Land of our Inheritance

The land which is our inheritance covers a bit more land than the current day nation state of Israel. Does the land of Canaan ring a bell? 

"The area known as Canaan in ancient times covered parts of modern-day Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Ancient Canaan also included parts of the coastal regions and areas of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan"

Genesis 13:12 ~ Abram stays in the land of Canaan while Lot settled in the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom. YHWH said to Abram, "Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north, south, east and west, for I give all the land that you see to you and your offspring forever. Get up and walk about the land, through its length and breadth..." Abram moved his tent and dwelt at the terebinths of Mamre* which are in Hebron. 

Numbers 34 ~ When you enter the land of Canaan this is the land that shall fall to you as your portion, the land of Canaan with its various boundaries: 

Your Southern sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom. The boundary shall start on the east from the tip of the Dead Sea.  It shall then turn to pass south of the ascent of Akrabbim and continue to Zin and its limits shall be south of Kadesh-barnea, reaching Hazar-addar and continueing to Azmon. From Azmon the boundary shall turn toward the Wadi of Egypt and terminate at the Mediterranean Sea.

For the Western boundary, you shall have the Great Sea (Mediterranean) and its coast. This shall be your western border.
 

The Northern border: from the Mediterranean Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and let it reach Zedad. From there the border shall extend to Ziphron, and terminate at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.
 

For your Eastern border, draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham. And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue downward and abut on the eastern slopes of the Sea of Chinnereth (Sea of Galilee). And the border shall continue down along the Jordan, and terminate at the Salt (Dead) Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”

*Note: Mamre was an Amorite, kinsman of Eshkol and Aner, allies of Abraham. The terebinths of Mamre in Hebron are generally agreed to have been oak trees and that grove was named after Mamre.

This land is also pointed out later on to Moses in Deuteronomy 34. The territory has been divided among the twelve clans descended from Jacob (whose name Yah changed to Israel) ~

Moses went up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, and YHWH showed him the whole land:
Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, the whole land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea; the Negev; and the Plain (the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees) as far as Zoar.  YHWH said to Moses, 'This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I assigned it to them and their offspring.'

Many ancient names for these locations have remained and some have not.  It's not the easiest of tasks to find an overlay of the land of Canaan on to the modern day borders of Israel.  But the main message is that the physical land mass of what we know as Israel is not the same as the promised land described by our Creator. His promise is to the people, Israel, those descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their offspring AND anyone who chooses Yah as their God, abide by His Instructions and have the tesitmony of His son, thus becoming adopted into the commonwealth of the House of Israel.  "Israel" is a people, not the U.N. created state.

Click Here to go to my Study: Who Is Israel?

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

What is a covenant?
It's an agreement between two or more persons, also known as:

contract - promise - pact - understanding

When Elohim makes a promise it is to bring about a relationship between Himself and His people.  He explains what is expected (the terms) and then we choose whether or not to accept His Terms.  If we agree with His terms then we must uphold our end of the deal.

When we accept and agree to do as He says, we are to abide by the 'Terms of the Contract'.  In order to know the terms we need to read Scriptures, beginning with Genesis, wherein YHWH explains what is expected of His People.

Genesis 2:15 - YHWH Elohim took Adam and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.  And He commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die."

This was the understanding between Yah and Adam.

Genesis 3 - Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts... He said to the woman, "Did Elohim really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?"  Eve replied, "We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden. It is only  about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden Elohim said 'You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.'  And the serpent said to her, "You are not going to die, but Elohim knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad."

Thus, the serpent caused Eve to doubt the Word of Elohim and also convinced Adam to do likewise.  They betrayed the understanding between them and their Creator. YHWH banished them from the Garden.  Their faith, their trust in the Creator was tested - they did not resist temptation; the devil did not flee from them.

Fast-forward to the time of Noah.

In Genesis 6 YHWH tells Noah He's going to put an end to all flesh because of how corrupt the earth had become, filled with lawlessness.  He instructs Noah in the building of the ark because of the flood to come.

Genesis 6:17 - For My part, I am about to bring the Flood... to destroy all flesh under the sky... everything on earth shall perish. But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark with your sons, your wife and your sons' wives...
Genesis 9:9 - I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is with you... all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth.  I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.
Genesis 9:12 - This is the sign that I set for the covenant between Me and you... for all ages to come.  I have set My bow in the clouds and it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature among all flesh, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.  When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between Me and all living creatures, all flesh on earth.  That shall be the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and all flesh that is on earth."

The promise here is that Elohim will not flood the world again in order to destroy all flesh.  He calls this an everlasting covenant which means it is still in effect in this day and age.  Think about this next time you see a rainbow.

Moving along, in Genesis 12 YHWH makes a promise to Abram.  He tells Abram to leave 'home' and travel to the land He will show him.

Genesis 12:2 - I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you." (the terms of the contract)

Abram left and took his wife and his nephew Lot and all their belongings with him.  When they arrived in the land of Canaan YHWH appeared to Abram and told him, "I will assign this land to your offspring."

Eventually Abraham and Lot go separate ways.  

In Genesis 13:14 YHWH reminds Abraham that the land he sees belongs to him and his offspring forever - generation after generation. This covenant is still in effect.

Genesis 15:18 - On that day YHWH made a covenant with Abram saying, "To your offspring I assign this land 

Genesis 17 - I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between me and you and I will make you exceedingly numerous.  This is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; kings shall come forth from you.  I will maintain My covenant with you and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding.  I will be their Elohim. 

Genesis 17:9 - As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. Such shall be the covenant... every male among you shall be circumcised... that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.  Throughout the generations every male shall be circumcised at the age of eight days... Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. If any male fails to do so he shall be cut off from his kin because he has broken My covenant. 

Genesis 17:19 - Sarah your wife shall bear you a son and you shall name him Isaac and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring to come... Ishmael I will bless... but My covenant I will maintain with Isaac.

Years go by and Abraham stays true to Elohim. Even so, YHWH tests him.  He tells Abraham to take his favorite son, Isaac, and offer him as a burnt offering.  Abraham's faith is as such that He obeys the command and totally trusts Yah to know what He's doing.  He proceeds to the place as instructed.  Of course YHWH stops Abraham from slaying his son and now commits to blessing Abraham.

Genesis 22:17 - I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command.

In Genesis 26, YHWH tells Isaac about fulfilling the oath He swore to his father, Abraham, about the land and his descendants and the blessing -

26:5- Inasmuch as Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge: My commandments, My laws and My teachings (the terms of the covenant = obey the Creator).

In Genesis 28, YHWH meets Jacob and lets him know that He is the Elohim of Abraham and of Isaac. He reaffirms the covenant, points out the land that is his and his offspring and tell  him that He won't leave him until He has done what He has promised.

Genesis 35:10 -  You whose name is Jacob, you shall be called Jacob no more, but Israel shall be your name.  I am El Shaddai. Be fertile and increase; a nation, yes an assembly of nations, shall descend from you.  Kings shall issue from your loins.  The land that I assigned to Abraham and Isaac I assign to you; and to your offspring to come will I assign the land.

We learn that the Creator, our heavenly Father, made a promise long ago, an everlasting covenant with a select group of people:

Any one who obeys His Instructions and

Have the testimony of His Son