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according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth;). It was said
unto her, The elder shall serve the younger."
It is a profound mistake to limit the doctrine of election to salvation. "The eternal
purpose" (Eph. 3: 11) or better "the plan of the ages" has been mapped out by God
which includes the human avenues through which it will surely be fulfilled and come to a
triumphant conclusion. Not all the opposition of Satan, the powers of darkness and
unregenerate men can thwart what God determines to be carried out, so that a perfect
creation with perfect creatures will finally be established for ever.
The Twofold Gift of the Land.
In other studies we have pointed out the unconditional gift by God of a seed
(posterity) and a land for Abraham. These must be kept together as they are in the
original promises, and in doing this we shall be prevented from the error of spiritualizing
them. The land is given definite geographical boundaries and must be taken literally
(Gen. 15: 18) "unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt (the Nile) unto
the great river, the river Euphrates". The following Scriptures should be carefully
pondered. They are too long to quote fully: Genesis 12: 1-3; 13: 14-17; 15: 17, 18;
17: 7, 8; 22: 17, 18.
This dual promise of God was repeated to Isaac (26: 3) and to Jacob (28: 13, 14)
hence its importance in the divine purpose.
We must notice, however, that the gift of the land is in two parts. The large piece of
land we have just noticed embracing the Middle East, contains Palestine, which in O.T.
times was called Canaan and this is stressed as being a gift of God. His words to
Abraham were:
"I will give unto thee, and to they seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger,
all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession . . . . ." (Gen. 17: 8),
and later to Moses:
"I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the
land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers" (Exod. 6: 4),
also in I Chron. 16: 15-18:
"Be ye mindful always of His covenant . . . . . Even of the covenant which He made
with Abraham, and of His oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a
law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of
Canaan, the lot of your inheritance . . . . .".
So also Lev. 25: 38, and Deut. 32: 49. Canaan covers the area of modern
Palestine and this part of the divine gift Israel enjoyed in Joshua's day. All of God's
promise concerning Canaan was realized by Israel and it is to this that Josh. 21: 43-45
refers. Joshua's campaign was confined to Canaan. He certainly did not touch Egypt or
the far east containing Babylonia and reaching to the Euphrates. Even in the most