Entering into the Good Land

The Good Land (perhaps otherwise known as the promise land) is a land of brooks of water, of milk and honey, vines and fig trees and pomegranates. It is a land of abundance, where those who dwell in it lack nothing.

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.

One of our first introductions to the good land came a few thousand years ago, through the journey of a people group called the Israelites. The Israelites were in the captivity of the nation of Egypt for 400 years. During this time they were forced to serve Pharaoh, performing hard labor, and were unable to serve God. And because of that, God called them out Egypt. He had prepared a better place for them, a good land where they would be free to serve Him and delight in His abundance. Over the course of many years God led the Israelites out of Egypt, through a desert, and into the good land.

This story represents something more than just historical events. The journey of the Israelites represents a journey that everyone seeking after God must undertake. And the destinations in that story represent more than just physical locations that you'd find on a map. In the New Testament it says that the things written in the past were written for us (Romans 15:4), and so that tells us that there is something for us to gain from them. The Bible also tells us that the things of the Old Testament (where we see the Israelites leaving Egypt and entering into the good land) are shadows of things to come, of which the true substance is Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 10:1). Just as looking at a shadow of an object wouldn’t show us the full true form of that object, so it with much of the typology in the Old Testament, in that the types we see point us to something bigger.

Christ, our Good Land

The Bible shows us that the true Good Land isn’t a geographical area in the Middle East, but it is actually Jesus Christ Himself. He is the Land of abundance, the rich Land that supplies for all of the needs of those who dwell in Him, just like the good land did for the Israelites.

I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

The Israelites were coming into the good land from the desert, which was a place that lacked the basic things needed for life like food or water. But as they entered into the good land they found it to be a land of abundance. The soil was fertile, and growing in this soil were pomegranate trees, grape vines, and olive trees. There was an abundance of food there, for them to enjoy. And they were able to eat and be filled by that food.

Our Good Land, Christ Himself, is to be the source of our food, the spiritual food that we need that satisfies the deepest longings of our soul. Jesus called Himself the "bread of life". It was His earnest desire that people would come to Him and be filled and satisfied by Him.

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

A starving boy wouldn't simply touch or analyze food that is presented to him, but would instead eat the food and be filled. In the same way we shouldn't forget that Jesus is to be our food, our daily bread.

Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart...

As the Israelites had to take possession of the good land that God was calling them into, so we need to take possession of Christ. Jesus shouldn't just be a Savior, He needs to be my Savior. He shouldn't just be a source of strength and joy, but He needs to be my strength and my joy. We need to take possession of Christ and make His objective realities our own personal experience.

Everlasting Riches

When speaking of the land of abundance where there is no lack, I do not speak about an abundance of physical possessions or riches in this world. Jesus said before He was crucified that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). That means that the true riches of His kingdom are also not of this world.

The riches in the Good Land, in Jesus Christ, don't compare to anything in this world. They give a fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), while the riches of this world leave us empty. The riches in Jesus are enduring and only become more enjoyable to us with time (Psalm 139:17–18), while the riches of this world lose their value with time, and leave us searching for more.

The Israelites were made to dwell in the good land -- not in Egypt in captivity or in the dry and weary desert. It is my hope that God would open our eyes to see that this is what we were made for, to be in a living relationship with Jesus, daily walking with Him, resting in Him, and really dwelling in Him.

Entering In

Jesus often spoke in parables. In one such parable He spoke of a man that found these riches. In His words,

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

In this parable the man didn't have enough money to buy the field containing this rich treasure while keeping everything that he previously had. The man had to make a decision to either hold on to his current possessions, or to sell them to gain this treasure. Similarly the Israelites couldn't simultaneously live in both Egypt and the good land, or the desert and the good land.

God wants our hearts and our affections. Just as the man in the parable had to make a decision, so we have to make a decision. Will we give our hearts to Him and enter into this Good Land?