Friday, November 18, 2011

This is My Land

THIS IS MY LAND

Seventh of seven in God’s Best devotion series.

Genesis 26:1-6

Vv. 2-6: “The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for awhile, and I will be with you and I will bless you. For to you and your descendents I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father, Abraham. I will make your descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through all your offspring all the nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My requirements, My commands, My decrees and My laws.’ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.”

This God’s Best devotional series is designed to show you why the Middle East is a hotbed of conflict today. Arab nations surround one Jewish state, Israel (Canaan). God promised Abram in Genesis 12:7: “To your offspring I will give this land.” Where’s their peace? God’s best is only received when we wait on His timing.

This map shows Gerar to be in south Canaan. The Mediterranean Sea is west of Canaan. 


Gerar is also known as Tel Haror, Tell Abu Hureireh, or Geder. God’s covenant with Abraham shows his descendents include most of the world’s population, (Arabs, Jews, and Christians are blessed through Abraham). As many as stars in the sky! God’s covenant included land as an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:8). That land is Canaan, or what is Israel today. Notice the cities with red dots:  Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Gerar, especially. 


Water is always an issue in the desert. Abraham and Isaac were both forced to dig wells for their survival.  Well issues caused them to move on after settling down.


“Then Isaac moved away from [city of Gerar] and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father, Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given therm.” (Genesis 26:17-18).

Isaac and Ishmael settled in different parts of the Middle East. While Ishmael’s land spread far and wide, Canaan is a narrow strip (See Ishmael’s Claim devotion).


Take Home Nugget

God’s best only comes when we wait for His perfect timing in answer to prayer, or receiving His promise. Not waiting always leads to trouble. We just traced the tension in the Middle East today back thousands of years ago to the sons of Hagar and Sarah.
God’s everlasting covenant came from Abraham through Isaac (Genesis 17:19), and includes the land of Canaan (v. 8).  But Abraham’s people didn’t honor their part of the covenant.  Their disobedience caused God to scatter them, put them into bondage, and destroy their land.  Many have returned to their homeland, Israel, but there’s no peace.

Waiting on and obeying God are two ways for believers to get His best. Won’t you consider this the next time you’re impatient when waiting for something?

J.D. Griffith

The stories in the Word of God

Are there for us to see

How God has worked in people’s lives

Throughout all history.

Sper

A personal, private lesson experience with our staff







Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)