“Look all around you from where you are, to the north, the south, the east and the west. All the land you see I will give to your descendants forever.“
Once God promised to Abram that he and his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan forever, a new law of the universe had been set into motion.
Notice that there are no ifs or buts in this proclamation that God has just given Abram.
This is a PERMANENT covenant.
It is NOT a conditional covenant.
Here is a quick biblical rule about covenants.
If man has to continue upholding some part of the covenant in order for it to remain valid, then it is a conditional covenant, which means it can be broken, and therefore a consequence will come about.
However, this covenant is unconditional.
Also, notice the word “forever“.
In Hebrew, this word is AD OLAM.
And it indeed means forever.
God has unconditionally given the land to Abram and his descendants forever.
This is a point that needs to be forcefully communicated to any church that still holds to the idea that the Christian church has somehow replaced Israel.
While it is true that God warned Israel that they would be removed from the land for a time, it was only temporary.
In spite of this, the 17th century church adopted a “replacement theology” that taught that this promise given to Abraham had been turned over to Gentile Christians, as the New Israel.
NONSENSE!!!
“Forever” means “forever” and I tell you with every fiber in my being that until every inch of land that God promised to Abram is returned to Israel, there will never be peace in the Middle East.
No matter how hard our President tries, I can guarantee that God will ensure that any proposed “two-state solution” will fail.
This is one area where supporting Israel and the Jews is our duty!
What about passages like Exodus 19:5 and 2 Chronicles 7:19-20? Was God not serious in those instances when He clearly says that the covenant is conditional?
Hi there and thanks for reading. Exodus 19:5 says “Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine” and 2 Chronicles 7:19-20 says “But if you turn away and abandon my regulations and mitzvot which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, worshipping them; 20 then I will pull them up by the roots out of the land I have given them. This house, which I consecrated for my name, I will eject from my sight; and I will make it an example to avoid and an object of scorn among all peoples.” I see the point you’re trying to make but when the Bible is taken as a whole, the Bible makes it clear that God will NEVER abandon Israel and the land He gave them is to be theirs FOREVER. I would say the Scriptures you cited point to TEMPORARY disciplinary measures, NOT permanent. Shalom.