Blessings of the Fathers - Land

We have spoken about Abraham seeking the blessings of the fathers.  One of these blessings was the priesthood and, through it, covenants in which Abraham promised to worship God and God promised that Abraham and his family would be God’s people.

 

The second part of the blessings of the father was the promise of a land inheritance.  During his lifetime, Abraham owned only one small piece of land and that was the place where he buried his beloved Sarah [1]  But a promised land was visited upon the heads of Abraham’s descendants for generations and, in fact, is still in force to those who claim Abraham as the ancestor.

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will [show] thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. . . . And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there [built] he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.  And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el . . .and there he [built] an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. (Genesis 12: 1, 2, 6-8)

What does this mean to me personally?  I am a descendent of Abraham through Ephraim, whether by birth or adoption, it doesn't matter (see the allegory of the olive tree.) This does not mean that I am to go back to the middle east and claim Abraham's land, nor does it mean that I claim all of Lehi's promised land (although I live in a country that is part of that promise.) 

What it means to me is that wherever I am, I can call upon the blessings of the Lord upon myself and my posterity to staying faithful and true to the covenants that I make with God at the waters of baptism and in the Holy Temple.  That makes whatever piece of land I occupy becomes a promised land to me.  Next to the temple, the most sacred place for me is my own home, which has been blessed through the priesthood held by my father.  Because I have sought all of my life to love like the Savior loves, my home has become a place of safety and peace to many family members and dear friends who have found sanctuary within its walls. 

I can claim the blessings of the fathers through Abraham if I seek daily to walk as a disciple of my Savior, keeping His commandments and seeing His other children through His loving eyes.

Next week, I will talk more about the concept of covenants, specifically the one we now call the Abrahamic Covenant, which embraces the blessings of the fathers which the great patriarch sought. 

[1] And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.  And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying place (Genesis 23: 19-20.)

© Gebara Education, May 30, 2016