'Lift your eyes now and look .... northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; ..... Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.' (Genesis 13:14-18). Lot and his herdsmen had left. It must have been grievous to Abram, the quarrel had not been with Lot (13:7). So God comes and comforts him renewing again His promise (12:1, 7). The writer to the Hebrews tells that Abram dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, looking for and waiting for a heavenly city whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:9, 10, 16).
God has put eternity in all our our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), so that we might seek and find Him “though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27). God's promises were to Abram and His descendants. And, echoing eternity, He has promised us steadfast love and mercy to “thousands of generations of those who love Him and obey His commandments” (Exodus 20:6). God gives Abram, and us through him, two instructions, “lift up your eyes,” and “walk.”
Concerning “lift up your eyes” we, either like Lot lift up our eyes to the things of this world (13:10), or like Abram we lift up our eyes to see those things that are far off, confessing that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Hebrews 11:13). It's about perspective! As believers, we are citizens of another kingdom. And when I am in danger of being offended by the pain, chaos and difficulties of life, I need to renew my perspective. “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). And if we see with the eyes of faith, we like Paul, will understand that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Ephesians 1:18; Romans 8:18).
The phrase “the promised land” would become familiar to Abram's descendants. And having renewed Abram's perspective of the promise, God now commands Abram to walk the land as a prophetic act declaring his, and his descendant’s God given eternal right to the land (see 24 February post). The land however still had to be possessed. And Moses, standing on the banks of the river Jordon just before the conquest, instructs Israel to do just that (Deuteronomy 1:8). It’s the same with the exceedingly great and precious promises the Lord gives us (2 Peter 1:4). God promised Israel would have rest after they had conquered and possessed the land (Deuteronomy 25:19). And “entering rest” is another Biblical picture of entering the promised land, possessing our promises. Many however did not enter because of two things, disobedience and unbelief (Hebrews 3:18, 19).
Father, we are to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), but our fight is not a physical fight and our weapons are not physical weapons (Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 10:4). Nevertheless we are in a war to the death with the enemy of our souls. Teach us to fight the good fight Lord, and so to be like Abram who, after he had patiently endured, obtained the promise (Hebrews 6:15). We want to possess everything You have for us Lord, give us faith, obedience, courage and persistence Lord in Jesus Name Amen
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