It is clear that Abraham wanted a country of his own. He was told,
… “Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.”
Gen 12:1
Abram didn’t leave because he didn’t want a country, but because he wanted a better country.
Now Abraham was promised a “land.”
He was told,
… “Get out of your country, … to the land that I will show you.”
Gen 12:1
The Lord guided Abram to Canaan. Then,
“Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said, “I will give this land to your seed.” …”
Gen 12:7
Again, more specifically,
“In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: ”
Gen 15:18
That is a huge expanse that even in Solomon’s day was not fully occupied by Israel.
Still reality is perhaps even bigger.
The word for “land” eretz, is also the word for the earth. As in,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Gen 1:1
So when God told Abram in Gen 13:14-15 to look around in every direction, for God was giving Abram ALL of this – It could be interpreted as giving Abram ALL of the earth! Look all around! So Paul writes,
“For the promise to Abraham and to his seed that he should be heir of the world …”
Rom 4:13
Nonetheless when Abraham was close to the end of his life, he still no title to any of Canaan, and when it came time for him to bury Sarah, he had to negotiate with the locals for a small plot in which to bury her, Genesis 23.
Abraham really sought a heavenly country.
“8 By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went. 9 By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
Heb 11:8-10
It was the New Heaven and the New Earth which Abraham sought. And it did change his behavior!
Prophecy is NOT an optional extra.
It is NOT about what might possibly happen. Jesus makes this abundantly clear.
“For most assuredly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.”
Mtt 5:18
Or again, Jesus later says,
“… scripture cannot be broken;”
Jn 10:35 KJV
Believing what God says in prophecy does matter! It is an ethical matter. It changes how you live, so that you might be pleasing to God. It is an integral part of that Word that produces life.
Unless other wise noted, Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
KJV is the King James Version, 1611.