According to interpreters, the biblical story narrows in Genesis 12 from the sweeping concern for all creation in Genesis 1-11 to the particular concern of Israel’s ancestral stories. But does it? True, today’s encounter with an Iraqi named Abram (stay tuned for a name change) introduces us to the family tree of God’s chosen people. But from the outset, careful readers will find that chosen status is more commissioning than entitlement. And even as we track Abram’s offspring through the rest of Genesis, we’ll see that these texts resist ethnic narcissism at every turn.
Did you notice, for instance, that Abram is actually an immigrant, twice over? First, at God’s insistence, he leaves home for a destination full of unknowns. Though God doesn’t disclose the name of the “land that I will show you,” what Abram does know is that, wherever he ends up, he’ll be an outsider settling in. To be chosen by God may mean adopting an outsider perspective, not to claim insider privilege.
Indeed, before he has a chance to unpack the moving van and settle into his tent, Abram’s on the move again—this time, to Egypt in search of food. As immigrants sometimes do, Abram introduces an element of deception because he knows he’s vulnerable to the government authorities. (Notice, though, that he exchanges his own vulnerability for Sarai’s, a detail that doesn’t seem to bother the narrator as much as it does me.) To be chosen by God may also mean growing keenly aware of just how vulnerable we all ultimately are.
In any case, from the outset of Abram’s story, we find him navigating relationships with God, with members of his own household, and even with foreign leaders. This may be Israel’s story, but its claims are still sweeping: “all the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (12:3).
- Think about the group with which you identify most closely? How does it relate to those outside?
- How might you apply Abram’s “chosenness” to your own life?
- What other details did you notice in today’s reading?
Prayer: Gracious God, help us take time today to count our blessings. More than that, show us how our blessings might spill out to others, especially the “outsiders” we meet. Amen.
Breath Prayer: You will be // a blessing.
