The Promise Land

As many of you know, I spent a night last week in Ein Gedi, an Israeli city right on the south-eastern coast of the Dead Sea. Because of its low elevation and distance from the Mediterranean Sea, the region actually gets very little rainfall compared to other parts of Israel (that are also low in comparison to the world average).

I began to wonder why God would have chosen this land to give to His people whom He loved so much. Its not like the surrounding area was short on resources--with rivers like the Tigris and the Nile, the region is under no shortage of desirable land. What was so special about this land? Why would God lead His people here?

Have you heard of the Prosperity Gospel? Its a relatively new concept, but many pastors today are attracting the unchurched to the idea that Christ will bring the believer prosperity--through wealth, health, healing, happiness, etc. One of the biggest Scriptural evidences that comes about in convincing the audience that this is the truth is God's call of the Israelites into the Promise Land. However, even when we move beyond the fact that the term "Promise Land" is not once found in the Bible, a quick overview of Palestinian physical geography will inform the reader that this land is not all that promising. Short on fertile soil and utterly dependent on rain, the nation seems hardly flowing with milk and honey. How does this line up with the Prosperity Gospel? For certain aspects of it are true, but they overlook many essentials that come attached to the Gospel of Christ, for amongst the joy and peace, Jesus promises us trials and suffering. Clearly this doesn't fit the criteria of "prosperity"--but it seems to fall short of "joy" and "peace" as well. How can one be joyful and suffer trials at the same time? For this question, we should ask Paul the Apostle, who commands us to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" (Phil 4)--while he's in a Roman Prison! This man suffered through so much (2 Cor 11) but somehow remained in a state of constant joy. His faith was not based on the concept that Christ will bring prosperity, but rather for Paul, "to live is Christ" (Phil 2). Jesus isn't calling us to give us what we want from the world, but he calls us to rely on Him to live in the world! Prosperity does come from our faith in Christ, but that doesn't mean that it will always come the way we want it to. However, if our joy is in Christ, it will not be destroyed by undesirable circumstances or conditions, but rather it will be full (Jn 15).

Reliance on God did not begin in the New Testament with Christ. It has been the center of the Biblical narrative since Genesis 1. The Lord did not send his people into Promise Land so they could have everything they wanted, He sent them into Israel so they would rely on Him for everything they needed! (Dt 11). God intended not to spoil them, which would have certainly allowed them to trust in themselves, rather He intended to increase their faith with Him as their provider. We are given a similar portion to Israel. If we measure the Lord's blessings in terms of their worldly value, we will most likely find that we do not have everything we desire. What must be remembered and even celebrated is that the Lord is faithful, and if we remain in Him He promises to provide for us; not only filling our basic needs, but slowly showing us He is everything we could want.

"I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you" (Dt 11:15-17).