The land of Canaan
HOR Book 8 Studies • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture reading: Ezekiel 20:6.
On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.
We have spent the first half of this year studying through book 8 of the History of Redemption series, and today we’ve come to the final lesson. We started in Egypt, we’ve seen the ten plagues, we’ve had the exodus, walked through the wilderness for 40 years, and now we’re entering into the promised land, the land of Canaan.
So what is Canaan, and what does it symbolize?
Canaan is the land that God selected for His people.
Canaan is the land that God selected for His people.
On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.
The Hebrew word for “selected” is תור (tur), which means “to find,” “to discover,” or “to explore.” The ESV translates it as “searched out”. Last year, we have a team of people who searched out a retreat site for us in Desaru.
The Bible uses this word to describe the ark of the covenant going before the Israelites, to search out a resting place for them in the wilderness.
So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them.
who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.
So do you think God has prepared a place for us or not? When we have special guests coming over to stay, we do our best to prepare. Why? Because they’re important to us. In Matthew 25:34, it says that God has prepared the kingdom for us from the foundation of the world.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
And what we see is that Jesus goes before us to do the exact same thing. Jesus goes before us, to prepare the promised land for us.
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
So the land of Canaan shows us what the kingdom of God’s going to be like.
So what are some characteristics of this land of Canaan?
The land of Canaan is a good land.
The land of Canaan is a good land.
and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
The Hebrew word for “good” is טוֹב (tov), which means pleasant, desirable, and beautiful. And what’s important is that God Himself calls it good. Not just some irrelevant person.
If Leonardo Da Vinci or Vincent Van Gogh says a painting is good, people might spend lots of money to buy it. But God Himself calls this land of Canaan “good.” It’s beautiful and attractive to Him.
But the thing is that the land of Canaan was cursed. Canaan was Ham’s cursed son. One day Noah got drunk and lay naked, and Ham his son mocked him. And Noah woke up and cursed Ham’s son, Canaan.
Genesis 9:25 (ESV)
he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
And now God chooses this land of Canaan for His people, a land where God’s Word is completely obeyed. It’s a place without the curse of sin. Why? Because someone has taken that curse upon Himself, and died a cursed death on the tree.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
And so our spiritual journey toward the land of Canaan is a journey where our hearts are freed from the curse of sin. It’s a journey of putting off the old self, and putting on the righteousness of Christ. And when we do that, I believe God will look at our hearts and say, “This heart is desireable to Me.” “This heart is beautiful and attractive to Me.” Amen?
The land of Canaan is a spacious land
The land of Canaan is a spacious land
and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
The word for spacious here is רָחָב (rahav) and it means “broad,” “wide,” “vast,” or “big.”
But the thing is that the land of Canaan isn’t what you would call “broad.”
*SHOW SLIDE*
The total area of Israel is 8,019 square miles. Compared to other countries, that’s small.
The country of Jordan is 34,495 square miles.
Syria is 71,498 square miles.
Egypt is 390,100 square miles.
Together, they are 62 times bigger than Israel. The total area of the Arab states combined are 630 times bigger than Israel.
So when God calls it a spacious land, He’s not talking about physical size. He’s talking about the immeasurable greatness of God that belongs to those who are in Christ. The world can’t see it, but we can because the eyes of our hearts have been opened.
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
*SHOW SLIDE*
From 1950, C.S. Lewis began writing the Chronicles of Narnia, in which a young girl, Lucy, in a game of hide-and-seek, decides to hide in a wardrobe. Except that the wardrobe is a door to a whole other world, called Narnia. *SHOW SLIDE*
And our church may seem small. But when you step into this little wardrobe of ours, it’s a whole new world out there. The Word of Redemptive History. Amen?
And the same goes for our lives. We might seem small and insignificant on the outside. We might not have many accomplishments to boast of.
But I believe that inside of us is a wardrobe that leads to a whole other world of infinite size. That’s the Word of Redemptive History in our hearts. It’s the Gospel of the love of Jesus.
may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
So on the inside, our hearts are vast and spacious, and beautiful and attractive to God. Why? Because through the Word, our hearts are filled with the love of Christ and all the fullness of God.
The land of Canaan is a glorious land
The land of Canaan is a glorious land
Finally, God calls Canaan a “glorious land” (Ezek. 20:6, 15). The word here is צְבִי (tsebi), which means splendour, glory, or magnificence. In fact, God calls it “the most glorious of all lands.” Now, what are some things that are glorious in God’s eyes? The Bible gives us a list of things.
God Himself (Ps. 24:7-10).
God’s deeds (Ex. 15:11).
Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:14; Heb. 1:3).
The Gospel (2 Cor. 4:4).
The Church (Eph. 5:27).
The Resurrected Bodies of the Saints (Phil. 3:21).
Now, what do these things have in common? They all have to do with the Word of God.
God is the Speaker of the Word.
God performs His glorious deeds through His Word.
Jesus is the Word become flesh.
The Gospel is the Word proclaimed.
The Church is a place where the Word is proclaimed.
And only the saints who trust in the Word of God will have glorious bodies in heaven.
But there is one more thing that’s called glorious, and this is closest to the land of Canaan. It’s the Kingdom of God.
Psalm 145:11–12 (ESV)
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
*SHOW SLIDE*
What’s the difference between the Kingdom and the Church? The Church is like the wilderness journey where the Israelites had to leave behind the ways of Egypt. On the other hand, the Kingdom of God is like the land of Canaan, the promised land that God prepared for them.
So if the Church is where the Word of God is proclaimed, the Kingdom is where the Word of God is obeyed. The Church is where we’re freed from the consequence of sin, but we still need to wrestle with the power of sin within us, and the presence of sin around us.
On the other hand, the kingdom is where we’re freed from the consequence, the power, and the presence of sin. And I pray that as we move from this world into the next, we will enter into the glorious kingdom of God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In conclusion, when the Israelites entered into the land of Canaan, they spent about 16 years conquering the land. There were the major battles in which the Israelites fought together as one people. And the major battles lasted 6 years.
Then they allotted the land among the individual tribes and gave them the task of conquering their own land. But six of the tribes failed to drive out the inhabitants dwelling in their land. And this led into the events of the Judges period, which was one of the darkest periods of Israel’s history.
So in order for us to enter and occupy the Kingdom of God, we must not repeat that mistake. We need to put on the Gospel armor and drive out the idols that inhabit our hearts.
So let us continue to fight the good fight against the power of sin. Not by our own power. Not by our own wisdom. But only by the power of the Word of God and His Holy Spirit dwelling within our hearts. And how do we activate that power? Through obedience.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
I’d like to end with a lyric from a worship song we sang in the HORA conference. The song is called “Look Back”, and the chorus goes like this:
“I don't wanna look back and see all the trophies that I stored, but find I lost my soul. I don’t wanna look back and see all the hearts that I’ve won over, but lose the One who died for me.”