“14The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.””
Ge 13:14–17
Even though Abram had been generous to his nephew and given him a portion of the Promised Land, the land was not Abram’s to give away. The land belongs to the Lord, and only He decides to whom He will give it. Now that Lot has left, God wants to speak privately with Abram and make it clear that both the Promise and the land are given to Abram, not to Abram and Lot.
God then shares with Abram the boundaries of the Promised Land, and repeats the promise that this amazing land will be given to Abram and his descendants. The Lord encourages Abram to “wander in the land” and take advantage now of the gifts that the future Promised Land has to offer.
Just as Abram wandered in the Promised Land and tasted the good of the land long before the promise was fully fulfilled, so we today can taste the gifts of the kingdom of God long before the kingdom of Heaven is fully established.
We know that in heaven there is no more death, sin or pain. But already here and now we can taste it as we walk in the Spirit, forgive one another and pray for the sick.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for giving me a taste of heaven already here and now.