Les Feldick Bible Study

Why did God promise Abraham's descendants a specific land in the Abrahamic covenant?

God promised Abraham's descendants a specific land so they could exist as a distinct nation through whom He would work. They needed their own geographical borders rather than remaining enslaved in Egypt, because a nation of people chosen for God's purposes must dwell in a land He assigns.

Les explains that after promising Abraham a great nation, God also had to put them in a geographical area of land. They could not just continue on in slavery in Egypt. If they were going to be a nation of people that God was going to work through, they had to be in their own borders. This is the next part of the Abrahamic covenant, seen in Genesis chapter 13, verse 14 and following.

Genesis 13:14

And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

Genesis 13:15

For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

More Questions

What land did God give Abraham in Genesis 13 after Lot separated from him?

In Genesis 13, after Lot separated from Abraham, God told him to look in every direction because He would give all the land he could see to him and to his seed forever.

What did God promise Abram when he told him to look in all four directions in Genesis 13?

In Genesis 13:14-15 God told Abram, after Lot separated from him, to lift up his eyes and look northward, southward, eastward, and westward, and promised that all the land he could see would be given to him and to his seed forever.