The Good Land: Canaan

THE GOOD LAND : CANAAN

Col 1:16] For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. [17] And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [18] He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. [19] For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, [20] and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

COL 2:9] For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, [10] and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

For several years we have shared that Canaan is a type and picture for us of the Kingdom of God which is the EXPERIENCE of God’s government in our lives personally and in the church corporately. There is so much written about Canaan that it is difficult to sort out to make an application to our experience, both personally and corporately. If we just chose one set of scriptures to begin I believe it could be Deut. 8th chapter. Of course we know that Jesus Christ is our Canaan if we conform to God’s Kingdom. In the above scriptures it is clear that all the fulness of God and the provision of God is in Jesus Christ. Too much of the time we ignore the Kingdom aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ. For that reason we claim many promises that are only ours in the Kingdom when we obey.

HEB 5:8] Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. [9] And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, [10] being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. This eternal salvation is clearly tied to our obedience and is the Kingdom side of our salvation.

The application we are making from Deut. 8 is to show how the abundance of the Kingdom (Canaan) comes to us out of obedience to God’s word.

DEUT 8:1 "All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers. [2] "And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. [3] "And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. [4] "Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. [5] "Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. [6] "Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

The “ gospel of grace” has assumed that obedience is optional because God’s grace covers

our disobedience. The “proof” is given that when we are in Christ, God no longer sees our iniquity and rebellion and disobedience because when He looks at us He only sees Christ and His obedience. While this is very comforting it is extra-Biblical and assumes something the Bible doesn’t say. In the “Kingdom” everybody obeys God and in the “body” everybody obeys the Head. The purpose of this study is to reveal all the tremendous blessings and provisions that are available to those who will obey God and walk under His government.

DEUT 8:7] "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; [8] a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; [9] a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. [10] "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

(1) It is a good land (2) A land of brooks of water (3) Of fountains (4) Of springs (5) Of valleys (6) Of Hills (7) A land of wheat (8) a land of Barley (9) Of vines (10) Of fig trees (11) Of Pomegranates (12) A land of olive oil (13) Of honey (14) a land of abundance of food (15) A land in which there is no lack of anything (16) A land of Iron (17) Hills to dig copper (18) This is a land of flocks and herds that multiply. (19) The silver and the gold will multiply (20) All that you have will multiply. V 1 (21) Your numbers of off spring will multiply.

DEUT 8:11 "Beware lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; [12] lest, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, [13] and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, [14] then your heart becomes proud, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [15] "He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. [16] "In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. [17] "Otherwise, you may say in your heart, `My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.' [18] "But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. [19] "And it shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God, and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish. [20] "Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.

Many cleverly reason that this is Old Testament and has nothing to do with us. While the law of Moses with it’s various ordinances have been abandoned because it couldn’t perfect anyone, the example of obedience applies to all those who will participate in the Kingdom government of God. We are not required to obey the law but to obey God Who gave the law.


	THE GOOD LAND : CANAAN Col 1:16] For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. [17] And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [18] He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. [19] For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, [20] and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. COL 2:9] For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, [10] and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; For several years we have shared that Canaan is a type and picture for us of the Kingdom of God which is the EXPERIENCE of God’s government in our lives personally and in the church corporately. There is so much written about Canaan that it is difficult to sort out to make an application to our experience, both personally and corporately. If we just chose one set of scriptures to begin I believe it could be Deut. 8th chapter. Of course we know that Jesus Christ is our Canaan if we conform to God’s Kingdom. In the above scriptures it is clear that all the fulness of God and the provision of God is in Jesus Christ. Too much of the time we ignore the Kingdom aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ. For that reason we claim many promises that are only ours in the Kingdom when we obey. HEB 5:8] Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. [9] And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, [10] being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. This eternal salvation is clearly tied to our obedience and is the Kingdom side of our salvation. The application we are making from Deut. 8 is to show how the abundance of the Kingdom (Canaan) comes to us out of obedience to God’s word. DEUT 8:1 "All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers. [2] "And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. [3] "And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. [4] "Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. [5] "Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. [6] "Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. The “ gospel of grace” has assumed that obedience is optional because God’s grace covers our disobedience. The “proof” is given that when we are in Christ, God no longer sees our iniquity and rebellion and disobedience because when He looks at us He only sees Christ and His obedience. While this is very comforting it is extra-Biblical and assumes something the Bible doesn’t say. In the “Kingdom” everybody obeys God and in the “body” everybody obeys the Head. The purpose of this study is to reveal all the tremendous blessings and provisions that are available to those who will obey God and walk under His government. DEUT 8:7] "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; [8] a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; [9] a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. [10] "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. (1) It is a good land (2) A land of brooks of water (3) Of fountains (4) Of springs (5) Of valleys (6) Of Hills (7) A land of wheat (8) a land of Barley (9) Of vines (10) Of fig trees (11) Of Pomegranates (12) A land of olive oil (13) Of honey (14) a land of abundance of food (15) A land in which there is no lack of anything (16) A land of Iron (17) Hills to dig copper (18) This is a land of flocks and herds that multiply. (19) The silver and the gold will multiply (20) All that you have will multiply. V 1 (21) Your numbers of off spring will multiply. DEUT 8:11 "Beware lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; [12] lest, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, [13] and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, [14] then your heart becomes proud, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [15] "He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. [16] "In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. [17] "Otherwise, you may say in your heart, `My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.' [18] "But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. [19] "And it shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God, and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish. [20] "Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God. Many cleverly reason that this is Old Testament and has nothing to do with us. While the law of Moses with it’s various ordinances have been abandoned because it couldn’t perfect anyone, the example of obedience applies to all those who will participate in the Kingdom government of God. We are not required to obey the law but to obey God Who gave the law.