4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 5 And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
7:4
Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran.
Abraham obeyed God and left the city of Ur in the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in the city of Haran, only later to leave Haran for another location.
And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land [Palestine]
After Terah, Abraham’s father, died, Abraham moved to what we call Palestine, ultimately settling in Judea. His launch into the unknown was an act of faith (Ro 4:1f).
in which you now dwell.
Stephen drew a direct connection between God’s promise and the Sanhedrin, the members of which at this point lived in the land of God’s promise. They were the direct inheritors of that promise.
7:5
And God gave him no inheritance in it,
Abraham became a resident alien in Palestine, but his descendants would ultimately occupy the land.
not even enough to set his foot on.
Abraham did not own even a foot of ground when he came to Palestine. Later he came to own his burial plot (Ge 23).
But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it [the land] to him for a possession,
While Abraham trusted God by faith, God promised him a child, a lineage that would occupy the land.
and to his descendants after him.
God did not give the Promised Land to Abraham but to his descendants in a distant future.
PRINCIPLE:
Those who know God live by faith.
APPLICATION:
As Abraham followed God’s will in leaving the familiar and secure of his original homeland, he launched out by faith, a belief in the promise of God.
God’s plan for His people does not always remain the same. In theology, we call this progressive dogma or doctrine. Certain truths remain the same, but other doctrines develop with God’s changing program for a particular period.
