Perhaps nothing is more disheartening, or nothing makes one feel more vulnerable, than leaving, what is familiar by embarking on something new. This is true, even when what one does has great promise. Only a fool embarks on a promising future, believing it is paved with gold and comes to him problem free. Abram left his country to go to a land, whose location wasn’t even told him (Acts 7:2-3; Hebrews 11:9). He was to leave the sensible surroundings of kindred, who lived, according to traditions, he found comfortable. Life made sense there, but he was to leave that worldview, in order to dwell with strangers, who embraced yet a different worldview, and whose customs were both unfamiliar and uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, perhaps, the most difficult thing for Abram to do was to leave his father’s house, his own brethren (cp. Genesis 12:1). He left Ur in the land of Mesopotamia with his father and his nephew, Lot, and came to dwell in Haran (Genesis 11:31). After his father died there (Genesis 11:32), Abram left for the Promised Land, but he took Lot with him (Genesis 12:4). At this point in our study of the Book of Genesis, however, Abram has come to dwell alone. Rather than quarrel with his family, Abram told Lot they would have to separate, one from another. Apparently, Lot agreed to Abram’s terms and left!
With Lot and his servants gone, Abram was, perhaps, only half as powerful as before. While the locals may have thought twice about making trouble for him prior to his separation from Lot, now, they might consider him an easy prey, and Abram was so wealthy! Why wouldn’t these strangers look upon Abram with lustful eyes? Feeling vulnerable and alone, Abram needed encouragement, now, more than ever. Therefore, the Lord came to Abram, telling him to lift up his eyes and look, look to the north, to the south, to the east and to the west. All of the land that Abram was able to see would be his. The Lord said he would give it to his descendants forever (Genesis 13:14-15).[1]
Interestingly, at least one scholar[2] observes that Abraham is said to have looked four times to observe the promise that God made him in Genesis 12:1-3, and the first of these was at this time in the text (Genesis 13:14). Each time the Lord encouraged Abram and brought him ever deeper in his faith to trust the Lord who called him. Here, Abram looked everywhere about him, and the Lord told him his descendants would be as the “dust of the earth” (Genesis 13:16), indicating his vision of the Lord was during the day. The second time Abram looked was in Genesis 15:5 and Abram was told his descendants would be as the stars of heaven, indicating his vision was probably during the night. Both times Abram and Sarai were without child, but Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). After Abram asked for a sign, the Lord gave him one, showing that his promise to Abram was dependent upon God alone. In other words, Abram could not make it happen, but neither could he prevent it from happening, either. The promise that God made rested totally upon the Lord’s integrity (Genesis 15:8-18).
Afterward, perhaps discouraged, Abram tried to help God keep his promise, and he sired Ishmael through Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, when he was 86 years old (Genesis 16:1-4, 16). Thirteen years later, Abram looked and beheld the Lord coming to him again, at which time Isaac, Abram’s son through Sarai, was promised. Finally, in order to change Abram’s worldview concerning human sacrifice, because such a thing was practiced by those around him, Abram was asked to sacrifice Isaac, and just before Abram would have done it, the Lord stopped him, and Abram looked and saw a substitute was provided for Isaac, which pointed to the Savior who would come and would be a blessing to all nations (Genesis 22:13).
So, after the Lord encouraged Abram, he told him to walk through the land, its length and its breadth and know, what was given him, and Abram did so, and he came to dwell in the plain of Mamre, Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord (Genesis 13:17-18).
____________________________________________
[1] Obviously, forever is conditional and doesn’t mean what we take it to mean today. Literally, the word meant an undefined length of time (olam; H5769). Obviously, if Abram returned to Ur, how would he and his descendants inherit the land. Once the Lord made a covenant with Abram’s descendants and God gave them the land, if they broke the covenant, they would be disinherited. Forever, doesn’t have to mean what we take it to mean. The Hebrew points to an indefinite period of time, which may only be for the length of a person’s life, or even three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17; 2:6). However, the implication is for a very long time.
[2] See E.W. Bullinger at Genesis 13:14.
Smoodock's Blog 