Supersessionism - Part II
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The land of Israel is precious to the Lord. He has chosen it for His purpose. He makes it very clear in His Word that the land belongs to Him.
Leviticus 25:23: “The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is Mine.”
The land of Israel with Jerusalem is special to him.
Deuteronomy 11:12: “A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.”
Psalms 132:14: "This is My rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it."
II Chronicles 6:6: “But I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name might be there.”
LAND COVENANT
Now that it’s established that God owns the land, God also makes it clear as to whom he desires to possess his land.
Genesis 12:1: “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.”
The promise of the land God gave to Abraham was to extend unto his descendants.
Genesis 12:7: “And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.”
God continually reassured Abram of the land covenant given to him and his descendants. God also described the boundaries of the land.
Genesis 13:15: “For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.
Genesis 15:18 “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”
The land and the promise of a redeemer are intrinsically tied together in the covenant God made with Abraham. In this article I am going to focus more on the land aspect of the covenant. It is most important for us to comprehend that God did not give the promise of the land to Ishmael and his descendants.
Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” The Lord refused Abraham’s request and said, “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” Genesis 17:18-19
The Lord told Abraham that he would make Ishmael a great nation, but that He would make His covenant with Isaac. It is important to mention that the contention for the land of Israel has been going on for centuries. The current conflict for the land of Israel demonstrates how accurate the Bible is in prophesying the return and subsequent restoration of Israel to her land—according to the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Abraham had other children with his second wife, Keturah, as well as other children by his concubines, who are ancestors of many of the Arab people today. Genesis 25:5-6 tells us that Abraham sent these children away from the land of Canaan (Israel). Jacob’s brother, Esau, was later sent away and settled in Mount Seir. This area also became known as Edom. The Edomites are the descendants of Esau.
The Bible makes it unmistakably clear that the promise to Abraham was given to Isaac.
Genesis 26:3-5: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father … And will give unto thy seed all these countries … Because that Abraham obeyed My voice.”
The promise of Abraham — the covenant — was offered to Jacob by Isaac and God.
Genesis 28:4: "And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.”
Genesis 28:13-15: “I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.”
Jacob told Joseph how the Lord appeared to him at Luz and confirmed to him, “And will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession” (Gen. 48:4).
Joseph reminded his children and their seed, “I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land ... Which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Gen. 50:24).
MOSES’ DELIVERING CALL
God introduced himself personally to Moses by telling Moses, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” God then told Moses of his calling, “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites” (Ex. 3:8).
Moses was the deliverer to lead Israel out of Egypt to possess the Promised Land — the land promised by God through an immutable covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their seed. The “I AM” or “Everlasting One” is the name Moses was told to use in reference to the authority he was given by God. Furthermore, God spoke to Moses to tell the elders of Israel that "the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me” (Ex. 3:16). Moses was God’s ambassador, and his mission was to take Israel from their affliction in Egypt to a promised land of rest.
So far, there is no evidence that God’s promise will ever be revoked. Next month, we will continue discussing the promise of the land and Israel. Would her disobedience and sin remove her divine right to the land promised to her forefathers by God?
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