What is your Direction?
The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him,
“Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.”
Genesis 13:14–15
My husband and I have been blessed to be invited into “scripture circles” led by a Rabbi who visits our city every few months. It is a time of incredibly deep bible learning in the presence of the Holy Spirit. I come away with new perspectives that stay with me, along with a desire to practice the scripture and never forget it.
We landed on Genesis 13:14–15 from a group desire to lean into what God is doing in the present. There is so much in the story of Abram, Sarai, and Lot that we get to glean, learning what an intimate life with God looked like and still can look like.
The phrase “Now lift up your eyes and look” in Hebrew is translated as “Lift, please, your eyes and see.” The ‘PLEASE’ is fascinating. We discussed the gentle invitation of God in His tone. It changes the perspective. He was not commanding but asking Abram to see what He sees, rather than holding a narrow view of where he currently stood. I wish our words did not get lost in translation, and Hebrew were easier to learn!
God continues to give direction to Abram with even deeper meaning. The directions themselves are also teaching.
Northward: Pashon in Hebrew means hidden. The unknown, the unclear, a faithful stance with God. The geography of the north was mountains—you can hide in the mountains.
Southward: Negev in Hebrew means desert. A desert is quiet, desolate, barren. These can be both positive and negative, depending on where you are in life.
Eastward: Kadem in Hebrew means beginning. The sunrise is in the east—starting over every day. Each day has a beginning and an end.
Westward: Yam in Hebrew means sea. The sea was to the west of the people. It gives and holds life for animals and humans, yet can be uncertain and stormy.
God was giving Abram both geographical direction and life direction, wisdom layered into how He spoke. Our lives consist of all of these stages, or we may move through them all in a single day. I thought about a compass and how I will never look at one the same way again, or read Scripture the same when directions are mentioned. This makes me want to remember.
The verse continues with God promising that all the land Abram could see would be given to his descendants. The life Abram set out in faith was God’s wisdom to prepare us for our own journeys, through every direction. For you and for me.
Our lives are hidden (north), desert (south), full of new beginnings (East) and Life (West)!
