What is the Promised Land?

Canaan was the land of promise for the seed of Abraham, for Abraham himself was a stranger in it, walking by faith as in a strange country, but which he would afterwards possess in his seed. Israel, on account of their sins, were driven out of the land, and have not ever been possessors of it since, though remnants have dwelled there, but they will yet possess it, according to the promises of God, no matter how hotly the nations around may contest their right to be there. Although Israel are in the land of Palestine today, it is not on the ground of their divine title in God’s promise, but as having the support of some of the great nations of the world, but the day is surely coming, after they have passed through the divine judgments with their coming leader, the man of sin, when they shall again possess the land, the promised land, never more to be dispossessed.

Canaan, the land of milk and honey, was pre-eminently the land of blessing, the territory promised to Abraham and his seed.

The land of promise is constantly spoken of as the inheritance of Israel: the land flowing with milk and honey was given to them by God. Deut. 4:21; Ps. 105:11, etc. So when Israel returns to take possession of the land in a future day, it is still called their inheritance. Ezek. 45:1, etc. This all shows that they were and will be an earthly people, but God blessed them on earth in relationship with Himself as Jehovah, and will again bless them on earth when they own the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. In connection with this God calls Israel His inheritance: He hath chosen them for His own inheritance. Ps. 33:12; Ps. 78:62, etc.

The land possessed by the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, which was until recently called PALESTINE. The whole of it was promised to Abraham, and a further territory was also promised 'from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.' Gen. 15:18; Gen. 17:8. The word used here thrice for 'river' is nahar, which is not applicable to a winter stream, so that 'river of Egypt' doubtless refers to the most easterly branch of the Nile, called Pelusiac. These limits of Abraham's promised possession are on the S.W. and N.E.; the Mediterranean being the western limit, the eastern being undefined; but the 'river Euphrates' boundary must be on the north part of that river, which indeed was reached by Solomon at Tiphsah (about 35 50' N, 39 E). 1 Kings 4:24.

In Num. 34:5-8 directions are given as to the boundaries of the land to be then possessed by the tribes, and here a different word is used for 'river' (nachal) in 'river of Egypt.' This word signifies 'brook in a valley,' and cannot refer to the Nile; indeed the places also mentioned are more in the latitude of the wady called el Arish, 31 5' N, 33 50 E near to the ancient city Rhinocolura. This is not so far south as the country over which Solomon had dominion, which extended to Ezion-geber on the gulf of Akaba. In Num. 34:9-11 the north border is also given, and though some of the places cannot be traced, it is yet clear that the border did not extend as far as was possessed under Solomon, who anticipated for the moment the possession which will yet be inherited by Israel under Christ. 'From Dan to Beersheba' became the common way of describing the whole of Canaan. This comprised about 150 miles from north to south. In Deut. 1:7 the borders are named as between 'the mount of the Amorites,' near the Dead Sea on the south, to 'Lebanon and the river Euphrates' on the north.

As will be observed from these Scriptures, the culmination of all God's thoughts for His earthly people was the possession of the land of Canaan, which to them became Immanuel's land, secured to them by indefeasible right according to the unfailing promises of God to Abraham, to Isaac (Gen. 26:3), and also to Jacob (Gen. 28:13 and 14). They included a great deal besides the possession of the land of Canaan, though this was assured to them in the most explicit terms, with the boundaries most accurately defined.

All will be brought to pass according to those promises of an ever faithful God, as Joshua could say in his day, "not one thing hath failed of all the good words that Jehovah your God hath spoken concerning you; all are come to pass unto you — not one thing hath failed thereof" (Joshua 23:14). Solomon, too, in his day, witnesses to God's faithfulness (1 Kings 8:56). Blessing for man of either a heavenly or earthly order, can only be realised as God in His faithfulness brings all His purposes to full and perfect fruition.

The second reason why Canaan cannot mean heaven is, that Israel could be driven out of the land. This is not possible with heaven. It is impossible that the place into which God's grace brings us could ever be lost to a child of God. Canaan is the type of the heavenly position and possession which the believer has in Christ Jesus. It corresponds to that which in Ephesians is called "in heavenly places," or as better rendered "in the heavenly." It is the heavenly sphere, the heavenly, spiritual blessings given to us in Christ Jesus.

Now, Canaan does not typify to us that aspect of heaven where there is absolute rest and glory. It speaks rather of the heavenly places mentioned in the Epistle to the Ephesians—places distinct, indeed, from earth, but not exactly heaven itself, into which no enemy of course can intrude, and where the sword of conflict is sheathed for ever.

The Lord has called His people now to a good land which is to believers what Canaan was to Israel. Canaan is not heaven by-and-by. In heaven there is rest, in Canaan there is fighting. Our Canaan is the knowledge and enjoyment of heaven's blessings while we are yet dwelling on earth. This enjoyment is inseparably bound up with practical separation from the world, and from the things of the world. The love of this world is incompatible with the love of the Father (1 John 2:15).

The land of Canaan does not typify heaven, but our heavenly portion in Christ. In the annotations of the book of Joshua we hope to follow this more fully. The enemies in the land typify the wicked spirits, Satan and his powers. With these is our warfare, and we are commanded, like Israel , to conquer them. The boundaries of the land are given, and we find at the close of the chapter the names of the men who were to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel . Notice the difference which is in the boundaries here as compared with Genesis 15:18. The promise given to Abraham and to his seed was under the covenant of grace, but Israel entered into the land under the law-covenant. If they had kept the law-covenant and had been obedient to Jehovah, they would have received the whole land. This they could not do. The original promise made to Abraham and his seed will be fulfilled in the future when the Lord will bring Israel back to possess the land. This will be in the millennium. The land will then be divided in a new way, revealed in the closing two chapters of Ezekiel.

But the Israelites have never had an unconditional possession of the land of Canaan. The terms on which they entered were these: “If ye will walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments and do them, then I will give you rain” and other promised blessings. “For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, and establish My covenant with you“ (Lev. 26:3–9). “But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments I will bring the land into desolation, and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it; and I will scatter you among the Gentiles, and will draw out a sword after you; and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste”(vv. 14–33). The same thing is repeated in still stronger language in Deuteronomy 28. The Israelites never had, therefore, anything more than a conditional tenure of the land, and it is needless to say that a conditional gift is no fulfilment of an unconditional promise. This is not left to our own judgment, however, for we are plainly told in the language of Pau, “that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise“ (Gal. 3:17–18).