Tim Thornton Supporter Bible student, unprofitable servant

The land promise made to Abraham had a physical and a spiritual element.

The physical had to do with his physical descendants and geography in the Middle East. The spiritual had to do with his spiritual descendants and the new heavens and the new earth that will be established when Jesus returns.

As to the physical, the promise of the land has been fulfilled.
Josh. 21:43,45 So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it...... 45 Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.
Neh 9:7-8 You are the Lord God, Who chose Abram.... 8 …..... To give him the land of the Canaanite, Of the Hittite and the Amorite, Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite and the Girgashite—To give it to his descendants. And You have fulfilled Your promise. For You are righteous.

So according to the absolute authority of Gods Word, God has fulfilled His promise concerning the physical land, but this is not the end of the story.

The Bible is its own interpreter. The physical descendants of Abraham are no longer the people of God.

Rom.2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter........
Rom.9:6-7 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but,.......

National Israel had been told that they would be rejected by God and be called "not My people"
Hosea 1:9-10 Then God said: “ Call his name Lo- Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God. 10.......‘You are not My people, ’There it shall be said to them,‘ You are sons of the living God. 

Who are the children of Israel? One group of people consisting of Jews and Gentiles who can be identified as "not my people" but are now called the children of God.
Rom.9:24-26 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.” 26 “ And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘ You are not My people, ’There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

This group called "My people" consisting of Jews and Gentiles are identified as the sons of Abraham.
Gal. 3:7 Therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

All of these share in the same hope that Abraham had.
Rom. 4: 13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world.....

So the real hope that Abraham had was not to be found in this present age on a sin cursed earth; he looked beyond this present world to a new world.
Heb. 11:9,10 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Heb. 11:13-16 "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them".

The homeland that these looked forward to is the hope of every true believer; it is the true land of promise that will be the inheritance of the true children of Abraham the Israel of God!

Gal. 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them.

December 30 2013 • 3 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Shirley H. Supporter prayer warrior

The physical land given to Abraham and his descendants is outlined in Genesis 15:18-21. Basically the whole of what we consider today to be the middle east. It is much more that what is considered Israel now. Israel, Syria, Iraq, part of Iran, part of Turkey....that whole area.

June 26 2015 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Ezekiel Kimosop Supporter

What is the land that God promised to Israel?

Genesis 15:18 says "To your descendants, I have given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates" (NKJV). The land was then occupied by a number of Canaanite people listed in Genesis 15:19. The land is estimated at approximately 300,000 square miles. 

There is considerable debate among Bible scholars on weather the land promised to Israel is represented by what the modern state of Israel currently occupies since its independence in 1948 and weather more territory would be recovered in future. 

This is because it is difficult to conclusively tell if the present day state of Israel constitutes God's covenant people mentioned in Scripture or if it is a pale shadow of its former self, having been abandoned by God. 

Did God reduce the territory of Israel to a tiny fraction of its original size, and if so, why? 

Some Bible scholars say God's promises to Israel were forfeited after the Jewish people rebelled against God. They claim that God rejected them and handed over their land to their enemies. 

Still others posit that the "Israel of God" is not a reference to the ethnic Israeli society currently dwelling in the Middle East but the church of Jesus Christ. 

Some Evangelical scholars insist that the state of Israel would reclaim its lost territories in the last days when the Messiah comes. Other scholars disagree with this view arguing that the church has replaced Israel and Jewish Christians are part of the new Israel in Christ.

5 days ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Daniel Veler Supporter

Your question, “ What is the land that God promised to Israel?”

I’m not sure if you’re referring to the promises made unto Abraham or not with your question. But I would like to address the promises made unto Abraham that he would inherit a country wherein there would be a city whose builder and maker was God, where God himself would dwell. 

Abraham, throughout his entire life, embarked on a journey in search of the promises made to him by God, yet he never succeeded in obtaining them. Consequently, it was said that he traveled in the land of promise, seeking the fulfillment of God’s promises. 

There are two very important scriptures you must come to know. The first is who the promises were made to. 

We see in Galatians 3:16: “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, that the promises were made to Abraham and to Christ."

Now let’s see the promised land God spoke of and why Abraham never came into it.

Hebrews 11:14: “For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

Abraham was in search of a land that did not exist on this earth. It was a heavenly place that God has prepared. 

So the promised land is a heavenly place, not of this world but of the one to come.

1 day ago • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report