In Part 1 we looked at why God gave the land of Canaan to Israel.  Today we ask why? Why, after providing a home for his people, did he exile those same people from the land he had given them? Does God randomly change his mind or are we missing something in the story? To answer this question, let us revisit Abram’s encounter with Melchizedek, the king and priest of that land.  We find an early clue in Melchizedek’s blessing of Abram. The relevant portion is below.

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
Gen. 14:19-20

When I introduced God’s calling of Abram to the land, I used the term “land grant.”  As we see above, God Most High is the “possessor” of the earth. As “possessor” he provided Abram and his descendants a parcel of land (the grant) to be his people and represent him in the earth.  In simple terms, the land grant came with conditions for how Israel was to live.  If they followed his instructions, they maintained possession of the land, but if they followed the ways of their pagan neighbors (worship of false gods)  they would be removed from the land.

This is similar to how a government might provide land for the purpose of building a college or the provision of 40 acres for farming during America’s westward expansion. In these cases, possession of the land requires fulfillment of the land grants intended purpose.

God promises the land to Abraham: Gen. 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:7-21

Bummer of a Weekend

Consider an analogy that lands a little closer to home. Assume a parent gives a car to their teen driver.  They attach conditions to usage of the car: no drinking, no speeding, a curfew, etc. The young driver has full use of the car so long as she follows the rules.  But one Saturday night she gets busted for underage drinking; now, not only does she have consequences with the local police, but the keys go back to mom and dad.

Severed Branches

In Leviticus and Deuteronomy, God issues a warning to his people that they are not to live as the previous inhabitants of the land lest they be sent into exile.  A quick survey of the Canaanite evil practices included child sacrifice, turning to mediums, communicating with the dead, idolatry, sexual perversion(s), injustice and the mistreatment of others. It’s good to familiarize ourselves with these passages; a few are listed below.

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land …… Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, ….. And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 9:1-12

Other passages that pick up on this same theme are listed below:

Leviticus 20:23
Deuteronomy 31:16-32
Zechariah 7:8-14
Ezekiel 36:16-21

In the New Testament, both Jesus and Paul explain Israel’s stubbornness and rebellion. For example, in Mathew’s gospel Jesus relates the parable of the tenant farmers to help explain how Israel had failed in their care of the vineyard.  Not only had judgement come on the nation, but it was also looming over them yet again. Instead of repenting the chief priests and Pharisees tried to have him arrested (see Math. 21).

The apostle Paul also explains the exile using familiar language of the olive tree¹ having branches that were broken off. He explains that Israel’s stubbornness and unbelief provide an opportunity for Gentiles to be grafted into the olive tree. He then warns the grafted in Gentiles not to be arrogant against Israel (the olive tree) with our new position. Finally, he concludes with a promise of restoration for the natural branches.  Romans 11:17-24

Whose Land is it Really?
Why does the Almighty care about what people do in their own homes or on their own land? These were not just any people; God had called the Hebrew people out from the rest of the world to be his chosen ones (his sons and daughters). 

While people the world over engaged in evil practices which grieved God’s heart, there was a special provocation when his elect or called out ones engaged in the same detestable behavior.  God considered the land of Abraham’s calling his sanctuary. He would not allow his “called out ones” to perpetually misrepresent him, living like the surrounding ungodly nations while enjoying the benefits of God’s land.

Notice the language used in the following verses.

…because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name.
Lev. 20:3

You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
Ex. 15:17

Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
Ps. 114:2

let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill
Dan. 9:16

O Lord, make your face shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate
Dan. 9:17

Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name
Dan. 9 18

The promised land was a dedicated place where God could live with his people as a family. Living with Father God in his land, walking in his ways and being a light to the nations was the Lord’s call for his chosen people.  By fulfilling this call Israel would be used as a conduit for God’s blessing, his truth, law, and the lineage of Messiah – ultimately leading to the salvation of humanity. But the Israelites’ ability to remain in the land was dependent on their obedience and their love of the one true God. Disobedience would lead to being exiled from the land, but not from their status as the chosen people. This is what Paul expressed in Romans 11 (concerning national Israel) where he wrote:

As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Romans 11:28-29

Although Israel failed in their high calling, God is still true and faithful to his promise. He had to punish Israel, his first-born son. Despite many warnings from both their law and their many prophets, they refused to hear and obey. Eventually God’s long-suffering patience was stretched thin (Leviticus 25-26). Beginning in BC 734 God sent the Assyrian army to overthrow Samaria and the northern kingdom. Then, in BC 606 God sent the Babylonian army to overthrow Jerusalem, the capital of the apostate southern kingdom.

Ultimately the plan of God would be accomplished because he always keeps his promises. He would restore Israel (his first born), but it would be through incredible difficulty. The next two passages are important to understand as we unpack Israel’s relationship to the land.  In the first text from Deuteronomy, it is clear the land was not bestowed on the people based on merit, but rather on God’s love and the covenant which he made with their forefathers.

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…
Deuteronomy 7:6-9

In the second passage, Paul tells us the promise God made (before the law) to Abraham and his offspring was still in effect even in New Testament times. Why does Paul stress the promise being given before the law? 

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
Galatians 3:16-18

Although Israel was exiled to the land of their enemies, the prophets spoke of a time of returning, a time of restoration, a new covenant for Israel, a time when the kingdom would be restored. And this expectation for restoration is not something new with the Apostle Paul.  It reaches back four thousand years to the call of Abram.

In Part 3, we turn our attention to that long-expected hope.