Genesis 48:4: “… I give this land to your descendants as an everlasting possession.”
The physical land is central to God’s choice of Israel. From the very beginning, when God revealed His will and plan of salvation for humanity to Abraham, the land was part of that plan. That God has given the Jewish people a specific land can be challenging for many, but the land has been the hub of this salvation plan all along. The fulfillment of God’s plan largely depends on the people’s presence in the land. Since Abraham’s time, the land has remained the same, although its borders and extent have varied.
The land is situated at the intersection of three continents—Africa, Asia, and Europe. It was a strategic location for a Gospel that would be preached from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The perspective the Bible gives us regarding the land is that it belongs to God, who then gives it to the Jewish people. The Bible is overwhelmingly clear; in Genesis, we read:
Reference Bible Verse
Genesis 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.”
Genesis 13:14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, “Lift your eyes and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.”
Genesis 15:7 “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to inherit.”
Genesis 15:18 On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants, I give this land…”
Genesis 17:8 “The land where you dwell as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, I give to you and your descendants as an everlasting possession.”
Genesis 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, … swore to give this land to my descendants.”
Genesis 26:2 The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.”
Genesis 28:4 “May He give you the blessing of Abraham, to inherit the land which God gave Abraham.”
Genesis 28:13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give to you and your descendants.”
Genesis 28:15 “I am with you … and will bring you back to this land.”
Genesis 35:12 “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I give to you. And to your descendants after you, I give this land.”
Genesis 48:4 “He said to me, ‘… I give this land to your descendants as an everlasting possession.’”
God’s Word confirms that He will give them the land:
Reference Bible Verse
Exodus 32:13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, … and said, ‘I will give your descendants all this land, and they shall inherit it forever.’”
Deuteronomy 11:9-12 “… you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey … a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”
Psalm 105:8-11 “He remembers His covenant forever, the word He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan as your inheritance.’”
Isaiah 14:1 “But the Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land.”
Isaiah 62:4 “… the land shall no longer be termed Forsaken. But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.”
Jeremiah 23:8 “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel back from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them, they will live in their own land.”
Ezekiel 28:25 “When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, the land I gave to My servant Jacob.”
Amos 9:15 “I will plant them in their own land, and they shall never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
Reflection Questions – The Land
1. – God clearly emphasizes the importance of the land, explaining it repeatedly throughout the Bible. Why do you think God stresses this?
2. – How has the land played a role in the history of the Jewish people?
3. – What is your perspective on modern-day Israel?
4. – Which Bible verses spoke to you personally?
