We know that the entire universe and the entire world belong
to God (Isaiah 54:5); however, out of all the places in the world, God chose a
special land, known as “the Promised Land”. It is called that
because God promised to give it to his people, Israel (descendents of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob).
(Genesis 13:14-17) The LORD said
to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from
the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and
westward, (15) for all the land
that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. (16) I
will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the
dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. (17) Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of
the land, for I will give it to you.
Abraham was standing on the mounts of Judea, looking towards
the Jordan valley, where Lot had gone. From there you can see much of the
Promised Land. God told Abraham to walk the length and width of the land,
because he would give it to him and his descendents. More than a promise, it
was a covenant…
(Genesis 17:7-8) And I will
establish my covenant between me and you
and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you
and to your offspring after you. (8) And I
will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings,
all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting
possession, and I will be their God.
The promise was later confirmed to Isaac (Gen. 26:3-4), and
to Jacob and all his descendents who made up the people of Israel.
(Genesis 35:10-12) And God said to
him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he
called his name Israel. (11) And God said to him, “I am God
Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations
shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. (12) The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I
will give to you, and I will give
the land to your offspring after you.”
The land that God promised to the Sons of Israel consists in
all the land where the Canaanites used to live… and even more, from the Nile
until the Euphrates.
(Genesis 15:18-21) On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying, “To your offspring I
give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river
Euphrates, (19) the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the
Kadmonites, (20) the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, (21) the
Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
God specifically chose that land to carry out his Divine Plan. The eyes of God are over
all the earth, but the Bible says that they are especially over the land of
Israel.
(Deuteronomy 11:12) a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes
of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to
the end of the year.
God has placed his eyes over the land of Israel in a very
special way, since this is the central point of God’s purpose. If we want to be
connected with God’s plans, it is a good idea for us to keep up with what
happens there…
More articles on the
Promised Land, on the page: Israel
Comments
Post a Comment