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.