FEATURE
The Land That God Gave to Israel
THE land that God gave to Israel was indeed a good land. When Moses sent spies ahead of the nation to explore the Promised Land and to obtain samples of its produce, they brought back figs, pomegranates, and a cluster of grapes that was so large that two men carried it between them on a bar! Though they drew back in fear because of lack of faith, they did report: The land “is indeed flowing with milk and honey.”—Nu 13:23, 27.
Just before they finally entered the land, Jehovah’s spokesman assured the people: “Jehovah your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of torrent valleys of water, springs and watery deeps issuing forth in the valley plain and in the mountainous region, a land of wheat and barley and vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil olives and honey . . . in which you will lack nothing, a land the stones of which are iron and out of the mountains of which you will mine copper.” (De 8:7-9) To this day, the land continues to yield abundantly.
The beauty and splendor of that ancient land of promise is of keen interest to us today. Why? Because Messianic prophecies use the abundance with which Jehovah blessed ancient Israel to illustrate what God will do for all mankind under the rule of Jesus Christ, the “Prince of Peace.”—Isa 9:6; Ps 67:4-7; 72:16.
It was a land flowing with milk . . .
. . . and a place that abundantly produced wild honey
It was a well-watered land
They found it to be a land of wheat . . .
. . . and from its fields they harvested barley
Its vineyards yielded an abundance of grapes—and from these, wine to gladden their hearts
The fig tree, valued for its delicious fruit, became a symbol of peaceful, prosperous conditions
Pomegranates were the source of a refreshing drink
Olive trees yielded oil—ample from a single tree for a whole family