Evidence of Faith’s Substance”_Article #637
FSE University 