Ldg in Dvrse & Glbl Context

3.1 Devotion. Abraham. The Father of Blessing for All Cultures

Getting Started

Many different cultures and religions make a connection back to the biblical figure, Abraham. In part, the connections point to God's promise to Abraham that he would be a blessing to all nations.

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

· Describe how Scripture addresses God's perspective on people of different cultures.

Background Information

This week, we continue our examination of what the Scriptures have to teach us about culture. We begin with this passage from Genesis 12:1-3:

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And 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. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (NIV)

Author Marvin Newell (2016), in his book  Crossing Cultures in Scripture, provides this insight into Genesis, chapter 12:

Genesis 12 is fundamental to a biblical understanding of culture. It’s where Moses relayed how hope and blessing can come to every expression of human culture found on earth. The deep-seated need for personal and cultural redemption, common across all cultures, will not go unattended. The thousands of cultures that developed after the dispersion following Babel will not be subjected to perpetual deterioration. God has a strategy to renew (some would say ‘redeem’) them.

The central message of Genesis 12:1-3 is that the loving God who created humankind, endowed it with culture (Gen 1), and then instituted cultural diversity (Gen 11) while planning to bring blessing to the varied and numerous ethnicities that would develop. Even as their core beliefs, values, and customs eroded, God was orchestrating a plan to redeem them and bring newness. What’s even more amazing is that, in the end times, God will bring these myriads of cultures to perfection in Christ while at the same time allowing them to maintain their unique cultural expressions.

In this passage, Moses told how the repair of cultures would come about. It would originate with one man, Abraham. So, at this juncture in his historical account, Moses included information in reference to all the nations (Gen 10). He then narrowed his narrative to focus solely on one man and his descendants who, through a God-directed history, would bring hope and blessing to every culture found on earth. The bedrock of that plan is found in these three verses. Most commentators call this passage ‘the call of Abraham.’ It could just as readily be called ‘the hope of the nations.’ (p. 34)

Newell (2016) also cited author Walter Kaiser’s observation: “Israel was to be God’s missionary to the world—and so are we by virtue of our identity as Abraham’s spiritual descendants! The mission has not changed” (p. 41).

Instructions

1. Read the short  Commentary on Genesis 12:1-3 (new tab) .

2. Write a half-page reflection paper (Word document) that shares what you learned from this passage about culture. Here are some thought starters:

a. What was the significance of Abram’s call?

b. How did Abram’s obedience to God’s call involve crossing cultures?

c. How would you respond if you believed God was calling you to leave your home and family and move to an unfamiliar place with a culture significantly different from your own to fulfill an assignment that He had given you? Could you do it? Would you do it? Why or why not?

d. What lessons can you find in the story for your perspectives? Your leadership? Organizations? The world?

3. Reflection papers are to be written following  APA Guidelines (7th ed.) (new tab) , including format guidelines. Papers must be logical, well organized, grammatically correct, and have correct spelling and sentence structure.  Write in complete paragraphs.