Living in the "PROMISED LAND, FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY"
What Is the Promised Land?
In the Bible, the term “Promised Land” refers to a specific region of land that God endowed to His chosen people, as part of their heritage. The promised land of Canaan, eventually called Israel, was a fertile land with brooks and deep springs that gushed out into the valleys and hills. The rich soil produced wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, and olives. There, the Israelites would lack nothing. Described in Scripture as “a land flowing with milk and honey,” the soil was rich for agriculture and shepherding, the mountains provided security and protection from the elements and their enemies, and the arid climate provided perfect conditions for livestock to thrive. (Exodus 3:17; Numbers 13:27, Deuteronomy 8:6-9)
In Genesis 12:1, God tells Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." God later confirms this promise to Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 26:3) and to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13). In Exodus 6:8, God reiterates His promise, saying, "I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.”
For migrating herders like the Jews, having a stable home of their own would be a true blessing. The promised land was a place to rest from their continual wandering. But this promise came with conditions. First, God commanded that Israel, the name of the new nation, had to trust and follow Him. Second, God demanded faithful worship of Him (Deuteronomy 7:12-15).
After Moses led God’s people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, the time had finally come for Israel to realize the fulfillment of God’s long-awaited promise. In one miraculous display after another, God had clearly shown Himself mighty to save. Now, the Israelites needed only to believe God and follow His servant Moses into the desert wilderness that would lead them to the promised land.
The Faith of Joshua and the Fear of Israel
Through their deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites had witnessed first-hand God’s provision, His power, and His faithfulness to the promises made to their ancestors (Genesis 15:14, Exodus 15:1-21)) And God continued to provide for all their needs. As they began their journey to Canaan, God provided food and water. (Exodus 16:12-15, Exodus 15:25) He provided clothes and shoes that never wore out. (Deuteronomy 29:5) He gave them His law. (Exodus 5:6-21) And most importantly God gave the Israelites the gift of His sheltering and guiding presence. (Exodus 13:21)
SOURCE FROM: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/the-promised-land.html
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When I read these promises in the Old Testament, I think of how it so closely applies to some of what I have experienced over the past several years. I think of how I struggled and fought to care for and protect my mother, who was starting to show signs of dementia back in 2015, after my stepfather passed away. I quit my job at my church, in their counseling/community care programs and spent most days with her. When she went into memory care inn 2019, I made sure she was always cared for and did my very best to honor her wishes. That created a lot of anger and resentment in my family towards me. But, I prayed and persevered until her passing in 2023.
All that time, I also prayed that the Lord would move my heart and lead me to where He wanted me to go, once my mission there was finished. My husband and I both have loved traveling. We often traveled to any different states, and our hearts pulled us away from our “home town” and to a possible new land…..a land God was preparing for us way back in 2015(and even before that).
Now, I believe the Lord didn’t reveal to us where or when that promised land would become reality to teach us many lessons in faith, patience, and full dependence on Him. In fact, we were actually looking in different locations, only for each one we found to fall through. Then, when we finally made a decision, the preparations and journey to get to that place was nothing short of exhausting and frustrating. It seemed like one setback after another took place. Everything seemed to take so much longer and cost us much more than we had hoped or anticipated. I have often compared our journey to this “new promised land” to the Biblical journey of the Israelites or the journey of the settlers that took the Oregon Trail….obviously on a much smaller scale. And, I will admit, my faith in His calling for us was pressed and tried, often with me very close to calling it quits. But, in those times I would go into prayer with the Lord and talk with my family about it, who often pulled me back up to hang in just a little longer.
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Fast forward to where we are now….. thankfully, God never gave up on me or ever went back on His promises to me. In fact, He has given me so much more than I could have ever imagined!!
I am blown away by the description in Genesis of the “promised land” God was preparing for His people, and how closely that describes the land we now live on. Similar to the land of Canaan, our property has the following:
~ A fertile land with brooks and deep springs that gushed out into the valleys and hills.
~ The rich soil has vines and fig trees (not mentioned, but also all kinds of fruit trees, berries, and a persimmon tree!)
~ The mountains provided security and protection from the elements and their enemies, and the climate provided perfect conditions for livestock and plants for all to thrive.
~ Described in Scripture as “a land flowing with milk and honey,”
~ Along with all this, we were blessed with a beautiful, warm house, as well as a giant pole building for us to park our RV and our son to park his van/turn into his official music studio.
GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!
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