The Old Testament readings for this week have been from the Book of Genesis and caused me to go back and re-read some of the chapters. God brings Abram out of Haran (which is roughly in present-day Iraq) and into Canaan and tells Abraham that this is the land he will possess. Remembering Moses bringing everyone into Canaan and having just recently read about Joshua's battle, I started wondering why in the world Abraham just didn't stay in Canaan and possess the land. I don't know how, but during the time it's taken me to read from Genesis to Deuteronomy, I seem to have forgotten about all the wandering, exile and tribal conflicts in the Old Testament. The footnotes in my study Bible speak of the dual promise of land and progeny which I take to mean that God's promise to Abraham is of a kingdom, a certain way of living, not just the promise of a tract of earth. So, while it might be easy to hold on to a piece of land, it's not so easy to hold on to this idea of being God's chosen people. The study notes sketch out an elaborate chart on the Abraham Cycle, a chart I neatly skipped over before, which in turn reminded me that there was a migration from Haran (when Abram's family left) and a migration to Haran (I presume when Abraham's servant returned there to find a wife for Isaac).
Jacob also returns to the homeland (Paddan-aram in the region of Haran) to find a wife, Genesis 28, 1-7 and lives there "in exile" (Ch. 31) for what was about 20 years! Later, God instructs Jacob to go to Bethel, Ch. 35 and by Ch. 36 we're back to Canaan where Jacob settles. We're reminded that his father Isaac lived there as "an alien." The story of Jacob's favorite son, Joseph, then of course takes us to Egypt. References to Egypt are also a tad confusing; my Bible's map of the ancient world shows the Egyptian Empire, 1300 B.C., covering roughly the area of the southern portion of the Levant.
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