All land belongs to God, and he allows people to care for it and use it for their own needs and the needs of others. The land promised to Israel is a special case illustrating the spiritual inheritance of all believers and God's ultimate purpose for the world.
All land belongs to God
It is in his possession and care
Psalm 24:1 See also Exodus 9:29; Psalm 33:5; 1 Corinthians 10:26
A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
It is given to human beings to manage
Genesis 2:15 All exploitation of land is therefore contrary to God's purpose. See also Psalm 8:6, Psalm 115:16
Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
The land promised to Israel
It was promised on oath
Genesis 12:6–7 See also Genesis 13:14–17, Genesis 15:7, Genesis 15:18, Genesis 17:8, Genesis 50:24; Exodus 6:8; Deuteronomy 6:10–11, Deuteronomy 31:20–21; Judges 2:1
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
It was a fruitful land
Exodus 3:8 See also Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 14:7–8; Joshua 5:6
I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey— the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
The distribution of the land
Leviticus 25:34; Numbers 33:53–54, Numbers 35:2–5
Individual land rights
Legitimate purchase or sale
Genesis 23:15–16, Genesis 33:19, Genesis 47:20; 2 Samuel 24:24; Proverbs 31:16; Jeremiah 32:6–15 Jeremiah's purchase was an act of faith.; Matthew 27:7–10; Acts 1:18
Examples of renting
Song of Solomon 8:11; Matthew 21:33–41 parallels Mark 12:1–9, Luke 20:9–16
Laws of inheritance
Encroachment was forbidden
Deuteronomy 19:14 Land boundaries were marked out by stones, the removal of which was a serious offence; Deuteronomy 27:17; Job 24:2; Proverbs 22:28, Proverbs 23:10; Hosea 5:10
Redemption of land
Leviticus 25:23–28; Ruth 4:2–9
God's ultimate purpose for the world
The heavenly land
Hebrews 11:13–16 See also Hebrews 11:8–10
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
A new heaven and earth
Isaiah 65:17 See also Isaiah 66:22; Revelation 21:1–2
For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
The inheritance of the righteous
Matthew 5:5 See also Psalm 37:11, Psalm 37:29; 2 Peter 3:13
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.