Disciples Digital Library

The possession of the land of Canaan by Israel was a preliminary stage in God’s redemptive plan, one that always envisioned something larger than Israel or a relatively small plot of land in the Middle East. With the arrival of the Messiah, the covenant promises find their fulfillment in the “ true seed of Abraham ,” namely, Jesus, and this includes the future bodily resurrection and the new creation.

According to Paul, the covenant promise of land for Abraham and his seed always envisioned the inclusion of the entire world  – Romans 4:13.  God began to redeem humanity with His covenant with Abraham, beginning with the summons for him to leave his homeland for the “ land that I will show you .” Yahweh would make him into a “ great nation ,” and in the Patriarch, He would “ bless all the clans of the earth .” And from the start, the land promise was central to the covenant.

In his letter to the  Romans , Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of the faith, the model for all men who choose to live from the “ faith of Jesus .” God counted the Patriarch’s faith as “ righteousness ” while he was yet uncircumcised, and thus He justified him apart from the “ works of the Law .” Consequently, he became the father of everyone who is “ from faith ,” both Jews and Gentiles, as well as the “ heir of the world .”

The land of Canaan was an early stage in the greater redemptive plan of Yahweh, one that  ALWAYS  envisioned something beyond the nation of Israel or the territory of Palestine. In the New Testament, the covenant promises find their fulfillment in the “ true seed of Abraham ,” Jesus Christ, including the New Creation - the “ new heavens and the new earth .”

The history of Israel includes national sins that caused her expulsion from the land. But God foresaw her failures and determined to institute a new covenant, one energized and characterized by His Spirit, and one that includes the Gentiles. And it culminates in the Resurrection and the New Creation.