Closer Look: The Promised Land

(5–8 minutes, easy setup)
Learners will consider the dual meaning of the biblical term, “The Promised Land.”

(3–5 minutes, easy setup)

Explain that the phrase, “The Promised Land,” can have two interpretations:

The Promised Land can refer to the area of Canaan, or Israel, that God promised to Abraham and his descendants.
The Promised Land can refer to heaven, the place where all believers will dwell forever with God.
[Adapted from Morris, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Hebrews, Vol. 11, 117-123.]

Point out that this passage refers to both: Abraham lived in the land of Canaan on earth, but he knew that his inheritance—his forever home—was heaven. State that although Abraham never truly possessed the physical land, he saw beyond the temporal to the eternal—he knew God had a better reward for him. Discuss: In what ways do believers live as aliens and strangers in this world? How does our faith in God’s promises set us apart from the rest of earth’s inhabitants?