Question: God promised Abraham the land of Israel. Did he inherit it during his life?
Answer: Abraham didn’t inherit the land of Israel in his life time. The scriptures say, “By faith he (Abraham) sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:9,10). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all lived as foreigners in the land God had promised them. God gave Abraham no inheritance in Canaan, “no, not so much as to set his foot on” (Acts 7:5).
The land that God promised Abraham will be given to him when the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven on the Mount of Olives as stated in Revelation 21:2, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
That New Jerusalem is so big that it is going to completely encompass the land of Israel. Abraham is going to literally have that city, whose builder and maker is God. It will cover the land that God promised to give him. “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels” (Hebrews 12:22).
Paul confirms that the believers will inherit the land in God’s future glorious kingdom, “For here we have no continuing city not here but we seek one to come” (Hebrews 13:14). The Jews looked upon Jerusalem as a “continuing city” that is, they considered that the divine plan was inextricably bound up with the city and that it was, therefore, destined to stand forever. They felt security within the arms of Judaism. But Christians have no such “continuing city.” Their hopes and aspirations are not associated with any earthly city or religious system. While, everyone is focusing on what’s happening in Israel now, God promised a future inheritance for His faithful children.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
