Has Israel's territory ever encompassed the promise in Joshua 1:4?

The borders described in verse 4 are more extended than Israel has ever yet possessed, for it included the wilderness (in the south), Lebanon (in the north) and eastward as far as the Euphrates River. Or, if looking westward, all the land of the Hittites (toward the east), and to the Great Sea (the Mediterranean) was included. In Genesis 15:18-21 God's promise to Abram gave the borders from a viewpoint further south --" from the river of Egypt (the Nile) to the great river, the River Euphrates." Israel will eventually, in the millennium, possess all this property, but only when they have received their Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Then He will clear the way for them to claim their full inheritance.

In the purposes of Jehovah, Israel's possession was vast: "From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea towards the going down of the sun, shall be your coast." Now, save for a very limited period (1 Kings 4:21), Israel has not entered upon these lengths and breadths; that day of permanent possession is yet to come. The Christian's portion in Christ is immeasurable; but today is his day of possession, for God, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3), has made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 11:6). Yet what does this "all" mean? The most well-taught believer is simply learning what it is, as he advances day by day in the truth of God. The more he sees what the blessings are, the less does his apprehension seem to him to be, for God's gifts are, like Himself, infinite.

Before they pass over Jordan, all their wilderness history is rehearsed to them, that it may be practical wisdom for their new position, and then they are to take possession of the land which God had promised to Abraham; although not yet do they possess it according to the terms of the covenant with their fathers. They are on the footing of law, and must make good their title to the land by actual victory over the inhabitants of it. "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses." (Joshua 1:3.) Thus the extent of the land, as the Lord describes it to them, they never actually acquire. Only in David and Solomon's time does their dominion extend to the Euphrates, the Abrahamic boundary, while they never properly possess thus far; Philistines, Phoenicians, Hittites, confine them in fact within much narrower limits. Two and a half tribes they leave on the other side of Jordan, defeated by their own success; just as in Christian times the church has gained by its victories a possession the wrong side of death.

Some other things need notice in passing. Through David’s repeated victories over the Syrians, the extent of the territory appropriated by the tribes of Israel, when they first divided it out, became very greatly increased toward the north, so that Solomon reigned over all the kings and kingdoms from “the river” (that is, the Euphrates) even to the border of Egypt (1 Kings 4:21; 2 Chron. 9:26). This agrees with God’s first promise to Joshua after Moses’ death (Joshua 1:4). Compare also God’s word to Abraham in Genesis 15:18.

There are many Scriptures which refer to Israel as the vine. Psalm 80 is one of them. It is an outstanding but sad story. 'Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river' (vs. 8-11). The extent of the territory promised by God was reached in the days of Solomon, David's son. Israel achieved its greatest prosperity at that time. The verses quoted here make reference to the borders of the land. The sea refers to the Mediterranean, and the river refers to the Euphrates.

Verses 27-28, repeating what was told us in 2 Chronicles 1: 15, 17 (cf. 1 Kings 10: 27-29), describe the reign as it was established from its beginning and as in Chronicles it remains until the end. According to the character of this book, it has come up to all that God was expecting of it. One sees from verse 26 that Solomon's chariots and horses were not an infraction of the law of Moses (Deut. 17: 16), but a means of maintaining his reign of peace over all the nations: "He ruled over all the kings from the river as far as the land of the Philistines, and up to the border of Egypt" (2 Chron. 9: 26). These limits of the kingdom of Solomon in Israel correspond to those which God's counsels had assigned to His people in Joshua 1: 4; they had never before been attained nor have they ever been since. They will only be realized, and that in even greater measure, in the future reign of Christ.

Solomon's dominion was but a weak type of Christ's, who will have "the uttermost parts of the earth" (Ps. 2:8) for His possession. The king of Israel had dominion "over all the region on this side of the river" "unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt" (vv. 24, 21). In sum, these were the limits the Lord had assigned to Israel in Joshua 1:4; but when it came to the wisdom of Solomon, these limits were exceeded by far: All people came to hear him; all the kings of the earth came to inquire of him (v. 34), and we see in type that which is said of Christ: "I will … give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth."

Verse 21 indicates that Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the border of Egypt. This foreshadows the blessing of Israel in the Millennium, but it does not mean that all in that area were Solomon's people. There were still kingdoms that were distinct from Israel, but they had been subdued so as to render tribute to Solomon so long as he lived. Even the Philistines were still a distinct people, just as today the Palestinians maintain their independent character though living in Israelitish territory.

Again, on condition of obedience, Israel is told that the Lord will drive out the nations of Canaan before them, though they were greater and mightier than Israel (v.23). Wherever their feet trod would become theirs. The bounds mentioned are from the Euphrates River westward to the Mediterranean Sea (v.24). This has never yet been fully possessed by Israel, but will be in the Millennium. God's power was such that no man could stand against Israel (v.25), though Israel failed to take advantage of this power.

The answer to this protest as to the size of Israel's land in the past is found in one of God's earliest prophecies. He told Abram, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates” (Gen. 15:16). These borders embrace a size much larger than Israel has ever yet possessed, but God has promised it to the nation.