February 13 -- "God Promises Land to Abraham"

Today's Reading:  Genesis 12 & 13

"God Promises Land to Abraham"

This verse is from the story of Abram (later called Abraham), who is called by God to leave his home in Mesopotamia and travel to the land of Canaan. God tells Abram that He will give the land of Canaan to his descendants as an inheritance, and in response to this promise, Abram builds an altar to worship God.

This verse is significant because it marks the beginning of the Abrahamic covenant, a promise made by God to Abram that his descendants will be blessed and will inherit the land of Canaan. This promise is repeated and expanded upon throughout the book of Genesis and is an important foundation for the history of Israel and the Jewish people.

It's worth noting that the book of Genesis is considered one of the most important books of the Bible, as it contains the story of creation, the first humans, and the history of God's chosen people, the Israelites, which will become the foundation of the whole Bible.

The New Testament references God's promise to Abraham to give him a land and descendants many times. One example is in the book of Hebrews, where it states that Abraham "was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10). This is seen as a reference to the promised land that God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants.

Another example is in the book of Acts, where the apostle Paul states that God promised this land to Abraham and his descendants, and that this promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ (Acts 13:32-33).

In Galatians, Paul also mentions that the promise of land and descendants was made to Abraham and his seed, which refers to Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16).

The New Testament affirms the promise of land that God made to Abraham, and sees it as a promise fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Jesus was a descendant of Abram, through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, and the fulfillment of God's promise to Abram is considered central to the Christian understanding of the lineage of Jesus and the formation of the Israelite nation.