Introduction: One of the most controversial political issues
of our day, and one that has existed for a long time, is the
land dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. Should the
Palestinians have a state of their own next to Israel or
have they forfeited their right to live in the area because
of their repeated attacks on Jewish civilians? Instead of
entering into that heated debate, let’s do what I always
like to do and see what God has said about the Jews and the
land of Israel. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible!
I. The Promise Fulfilled?
A. Read Joshua 13:1-2 and Joshua 13:7-8. Joshua is
very old, and the task of occupying the promised
land is not complete. We will skip the reading of
the specific land assignments that remain. Has God
fulfilled His promise of giving to Abram’s
descendants the land?
1. Is the fact that Joshua did not complete the
conquest during his lifetime a failure on his
part?
B. Read Joshua 13:6. Who does this say will complete
the task? (God says that He will drive out the
rest of the pagans. God does not fault Joshua; He
tells Joshua that his remaining task is to “allot”
the remaining land among the tribes.)
C. Read Joshua 11:15 and Joshua 21:43-45. What does
this say about the job Joshua did in leading the
conquest of the promised land? (It praises Joshua
for a great job and it says that God completely
fulfilled His promise.)
1. Since this is true, why do we have a dispute
over that property today? How is this
possible?
2. Was God’s promise of the land conditional?
II. The Unconditional Covenant
A. Read Genesis 12:1-2 and Genesis 13:14-17. As you
consider these promises to Abram, does God say
that they are conditional?
B. In Genesis chapter 15, God repeats His promise to
Abram. Read Genesis 15:8. What practical question
is Abram asking God?
C. Read Genesis 3:22-24. Is Abram thinking about how
God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden,
and even placed an armed guard so they could not
re-enter it? (There is no record of a land promise
to Adam and Eve. Genesis 2:8 says that God planted
the garden and put humans in it. Abram had a
promise from God.)
D. Read Genesis 15:18-21. This is part of God’s
response to Abram’s question in Genesis 15:8, “How
am I to know you mean to give me the land?” Would
you say that God’s promise is conditional?
E. Read Genesis 15:9-12 and Genesis 15:17. Why are we
told about cutting up animals and a torch passing
between the animal parts while Abram is sleeping?
(Passing between animal parts was an act of
entering into a formal contract with another
person.)
1. Do you normally sleep through contract
negotiations? What should we conclude from God
alone passing through the parts while Abram
sleeps? (Abram is not promising God anything.
God is unilaterally binding Himself.)
F. Read Genesis 17:7. What is God promising, and for
how long is He promising it? (God says that He
will be the God of Abram’s offspring forever. The
agreement is “everlasting.”)
G. Read Genesis 17:8. How long will Abram’s
descendants possess the land promised to them?
(Forever. The land is “an everlasting
possession.”)
III. The Conditional Covenant
A. Read Leviticus 20:22. What does this say might
happen to Abram’s offspring? (They might get
“vomited out” of the land just like the
Canaanites.)
B. Read Deuteronomy 4:25-27. What does this promise
will happen to God’s people if they act
“corruptly”? (They will perish from the land
promised to them through Abram.)
C. Read Deuteronomy 28:63-65. What does this say will
be the “resting place” of God’s people if they
disobey?
D. Read Deuteronomy 30:15-18. Does God warn that
living in the promised land, indeed living at all,
is conditional on obedience to God?
1. Now we have something to contemplate. If God
unilaterally entered into a contract with
Abram that did not require Abram to obey
(since Abram was sleeping), how do we account
for these very serious warnings that the
Israelites will be tossed off the land if they
disobey?
2. Can we accuse God of breaking His word? (No.
God clearly warned the people of what would
happen if they turned away from Him.)
3. Can you reconcile these apparently
contradictory statements of God?
4. Does this teach us anything about the current
Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
IV. The Jubilee Pattern
A. Read Leviticus 25:10, Leviticus 25:13-15 and
Leviticus 25:23-24. What does this say happens to
land during the 50th year Jubilee celebration? (The
land is returned, under equitable circumstances,
to the original owners.)
1. What does this teach us about God’s view of
the ownership of the land? (That a family was
entitled to hold onto its land even if it
somehow forfeited the right to live on that
land for a period of time.)
2. If you were a land broker or a land purchaser
in those days, how would this affect your job?
(You would know that the land was being sold
only for a specific period of time. It would
always revert to the family of the original
owner.)
B. Read Leviticus 26:40-42 and Leviticus 26:44-46.
The prior chapter of Leviticus describes the
Jubilee pattern for land ownership. Do these
statements in Leviticus 26 sound like they reflect
the same attitude-that the land is never
permanently alienated?
1. Is this a promise for the Hebrews as a whole?
C. Let’s think about what we have studied so far. Is
the Jubilee pattern of land ownership the ultimate
answer to whether God’s land promise to Abram was
conditional? (It resolves the apparent conflict
for me. God fulfilled His promise. The land
remains in the ownership of His people. But living
on the land depends on obedience to God. Turning
to God restores the land to God’s people.)
V. The Future
A. Read Romans 11:25-29. What does this tell us about
the future of the Hebrews and God’s promises to
them? (This affirms that God’s gifts are
“irrevocable.” There will be a time when the
“partial hardening” of Abram’s descendants will no
longer exist, a time when “the Gentiles” have come
to faith. Romans says, “all Israel will be
saved.”)
B. Read Luke 21:24-27. How does Jesus connect the
“times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” with His
Second Coming? (Assuming that we are correct that
the Jubilee pattern of land return is God’s plan
for Israel, then just before Jesus returns we will
see Abram’s descendants return to faith and return
to their land.)
C. Friend, God is faithful! Will you be faithful to
Him? The consequences for unfaithfulness are dire.
Why not decide right now, that through the power
of the Holy Spirit, you will be faithful?
VI. Next week: The True Joshua.
Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
