“By faith he (Abraham) sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles which Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.” Hebrews 11:9
It is apparent that the land of Canaan, later called Israel, then Palestine, was a very significant and important piece of land. Though its borders have differed from those given to Joshua in the days of its conquest, there is associated with the land, and in particular with its capital, Jerusalem, certain promises of God. The worth of the land resides in God’s choice to set His name there, the place where He would accomplish His promises, not only to the Jewish people, but also to the whole world. From before the call of Abraham to leave his home in Mesopotamia, to “…go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance,” God had chosen that piece of land to be a land of His promises, a specific place on the face of this globe, where the testimony of the everlasting God would be revealed. It was there, in response to the obedience of one man, that extraordinary promises were given, not only for the sake of Abraham, and his descendants, but for the eternal well-being of the entire world. Canaan was a land of promise, or promises, so specific, and yet so magnificent in scope, that they would touch all the families of the earth. Why were these promises so very important, and life-changing? It was because of their heavenly nature. Though Abraham lived in a tent, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs of the same promise, …and though the land to which God had called them all to claim and live upon was very real, the nature of the promise associated with that land can is revealed in the following words: “For he (Abraham) looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10) The land of Israel (Jacob), had a mandate from God attached to it. The condition to know and grasp it would be possible by the obedience of faith in the God of the promise. To have one’s eyes opened to the promise, not only of a land, but of a Redeemer, a Messiah, who was to come to that land, and fulfill the entirety of the Law of Moses, there would have to be the initiative of God to awaken sinful man to the plight of his own need, to seek and find, the God’s perfect answer. Christ is the ultimate promise of the land, a promise of sins forgiven, a new nature put within, and a hope that will endure well beyond the grave, of a life lived in the sinless presence of God. The land of promise, though physical and chosen by God, to reveal His way in dealing with sinful man, was also, a place where the eternal promises of God were realized at a single moment in time on a cross, declared with the deepest heart cry, “It is finished.” Jesus Christ, in that moment when He died on Calvary, opened the door for Abraham, the door of a city…whose builder and maker was God. He also opened the door for every sinner who truly comes to grips with his sinful, lost condition, and is willing to come, just as he is to the fountain where all his sins are washed away. The true believer is saved by faith in this central figure, crucified and risen Christ, who bore the wrath of the judgment of God upon His person for every, and all, men. Abraham looked forward to that day when the Sacrifice would be made, for he knew that Christ was the only true hope of the world. We look back to that day, so poignantly powerful, and radically devastating, to see mercy and justice meet in one overwhelming display of the love of God. The worth of the promise of the land of Canaan and Israel, was perfectly declared by the Apostle John in his gospel:
“…whosoever believeth in Him, HATH everlasting life.” (3:16)
Dear Father, Open our eyes to see Thee, the God of the promise of life eternal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.