JEWS HAVE NOT YET ARRIVED IN CANAAN

REFERENCE: Exodus 12: 31-33, Luke 21: 24

During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.

The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country.”For otherwise “, they said we will all die.  Exodus 12: 31-33

They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Luke 21:24

COMMENT:

The Israelites left Egypt the land of slavery in a hurry. God rescued them in a miraculous way and did the same many times both in the sea and the land. In the Red Sea he parted the water and they crossed. In the desert he provided food, water, and clothing, shelter in form of a cloud to keep heat away during the day and to provide heat at night.  In total there were about 2.5 million men, women and children. They all matched towards Canaan with their animals and other property but it took them 40 long years to get there. Out of the number that left Egypt only Joshua the leader, and his assistant Caleb, arrived in Canaan.

God’s will was that they get to Canaan sooner. It was a journey of about four weeks but God wanted to see how their hearts are.  He wanted to train them to trust and to obey him. Like all other human beings, they always wanted to exercise the God given freedom of choice. They chose to disobey despite all they had witnessed in the exodus from Egypt. They were given the Ten Commandments through Moses and they also knew very well what would bring blessings and curses. But they even rejected God’s leadership when they demanded to have a king like all the other nations around them.

 Canaan is referred to as the land of milk and honey in the bible. It is the land of prosperity not wilderness hardships. In fact many see it as the Utopian or millennial kingdom coming in the near future. See Rev 20:3. Others even see it as our final destiny i.e. HEAVEN and I think they are right.

In Canaan the Israelites, continued to disobey. They worshiped other gods and intermarried with the tribes of Canaan, contrary to God’s command. This earned them many calamities. Twice they were taken captives to Babylon and Persia and in the process lost many people. Ten tribes in the northern kingdom were lost. Thank God the remnants were always traced and some came back whenever the Jewish nation was restored. Following the recent restoration of the modern Jewish state of Israel, 66 years ago, the remnants of the 12 tribes have come back and are settled despite many insecurity challenges. Many know they are not yet in the promised land of Canaan. They should take heart because as soon as the Armageddon war is fought, the Lord Jesus Christ will appear and set up the millennial kingdom and finally restore his kingdom on the throne of his father David which will last forever. See Isaiah 9:7. The kingdom will be based on the current earth for one thousand years and because it will have no end, it is supposed to continue to eternity in the new earth and the new heaven. And of cause, the New Jerusalem City as well.

The Children of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob have had a long history but they have been denied their God-given land. Somebody has written that they have enjoyed lots of history but very little geography, and it is true. The good news is that this is coming to an end very soon. They will soon enter the final promised Canaan although the journey is long. Not just 40 years as it was in the wilderness, but longer. Anyway, there is hope.

PRAYER: God Almighty! Have mercy on your covenant people. Remember them now.