Pay Attention to Timing

Scripture: "Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width, for I will give it to you." So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord. Genesis 13:17-18

Observation: After Abraham returns to Canaan from Egypt, the Lord repeats his promise to him ... that he will be the father of a great people, and they will inherit the entire land. The Lord then tells Abraham to do something, and Abraham does something ... different.

The instruction = Go and travel around the entire land.

The response = Created a place to live with semi-permanent structures in one place.

We know that Abraham did wander. He had done so when he first entered Canaan, and he would later. He would soon move around to rescue his nephew, and in response to concerns about how his flocks and the flocks of certain Canaan were requiring the same land. However, based on the wording of Genesis 13, there is something to the idea that the Lord wanted Abraham to see the entire promised land, and Abraham wanted to have a place of his own. Yes, the dominant feature of that place would be an alter to the Lord, with the purpose of worshiping Yahweh, but that still isn't the same as wandering.

Application: I have seen a video of the archeology of Mamre. It is so exciting to know Abraham was there! However, I feel like there may be a lesson here about God's plans, and our plans.

There are many things we can do to obey the Lord. He is worthy of our prayer and worship and devotion, so doing those things is right and pleasing to him. He is worthy of our gifts and sacrifices, so working and then returning his blessings to him is honoring and obedient. He also gives us things to do, so doing them obediently is proper and good. Is it possible for these things to ever be in conflict? And if so, how would one resolve such conflict?

The responses are probably "no" and "timing". I say 'no' to conflict because certainly the Lord can organize his instructions to us, and thus when we have several things to do for the Lord they likely need to be ordered. It is likely this was what Abraham was doing. He wasn't actually 'failing' to travel the land. He was first preparing himself and his entourage and family, maybe even defining a home base for God-provided safety, and then ensuring that safety by establishing praise and worship as the priority on that hilltop camp. There is no doubt he would travel the promised land, but he would also worship Yahweh, giving sacrifices in response to the promises of the Lord.

One of my biggest issues in life is that I am unsure what the Lord is telling me to do. Sometimes I have heard him well, but not always ... and not recently. I don't know if I should 'stay' or when I should 'go'. I am not even sure what either would/should involve. However, here is my takeaway today ... I also need to pay attention to timing. If the Lord says "go", it may mean now, or it may mean to prepare now for going in several years. If the Lord says "worship me", it may mean "drop everything now" or it may mean "later today". In big and small ways, the Lord's instructions have a timing element.

Of course, I can't hear the instructions right now, so timing is moot. I hope that changes.

Prayer: Lord, I know I can't hear your instructions because I don't talk to you enough in the first place. This is the fix I need in my life, and you know it. May I draw closer to you, my Lord and my God and my Father. Amen.