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Israel & Christians Today


Biblical understanding about Israel

Borders of the Promised Land

What, according to the Bible, are the borders of the Promised Land? The answer is more global then specific. From the river of Egypt (Wadi el Arish, the eastern branch of the Nile) to the Great River, the Euphrates (Gen. 15:18). The area from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean Sea) and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, (Ex.23:31). From the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, where the road to Hamath starts, (Num.13:21). “The hill country of the Amorites…all the neighbouring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates,
(Deut. 1:7). ”From the wilderness to Lebanon and from the river Euphrates as far as the Western Sea (Deut.11:2). From the entrance of Hamath to the brook (wadi) of Egypt,
(1 Kings 8:65; 2 Chron. 7:8). From the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah (2 Kings 14:25). From the river Euphrates to the brook (wadi) of Egypt
(Is. 27:12).

What is striking here are the recurring references to the Euphrates. Is this river to be the northern or eastern boundary, or both? If the Euphrates is to be the eastern border, then the Lord has promised a large area east of the Jordan! If the Euphrates is to be the northern border, then Syria (Aram) also belongs to Israel, but the area to the east may be limited. Although it is reported that during the entry into the Promised Land the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh settled beyond the Jordan, this has not always been accepted without discussion (Num. 32; Joshua 13:8–33; 18:7; 22:1–4, 9, 25; Deut. 3:16–18). Various descriptions in the Bible seem to assume that the Jordan is the eastern border of the promised land of Canaan (Num. 32:29–42; 34:2–12; 35:10; Deut. 32:49; Joshua 22:9–11), meaning that the Euphrates is viewed as the northern border (thus including Syria and the Golan Heights). Mention is also made of Gilead, the northern portion of the land beyond the Jordan, which is also promised to Israel: “And I shall bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be room enough for them,” (Zech. 10:10; Jer. 50:19. “Benjamin will possess Gilead,” says Obadiah 19-20.

The division of the land described by the prophet Ezekiel in chapters 40 – 48 is yet another story when he speaks of the temple, and describes it in great detail. According to some, this temple seems to be situated not even in Jerusalem, but in the area where Shiloh was once located, that is, the place where the tabernacle first came to rest after the trek through the wilderness. The area of the Promised Land is also defined (Ezek. 47:15–20; 48:1, 28). A survey of these data leads some to conclude that the heart of the Promised Land and the temple will be to the west of the Jordan, and that once the final temple has been built and is in place, the Euphrates will indeed be the northern and maybe even the eastern border.

If one perceives all these biblical covenants and promises Almighty God made to Israel one starts to realize that ultimately Israel does not exist by the grace of the United Nations, or Europe, Russia, China, or by the grace of Christianity or Islam, but by the Grace of God, on the basis of an everlasting covenant to which the Lord Almighty swore a solemn oath. Further, that the Lord Almighty is true to his everlasting covenant with Israel.  

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