Beulah Land

Read Genesis 12:5-9

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

Abram had spent some time in Haran before he journeyed on. During that time, his family had acquired much material wealth, and many servants. Abram gathered them all up to begin the journey with him.

They travelled. And, when they got to the land of Canaan, God told Abram that his descendants would one day own all that land.

Again, God did not tell Abram that he would possess it, or own it. Instead, God told him that his descendants would. The land was "promised". That is how it became known as "The Promised Land".

Abram went East, to a mountain on the East of Bethel, and he built an altar to worship the Lord.

Back in those days, there were strict guidelines as to how to build altars, or even temples. Anything that was dedicated to the Lord had to be built with certain specifications. One, being, it could not be built using man made tools or material. Altars were built using stone and clay. No nails (nails were man-made).

After worshipping the Lord there, They travelled onward to the south of the "promised" land.