Canaan, Now What?

Today it appears little is being said about the land of Canaan. Even when it is mentioned, it is usually referred to as simply, “ The Promised Land. ” Admittedly, Canaan was indeed, The Promised Land; it was the land God promised to give to Abram “ and his descendants for an everlasting possession” (Gen. 17:8, KJV). That Canaan was divinely designated for a perpetual ownership and, by a specific people, is an indication it was much more than just an ordinary geographic location.


From the beginning of creation, the plan of God is for mankind to consistently occupy a position of dominance in the earth. While historically, Canaan was a physical place located in the region of Palestine, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, symbolically it represented a territory in the earth which God initially had given to mankind from which to subdue, to replenish and to have dominion over the earth (See Gen. 1:28). Essentially, Canaan was distinctively, a specifically prepared place which God promised to a specifically prepared people for a specific divine purpose.


Thus, decisively as well as progressively Canaan became a place that God appointed for “ a redeemed people” . It was a place where the “ redeemed people” would live as “ the redeemed, ” and from that place, worship and serve their Redeemer.