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This second step is followed by a third. Abram passed through a portion of the land of
Moreh, but instead of taking possession of the Land of Promise and settling in it, we find
him a "tent dweller" possessing no more than a burial place, for which he paid current
money to the owner. This third step is partly explained by the next reference to the
Canaanite in Gen. 12: 6, "And the Canaanite was then in the land". The note in the
Companion Bible on this passage is as follows:
"It is evident that from Terah's and Abraham's call, Satan knew the line by which
`the seed of the woman' (3: 15) was coming into the world. In chap. 6: he aimed at
the whole human race. Now he aims at Abraham and his land. Here is the second
explanation of the words `after that' in 6: 4. He pre-occupies the territory ready to
dispute the advance. The Canaanite `was there'--`being already there' (13: 7). The
progeny of the later attempt to corrupt the race had to be destroyed by the sword of Israel,
as those `in the days of Noah' had been by the flood. This attempt to corrupt the `seed' is
evident in Gen. 3:, Gen. 6:, and in the two attacks made upon Sarah as recorded in
Gen. 13: 11-20 and Gen. 20:"
That these Canaanites were not of pure Adamic stock is evident from the description
given of them. We read of a race of giants called Anakim, Rephaim, Nephilim, etc., and
we must expect that right down the ages Satan's "men" will be supernaturally endowed.
Returning to the record of Gen. 11: and 12:, we are conscious that the halt called at
Haran and the statement, that by the time Abram did enter the land the Canaanite was
already there, are intentionally linked together. We shall find that these Canaanites are
indeed indicated as usurpers that must be evicted, and that the interval during which this
usurpation was effected is linked with a moral purpose. The interval which enabled
Satan to forestall Abram's entry into the land is attributable to human frailty, but when
we read Gen. 15: we become conscious of another aspect of this circumstance.
Abraham is told by God that his seed, which are destined to inherit the land of
Canaan, shall, nevertheless, for a time, "be strangers in a land that is not theirs"; that a
period of four hundred years shall elapse before they return, with great substance, and the
inner reason given for this strange interval is, "In the fourth generation they shall come
hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full" (Gen. 15: 16). Israel's failure
to possess the land of promise therefore is closely linked with deeper measures of the
divine plan. Satan and the Canaanite are "permitted". They shall yet be judged, when
the time is ripe, but meanwhile the true heir of promise waits in patience for the ultimate
triumph of faith.
When the moment came for Israel to enter into the possession of their inheritance, the
Canaanite blocked the way, and so became the object of Israel's attack. We cannot deal
with Joshua, Jordan and Jericho here, but will pick up the subject of the relationship of
the Canaanite with Joshua's entry into the land and its conquest, as a sequel to Abraham's
entry and deprivation, in the next article of this series. Let us however anticipate the
ultimate end of the struggle by quoting one passage from the prophets.