Why did God take so long to bring Israel into the promised land?
Question:
Dear Jeffrey,
I have a question and would like to seek your wisdom. This pertains to God’s purpose in the various journeys involving the children of Israel. What does the scriptures say or infer about God’s purpose?
- God asked Abraham to pack up and move to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:1).
- It is a long journey, but eventually Abraham arrived at Canaan (Genesis 12:6-7).
- Then famine struck, and Jacob had to move to Egypt, and there he found Joseph (Acts 7:11-14).
- The children of Israel groaned to God about their suffering in Egypt (Exodus 2:23-24).
- God instructed Moses to bring Israel out of Egypt and return to Canaan (Exodus 3:10).
This turnaround from Egypt back to Canaan took about 400 or 430 years (Genesis 15:13; Exodus 12:40).
My question surrounds what God’s purpose was for allowing all these. Abraham arrived in Canaan, and then Israel had to migrate to Egypt, only to later return to Canaan. What does the scriptures say or infer about this? What application does this same turnaround event have for Christians today, other than to be patient and wait for the return of Jesus?
Answer:
When Abram was to travel to Canaan, he had a relatively small group. Even by the time of his grandson, Jacob, there were only 70 descendants. They were far too few to hold the land of Canaan. Time was needed for the family to grow, but to get the best growth, they needed someplace safe. Attacks and wars would reduce their numbers, so God sent them into Egypt. "But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today" (Deuteronomy 4:20). God told Israel that the hardship and suffering they endured in Egypt caused them to become a better people. True, Egypt was a place of hard bondage, but those hardships made them strong (Deuteronomy 26:6).
Egyptians did not accept foreigners (Genesis 43:32), and they considered shepherds, such as Abraham's descendants, to be the lowest class of people (Genesis 46:34). Add to this that the Egyptians saw the Israelites as nothing more than slaves and the result was that there was little mingling between the Egyptians and the Israelites. Although the Israelites lived in Egypt, the cross-cultural contamination was limited.
At this time, Egypt was the most powerful nation on earth. It didn't even have walled cities because no one would dare attack Egypt. However, Egypt's strength became Israel's protection. God nurtured Israel by encircling them with their enemies (Deuteronomy 32:9-12). The enemies of God’s people became the buffer that protected God’s people!
The hardship Israel faced in Egypt was a shadow of what was to happen to the church (Zechariah 13:7-9). We are kept by God’s power (I Peter 1:3-5), but our faith is allowed to be tested (I Peter 1:6-7). The result is that we become stronger people, leading to our salvation (I Peter 1:9).
Like the Israelites, we live in a world that doesn't accept us (I Peter 4:1-5). We have been chosen out of the world (John 15:19), but we live in the midst of our enemies (Philippians 2:14-16; Psalms 110:2). The Lord's people, his kingdom, dwell as strangers (I Peter 2:11-12).
God wants the maximum "harvest" of righteous souls (II Peter 3:9), but it takes time for growth. Thus, the world continues until the Father decides no more can be saved. God knows what He is doing. We have to be patient to see the end.
