Answer
In Genesis 12:2, God says to Abram (later known as Abraham), “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.” In this context, God calls Abram to leave his home and journey to a land God would show him. God then promises Abram will be a “great nation.” Abram responds in faith and obeys the Lord.
In the ancient Near East, the idea of becoming a “great nation” implied having many descendants, wealth, and influence. The promise that God would make Abram a great nation comes when Abram is already seventy-five years old and childless (Genesis 12:4). The promise is reinforced when God later tells Abram, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5). God’s promise was a personal blessing to Abram and the means God used to bless humanity: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).
In biblical terms, a “nation” is not simply a political entity but a people group bound by a shared covenant with God. The promise “I will make you a great nation” is a divine initiative in which God promises to create something that did not previously exist—a people chosen to be a unique witness to the world. Through Abraham’s lineage would come the nation of Israel, a people set apart to live in a relationship with God and reflect His nature to the surrounding nations.
The establishment of 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. The “great nation” would be a channel for God’s purposes, ultimately fulfilled through Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham, through whom salvation is made available to all nations.
The promise to make Abraham a great nation must be seen as part of God’s covenantal plan to redeem humanity from the effects of sin. This plan is set in motion with Abraham, continues through the history of Israel, and culminates in the coming of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament ties into God’s promise to Abram. Paul writes in Galatians 3:29, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” As the body of Christ, the church is an extension of Abraham’s lineage in a spiritual sense. Believers are grafted in to this “great nation” through faith in Jesus Christ. God’s promise to Abraham reaches beyond ethnic Israel to all who trust Christ (see Ephesians 3:6). This fulfills God’s declaration that “all peoples on earth will be blessed” through Abraham’s offspring (Genesis 12:3).
The promise of becoming a “great nation” was not merely for the benefit of Abraham and his descendants but for the whole world. God’s election of Israel as a nation came with a mission to represent His character and law to the nations around them. Deuteronomy 4:6–7 clarifies this: “Observe [God’s laws] carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them like the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?”
Israel was intended to be a model of righteousness and justice, showing what living in covenant with God meant. Unfortunately, Israel struggled with faithfulness, often turning to idols and forsaking God’s commands. Yet, even in their failures, God remained faithful to His promise to Abram, ultimately fulfilling His plan through the coming of Christ.
