03.02. God's Covenant With Abraham: His Seed...

CHAPTER TWO God’s Covenant With Abraham: His Seed to Possess Canaan Forever

ONE OF THE earliest great promises which has not yet been fulfilled is the promise that the people Israel is to possess the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. In Gen 12:1-3 we are told that Abraham was called out from his country in Ur of the Chaldees, away from his kinspeople and relatives, to a land that the Lord would show him, the land of Canaan. With that call, God had given Abraham this great promise in Gen 12:2-3 :

"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

God there selected Abraham and his descendants to form a great nation through which He would bless the world. All the Bible, except the first eleven chapters, reminds us again and again that the nation Israel has been called and selected of God to be a blessing to the whole world.

After God called Abraham to the land of Canaan, the land itself was given to Abraham. That in itself would not seem so remarkable, but with the gift went an everlasting promise that all the land would be given, not only to Abraham, but TO HIS SEED FOREVER! Read Gen 13:14-15 which says:

"And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever." The land of Palestine has been given unconditionally to Israelites, to Abraham and the descendants of Abraham, for an everlasting possession. In fact, that term "an everlasting possession" is exactly what God said to Abraham when He mentioned the matter again in Gen 17:8 : "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Did you notice in reading the above verse that God said "all the land of Canaan"?

It is the literal land, Canaan, which was promised to Abraham. It is ALL of the land of Canaan, also. Its proper boundaries are mentioned in the first of Joshua. Now only a comparatively few Jews are in the land of Canaan, and they certainly do not possess it, own it, and rule over it, as was promised. The Promise Must Be Fulfilled to Abraham in Person In both the Scriptures mentioned above, the land of Canaan is promised to Abraham himself, in person, as well as to his descendants.

Gen 13:15 says, "TO THEE will I give it, and to thy seed for ever."

Gen 17:8 says, "And I will give UNTO THEE, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession." The promise is not just that someday the descendants of Abraham would take possession of the land of Canaan, but that he himself would be present and in possession.

Jews in past generations have possessed the land of Canaan. In Jos 21:43-45 we are told how Israelites under Joshua possessed the land.

"And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it,, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass."

There are at least two important things in the promise to Abraham which were not fulfilled when the nation Israel took possession of the land of Canaan.

One thing is that Abraham himself did not have possession. The promise was primarily to him. He never had before that time and did not then possess the land. God did not say to Abraham, "Unto thee THROUGH thy seed I will give the land." But He did say, "Unto thee AND to thy seed." That was not fulfilled when Israel took the land under Joshua’s leadership.

Another part of the promise clearly was not fulfilled. That is, the possession was to be eternal. It was to be "an everlasting possession." That was not fulfilled when the nation Israel conquered the land of Canaan. Individuals died and did not possess it forever, and eventually the whole nation was scattered and lost national possession of the land. The covenant to Abraham was not fulfilled at that time.

Read Jos 21:43 again carefully. That verse plainly indicates that the covenant was not fulfilled. The Lord simply gave unto Israel, "the land which he sware to give UNTO THEIR FATHERS."

Jos 21:45 says: "There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass."

- Does that mean that God had fulfilled all He had promised ever to do for Israel?

- Does it mean that the kingdom of David, foretold in Deu 17:14-20, had been fulfilled? Certainly not.

- Did it mean that the promise of the Saviour, which promise was given particularly to that nation in Deu 18:15, had been fulfilled? Certainly not.

- Did it mean that a TEMPORARY possession of the land of Canaan by Jews of that generation fulfilled the promise of ETERNAL possession by Abraham and his seed? CERTAINLY NOT!

Jos 21:45 simply states that God had kept all His promises up to date, having done at that time and to that people all that He had promised to do at that time to that people. None of God’s promises had failed. And if God’s promises up to that date had not failed, and if His promises to us up to date have not failed, can we not surely expect that of His promises to Abraham and his seed not one good thing shall fail? God keeps His promises! The promise about eternal possession of the land was to Abraham in person as well as his seed, and when it is fulfilled the possession will continue forever.

How Long Does "For Ever" Mean? The Bible ought to be taken at face value. God’s Word means what it says. God promised Abraham "for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed FOR EVER."

Again He promised Abraham "all the land of Canaan, for an EVERLASTING possession." The only honest and safe way to interpret these statements is not to interpret them at all but simply take them at face value.

- The word "for ever" means forever.

- The word "everlasting" means everlasting. Do not explain away the Scriptures. The Hebrew word olam translated "for ever" in Gen 13:15 is the same word translated "for ever" in 2Sa 7:26 when David said "let thy name be magnified for ever." It is the same word translated "for ever" in Psa 66:7, "He ruleth by his power for ever."

If God’s name would be magnified forever, and if He is to rule by His power forever, then Abraham, in person, and his seed are to possess the land of Canaan forever.

Many other examples could be given showing that it means in the Hebrew just what it is translated to mean in English. "For ever" means forever, and that is how long Abraham and his seed are to inhabit Canaan!

God’s Promise to Abraham Is Yet to Be Fulfilled In the above promises, God said to Abraham about the land of Canaan, "To thee WILL I give it, and to thy seed for ever" (Gen 13:15), and again in Gen 17:8, the Lord said, "I WILL give unto thee, and to thy seed. . . ."

Notice that in each case the Lord used the future tense, "I will." The promises are for the future.

Abraham never expected in his first and natural life on this earth to possess all the land of Canaan. Heb 11:8 makes clear that Abraham was not promised IMMEDIATE possession of the land, but was called to a land which he should AFTERWARDS inherit. With this in mind, read carefully Heb 11:8-13 as follows:

"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he SHOULD AFTER RECEIVE FOR AN INHERITANCE, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in THE LAND OF PROMISE, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the HEIRS with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with Sarah, were sojourners in the land which God had promised to give them in the future, but which they had not yet received. Later all of the Jewish nation, who by faith became heirs of the same promise, "As the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable," Heb 11:13 tells us, died in faith, not having received the promises but having embraced them by faith. Evidently all the saved Israelites down to the time the book of Hebrews was written were heirs of this promise, but had not received it.

Down to the time of Christ, then, the promises to Abraham, that the land of Canaan should be given to him and his children for an everlasting possession, had not been fulfilled! The promise that Israel is to possess the land of Canaan forever is yet in the future.

Stephen Said Abraham Had Not Yet Inherited Canaan In that wonderful sermon by the Spirit-filled Stephen in Acts 7:1-60, we are told plainly that God called Abraham out of Mesopotamia, into the land of Canaan, but while Abraham lived there God did not let him inherit it as his own. In Acts 7:5 he says about Abraham: "And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child."

Abraham did not inherit the land of Canaan, "not so much as to set his foot on."

Let no one claim that promise to Abraham has been fulfilled, for it has not.

Literal, Physical Possession of Canaan Promised to Abraham and Christ Together The passage above surely must have convinced you that the promise to Abraham of eternal possession of the land of Palestine has not yet been fulfilled. Abraham died, the Scripture says, "not having received the promises" (Heb 11:13) having no inheritance in the land of Canaan as yet, "no, not so much as to set his foot on" (Acts 7:5). That physical inheritance of the land of Canaan by Abraham is future. But here is another happy teaching of the Scripture in these same promises to Abraham.

Christ Himself is to inherit, with Abraham, the physical land of Canaan.

Gen 13:15 says: "For all the land which thou seest, TO THEE will I give it, AND TO THY SEED for ever." Likewise Gen 17:8 says: "And I will give unto THEE, and to THY SEED AFTER THEE, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

Those promises concerning Abraham’s seed are taken to mean the nation Israel, or at least those of Israel who by faith are the children of promise (Gen 21:12; Gal 3:29). God says, "I will be their God," so that indicates the plural seed of Abraham.

Converted Israel will inherit Palestine with Abraham. But Christ is Abraham’s Seed, to whom the promises about inheriting Canaan were given with Abraham. Gal 3:16 shows that God had in mind that Christ, Abraham’s Seed, should inherit the land of Palestine forever with Abraham. "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." The New Testament adds further revelation to the Old. Abraham’s seed does refer to Israel, but it certainly refers to Christ, we are here told. The promise to Abraham will be fulfilled and he will inherit the land. Likewise the promise to Christ will be fulfilled and He will inherit that land of Canaan. This proves two important facts.

- First, that Christ will have a literal reign on earth, - Second, that this reign is future.

Christ Has Not Yet Inherited Canaan as a Possession

Abraham lived in the land of Canaan, but did not possess it. So Christ lived in the land of Canaan but did not possess it. Abraham was a stranger and a sojourner in the land of promise, but, we are told, did not inherit or come into actual possession of as much as to set foot upon (Acts 7:5). If that were true about Abraham with his riches in gold, silver, cattle, and servants (Gen 13:2), it was even more true about Christ in His earthly life.

Jesus was born and laid in a borrowed manger, crucified and laid in a borrowed grave. Between those events, He Himself told us that "the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Mat 8:20).

Jesus did not possess the land of Canaan for an inheritance. The term "possession" used in the promises to Abraham is clearly defined by the circumstances when we are told that Abraham did not receive these promises during his lifetime. That proves it is a literal ownership and control, living on the land, which is promised to Abraham and so, physically, to Christ.

What the promise meant about Abraham, it also means about Christ.

If we cannot make the promise figurative with regard to Abraham, then it is not figurative about Christ.

If Abraham was to have even more literal possession of the land than he had while here on earth before the promise was fulfilled, then Christ must have even more literal possession of the land than Abraham did before the promise to Him is fulfilled.

It will not do, then, to explain away this Scripture and say that in some spiritual sense Christ in Heaven has already inherited Canaan. No, not until He has more literal control of it, and more literal possession of it than Abraham had, can Christ be said to have inherited the land of Canaan. The promise has not yet been fulfilled, but is for the future when Christ shall reign over the land of Canaan after His return to the earth. In fact, if there is any land on this earth which Christ does not actually, literally possess, it is Palestine, and if there is any people on earth who have rejected Him as King, it is Abraham’s seed, the Jews.

Surely your heart ought to be happy to realize that when Abraham comes back to possess the land promised to him as an everlasting possession, Christ will also possess that land.

God plainly told Abraham that his descendants would be carried down into Egypt for four hundred years (Gen 15:13). The children of Israel later must have known that they would not at that time have an unbroken period of actual possession of the land of Canaan, since the Lord had plainly told them in Deu 28:63-68 that the nation would be scattered into all the world because of their sins. All of them understood and believed that.

Israelites to Live Forever on This Earth!

We have come to one great milestone of Bible teaching: the seed of Abraham, including Christ, are to possess and inhabit the land of Palestine forever.

- How many questions that answers!

- How many problems that settles! Where will Heaven be for Abraham? IT MUST INCLUDE PALESTINE ON THIS EARTHI Heaven, for Abraham and his believing descendants, at least, will include possessions on this earth.

Many other Scriptures throughout the Bible repeat God’s promise to Israel about their land. For example, read the two following passages from Jeremiah:

"Then will I cause you to dwell In this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever" (Jer 7:7).

"They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever" (Jer 25:5). Not only did God give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants, but He gave it to them "for ever and ever." The Bible by doubling the term makes the promise doubly sure. Jews are to live forever and ever on this earth in Palestine.

Actually, of course, if Heaven for Jews will be on earth, then Heaven for everybody will be on earth, as the Scripture makes plain later on. Here the promises are particularly to Abraham and his literal descendants. Saved Jews, children according to the promise, children of Abraham in both flesh and spirit, are to inhabit the land of Palestine forever in a Heaven on earth.

I was taught as a child in Sunday School that at the second coming of Christ there would be one general resurrection of all the dead, saved and unsaved. I was taught that this planet would be burned up and destroyed and disappear. I was taught that there would be at that time one general judgment and that saved and unsaved would alike stand before God to be judged according to their works. In some mysterious way it was supposed that Christ would intervene in behalf of the Christians. Then the unsaved would be sent to Hell and the redeemed spirits would float around and sing and twang their harps in a golden city hanging in space in the "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere"! How far away from the plain Bible teaching that is!

I was taught in the Sunday School (and the Theological Seminary only strengthened the teaching) that if the meek were ever to inherit the earth, they would have to do it in this life.

I was taught that all the promises to Israel really meant the church, and that the promises to Jerusalem and Mount Zion really meant Heaven!

I was taught that that golden age-when "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks" (Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3) and when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa 11:9) - would be brought about by preaching the gospel, aided by schools, hospitals, good laws, peace treaties, inventions and the developments of modern science!

I believed that, despite the evidences of my senses and the testimony of history and current events, until I began to study the prophetic teachings of the Bible.

Then I learned that God had promised to bring the Israelites back to their land to possess it forever, that Heaven, then, must be on this earth.

If God Set Out to Destroy This World

Let us imagine that to please all our postmillennial and amillennial friends, or those of whatever description who have largely ignored the prophetic portions of the Bible, the Lord should prepare to burn up and utterly destroy this planet or earth.

Let us suppose that, as so many say, the prophecies are highly figurative anyway and that to study and teach or preach them is largely speculation, and so the Lord prepares to strike the match or say the word that will utterly destroy this whole planet. What a multitude is gathered, let us imagine, to behold that great event. But wait! I see an old man who walks like a king who comes forward to interrupt the ceremony. His face has the look of authority and his voice is bold as he cries out, "Wait, Lord; You cannot destroy my property!"

I can imagine the Lord might say, "This man is a friend of mine; let us hear what he has to say. Speak on, friend, tell the people. What is thy name? To what possession do you refer? What title do you hold to the property?"

"My name," says the venerable patriarch, "is Abraham! From Ur of the Chaldees I came at Thy command. To Canaan I came and the land Thou didst give to me, teaching me by faith to know that I should afterward inherit it. To Isaac and Jacob Thou didst make the same promises, and all our days, though rich in gold and silver, cattle and servants, we lived as sojourners and pilgrims in tents, patiently waiting until we should inherit and possess forever our own land. This scroll in my hand, O Lord God, is a written deed to the land of Canaan, called by name, and signed by Thyself. It is a warranty deed; guaranteeing to me and my faithful children after me-the children of promise-the possession of the land forever.

"You may burn up, if You will, the weeds and thorns and thistles. Destroy, if You will, all disease germs and insect pests, which have increased the curse on the land because of man’s sin through the centuries. O Lord, You may shake down and burn the cities, for I look for another city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God. The elements may melt with fervent heat, but the land is mine; to me Thou didst give it with the promise that I should inherit it with my seed. ’Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ "

If God wanted to please the ignorant and the scoffers concerning His prophecies, how would He face Abraham? The deed which Abraham has is the Bible, the Word of God.

There will come a time, say the Scriptures, when "the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2Pe 3:10). But the same chapter explains that that will be a judgment like the flood. 2Pe 3:6-7 says:

"Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

- The world "perished" in the flood.

- The earth shall be "burned up" in a coming day of judgment.

- The present heavens or firmament will pass away, we are told, and all that fire can melt on this earth will melt. But as the earth reappeared from the waters of the flood, to be restocked and repopulated and replanted, so in a much greater way this planet, purified of pests, disease, and the marks of sin by the literal fire of God’s wrath, will be planted again as the Garden of Eden. This planet will never be entirely removed, can never cease to be.

Psa 104:5 says: "Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever." The fires of judgment will purge this earth, but it will not pass out of existence. It will remain to be the home of God’s people through eternity. Canaan shall again be the possession of Abraham and his seed, and at that time they shall possess it forever!