Let’s read through the book of Hebrews one verse at a time in 2023. Every day explore a single verse and its cross references. AI-generated text draws the passages together. RSS feed.
If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
These cross references all relate to the idea of returning to the land of one's ancestors. They demonstrate the idea that Abraham and his descendants were called to leave their homeland and return to the Promised Land, a land that God had promised to give to them. This is the same idea that Hebrews 11:15 is conveying; that if Abraham and his descendants had been thinking about the land from which they had gone out, they would have had the opportunity to return.
| Passage | How It’s Related (AI-Generated) |
|---|---|
| Genesis 11:31: Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. | Both passages refer to the journey of Abraham's family from Ur of the Chaldeans to the land of Canaan. Hebrews 11:15 states that if they had been thinking of the land they had gone out from, they would have had the opportunity to return. Genesis 11:31 explains that Abraham, his son Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarai left Ur of the Chaldeans and traveled to the land of Canaan, but they settled in Haran instead. |
| Genesis 12:10: Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. | Both passages discuss the journey of Abram, who is later known as Abraham. Hebrews 11:15 explains that Abram was willing to leave his home land and not return, despite the fact that he had the opportunity to do so. Genesis 12:10 explains that Abram left the Promosed Land to sojourn in Egypt because of a severe famine in Canaan. |
| Genesis 24:6-8: Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” | Both passages refer to Abraham's descendants being promised the land of Canaan. In Hebrews 11:15, the author is emphasizing that if Abraham's descendants had held onto the promise of the land, they would have had the opportunity to return to it. Genesis 24:6–8 shows the promise being made to Abraham that his offspring would receive the land of Canaan, and Abraham's instruction to his servant not to take his son back to Abraham's homeland, but to find a wife for his son from Haran. |
| Genesis 32:9-11: And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. | Both passages refer to Jacob's return to the land of his father, Abraham. Hebrews 11:15 suggests that if Jacob had been thinking of returning to his homeland, he would have had the opportunity to do so. In Genesis 32:9-11, Jacob prays to God and asks to be delivered from his brother Esau so he can return to his country and to his kindred. Jacob acknowledges that he is unworthy of the steadfast love and faithfulness God has shown him, and it is with this faith that he crosses the Jordan river with only his staff. |
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for Your faithfulness and steadfast love. We thank You for calling Abraham and his family to leave their homes and follow You to a new land. We thank You for guiding them, providing for them, and protecting them. We thank You for Your promise to give them a land of their own.
We pray for Your continued grace and mercy in our lives. We pray that You would give us the courage to leave our comfort and follow You, trusting You to lead us to a new place. We pray that You would give us the strength to remain faithful and devoted to You, no matter what challenges we face.
We pray that You would give us the wisdom to recognize the opportunities You provide us and the strength to take advantage of them. Help us to be wise and discerning as we make decisions. We ask that You would protect us from harm and danger and keep our families safe.
We thank You for Your love and faithfulness. We thank You for Your promises and Your provision. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
This reading plan reads through a single verse each day, six days a week, paired with the most-popular cross references for the verse. AI-generated (and human-reviewed) text provides an opening thought and concluding prayer along with an explanation for how each cross reference relates to the verse. In 2023, this reading plan works through Hebrews one verse at a time. Every seventh day is a catchup day. Want more info? Try this blog post.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.