The Promised Land

Key Phrase: All of the good promises that the LORD had given Israel came true

Intro

In the same way that Abraham's family was imperfect, so is the nation of Israel. When they first arrive at the edge of the Promised Land, they are too fearful and disobedient to receive the promise of God. So, they wander in the desert for forty years. The generation that first arrived in the promised land dies except for Joshua and Caleb. There are very few left who saw the miracles in Egypt and can give an eyewitness account of God’s power. God shows himself to this new generation who begin conquering the people their fathers feared by bringing down the walls of Jericho.

The Promised Land

 Numbers 13:1 The Lord now said to Moses, 2 “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” 3 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. . .

 17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. . .

 25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! . . .

 30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

 31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” . . .

33 We even saw giants[1] there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” . . .

 Numbers 14:26 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron. . .

29 You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. 30 You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. . .

 34 “‘Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’ . . .

 Deuteronomy 1:2 Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai[2] to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. 3 But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month,[3] Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say. . .

 Deuteronomy 34:1 Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan; . . .

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land.”

 5 So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, just as the Lord had said. . .

 Joshua 1:1 After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. . .

 6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” . . .

 Joshua 6:1 Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. 2 But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 3 You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. 4 Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 5 When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” . . .

16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! . . .

 20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

 Joshua 21:43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. 45 Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

Connect

At this point, God has delivered two of the three promises He made to Abraham. He has a big family who live in the land God promised. All that remains is to fulfill the third promise, “to bless all the people of the earth.” God now begins to shape Israel as a nation into people who are looking for a Savior, to prepare for the third promise. God uses Israel's experience with two forms of government and an eventual return to slavery to prepare them for the Savior’s arrival.

Footnotes

[1] Numbers 13:33 Hebrew nephilim.

[2] Deuteronomy 1:2 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai; also in 1:6, 19.

[3] Deuteronomy 1:3 Hebrew In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in January or February.