"I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." (Genesis 15:7)
The Supreme Being does not give land away. If He was giving land to Abraham, why couldn't Abraham and his descendants control the land? Why over the many centuries since - including now - are so many people struggling for possession of the lands of Judea if God gave those lands to Abraham's descendants? Does God give land away and then snatch it back? Or was God simply being deceptive? No.
These are manipulations of the original manuscripts. These manipulations also suppose these lands were taken away from Abraham's descendants when they were enslaved by the Egyptians but then given back to them centuries later when Moses was guided to the "promised land."
But what kind of "promised land" is a bunch of desert, where crops are difficult to grow, herding is challenging and water is scarce? If God was giving them "promised lands," why wouldn't He have given them some good lands? How about the lands that are now Thailand, which is lush with forests that produce many fruits and vegetables with plenty of water to drink and swim in? Why would God give Abraham's descendants such harsh and barren lands?
Furthermore, if God gave Abraham these supposed promised lands, why would Abraham's descendants still have to fight over the lands again and again? If God gave it to them why would they still have to fight for it?
That makes absolutely no sense. If we accept that God has control, then there is no question that if God gave something to someone, they would have absolute control over what was given to them. If there is no control over what was given, that would mean that God did not give it - since God has complete control.
Otherwise, it would be a joke to say that God gave him these lands - if they could not control them.
Even in nice locations, these bodies suffer from birth through the elderly years, and then they die. The body suffers from so many maladies. These include old age, pain, and many medical conditions.
God was not giving away land, and He certainly didn't give away the deserts of Judea to Abraham's descendants. As will be shown in later verses, the true "promised land" that God promised to Moses is the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is the only real promised land. This temporary planet and these temporary bodies are doomed to suffer and die. There is no 'promised land' in the material world.
Because the transcribers and translators (and their employers, power-hungry emperors) were more interested in owning land and grabbing resources from their neighbors, they were looking through self-centered lenses of the physical world. They could not see the wonderful spiritual relationship that existed between God and Abraham.
First, God is reminding Abraham that He has been guiding Him.
Is this translated correctly?
As we have shown with previous verses, this text is a mistranslation and misrepresentation of the communication between God and His loving servant Abraham.The Supreme Being does not give land away. If He was giving land to Abraham, why couldn't Abraham and his descendants control the land? Why over the many centuries since - including now - are so many people struggling for possession of the lands of Judea if God gave those lands to Abraham's descendants? Does God give land away and then snatch it back? Or was God simply being deceptive? No.
These are manipulations of the original manuscripts. These manipulations also suppose these lands were taken away from Abraham's descendants when they were enslaved by the Egyptians but then given back to them centuries later when Moses was guided to the "promised land."
But what kind of "promised land" is a bunch of desert, where crops are difficult to grow, herding is challenging and water is scarce? If God was giving them "promised lands," why wouldn't He have given them some good lands? How about the lands that are now Thailand, which is lush with forests that produce many fruits and vegetables with plenty of water to drink and swim in? Why would God give Abraham's descendants such harsh and barren lands?
Furthermore, if God gave Abraham these supposed promised lands, why would Abraham's descendants still have to fight over the lands again and again? If God gave it to them why would they still have to fight for it?
That makes absolutely no sense. If we accept that God has control, then there is no question that if God gave something to someone, they would have absolute control over what was given to them. If there is no control over what was given, that would mean that God did not give it - since God has complete control.
Otherwise, it would be a joke to say that God gave him these lands - if they could not control them.
Can the human body own land?
And how could Abraham or his descendants even enjoy such a promised land, when they (and we) occupy physical bodies bound to death, disease, and suffering? These bodies are born to suffer. Whatever land our bodies dwell within, the human body cannot own anything material - because the body is temporary, and ownership is a permanent faculty.Even in nice locations, these bodies suffer from birth through the elderly years, and then they die. The body suffers from so many maladies. These include old age, pain, and many medical conditions.
What is the 'promised land?'?
What kind of promised land can bring us true happiness when we have to toil away at any land to eek out the body's survival, only to have the body die within a few decades? What kind of inheritance is that? Or did God just make a bunch of mistakes and create a dysfunctional planet? Did God mess up and give away some of the worst lands in the world to His servant Abraham?God was not giving away land, and He certainly didn't give away the deserts of Judea to Abraham's descendants. As will be shown in later verses, the true "promised land" that God promised to Moses is the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is the only real promised land. This temporary planet and these temporary bodies are doomed to suffer and die. There is no 'promised land' in the material world.
What did God say?
What, then, was God saying to Abraham in the verse above? The transcribers and translators of these verses - drawn originally from a manuscript about Abraham - simply did not understand what God was saying to Abraham because the discussions between God an Abraham were on a spiritual level.Because the transcribers and translators (and their employers, power-hungry emperors) were more interested in owning land and grabbing resources from their neighbors, they were looking through self-centered lenses of the physical world. They could not see the wonderful spiritual relationship that existed between God and Abraham.
First, God is reminding Abraham that He has been guiding Him.
The key word in this verse is יצא (yatsa'), which means "to go forth" but also "to lead out" and "to deliver."
The Supreme Being guided Abraham out not only of a particular land, but out of a situation that He saw was not favorable for Abraham. He protected Abraham from the society of the Chaldeans, which were a warring people who came to control much of Babylonia at times. It is obvious from this and other verses that the Chaldean society was not conducive to Abraham's spiritual life and his spreading of the teachings of love for God.
The Supreme Being wanted Abraham to set out and preach to others who were ready and more receptive to return to their relationship with the Supreme Being. This type of travel is often described as a mission - and those who travel, being led by the Supreme Being to teach on His behalf, are referred to as missionaries (not to be confused with ecclesiastical missions). Abraham was thus a missionary.
This mission of Abraham continues to be described in the verses ahead, as they have in the verses past.
This is first illustrated in the next part of the verse with the word נתן (nathan). This word has been translated to "give" yet it also means, according to the lexicon, to "be assigned," "be issued," "designated" or "entrusted." In other words, it is not simply a giveaway: Abraham is being entrusted with something.
The next Hebrew word is ארץ ('erets). This may be translated to "land" but not necessarily specific land as though it was a commodity. It can be translated to "lands" or "region" and also to "earth."
What God is communicating to Abraham is a responsibility to travel through the land and preach on His behalf - a service for Abraham that will please Him. A responsibility to travel the land and spread the message of love for God.
Consider the next word: ירש (yarash). While this word has been translated to "possess," it also means to "disinherit," "impoverish" "be dispossessed" "come into poverty" and "to destroy."
For example, in Genesis 45:11, another statement by God uses the word ירש (yarash), which here is being translated to "will become destitute."
So does the word mean to possess something or become impoverished - quite the opposite?
The problem, again, is that the focus of the translators was physical possession. God does not descend to the earth to grant or take away physical possessions from people. Why? Because temporary human bodies cannot possess anything. Everything we think we possess we lose, either when our bodies die or they otherwise get taken from us. Since everything gets taken away, we can never possess them in the first place, because possession requires control.
In both verses, the Supreme Being is talking about spiritual realization. The benediction of spiritual realization - which renders becoming rich spiritually, whilst maintaining a humble consciousness. So it can mean becoming rich and poor (humble) at the same time.
Why does God appear?
The Supreme Being appears in the physical world for one purpose only: To grant spiritual realization. He doesn't give away land or take possessions from people.The physical world is designed in such a way that it automatically lends and takes things away from us, depending upon our past activities. These are called consequences - they are symbolic to enable learning.
Thus we can now properly translate the full verse above:
"I am the LORD, who guided you out of Ur of the Chaldeans and am entrusting you with My mission of giving [spiritual] realization throughout the land."
