The Land of Canaan In the Bible
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What do you know about the land of Canaan in the Bible?
The one story that comes to mind when I think about the land of Canaan is the story of Rahab. It puts into context the real story of what had become of Canaan; its culture, economy, and spiritual condition. Unfortunately, Rahab’s story has been so watered down most of us miss those facts.
In this article we’re going to explore the real condition of the land of Canaan in Rahab’s day; before it transitioned to the “Canaan promised land.” Here are some key topics and questions we’ll cover:
What do we know about the Canaanites and Israelites?
How does the Bible describe the wealth and wickedness of Canaan?
Is Canaan the promised land?
What is the land of Canaan called today?
Ready to dive in?!
Who Were the Canaanites and Israelites?
The Canaanites were descendants of Noah’s grandson Canaan. It’s a short but gross story (which you can find in Genesis 9). Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham gets his 15 minutes of fame in Genesis 9:22-27. At some point after getting off the ark, Noah drinks too much wine and passes out. While he is out, Ham discovers him, naked and uncovered. The details of what happened next aren’t spelled out in Scripture. Some say Ham saw his dad naked and shamed him by blasting the news to his brothers (see Genesis 9:22). Others read more into the text and come to the conclusion that something sexual happened between Ham and Noah. Others go even further and suggest that the term “his father’s nakedness” which is defined in Leviticus 20:11-21 suggests something sexual happened between Ham and his mom.
Scripture doesn’t say explicitly. Whatever the case, when Noah woke up and learned what happened he responded by saying, “Cursed is Canaan, the lowest slave will he be to his brother… Blessed be Adonai, God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave.” Genesis 9:25-27 (TLV)
So that is the beginning of the Canaanites. In terms of legacy, it didn’t get much better for the majority of Canaanite races. They experienced wealth, and the land they lived in was plentiful, but the depravity was horrific. We’ll explore what the Bible says about that in the section on the wickedness of Canaanites.
Obviously, the Canaanites and Israelites are not the same people. The Israelites were not named as a people or nation until much later. The name Israel was used to classify the 12 tribes of Israel, descendants of Jacob (who God renamed Israel). These were the people God chose to establish His kingdom through.
The Land of Canaan in the Bible
Canaan is one of the more popular pieces of land in the Bible. A lot happened in those lands, even before the Israelites were established in them. The Bible details quite a bit of it in the early books of the Old Testament.
Here’s what we know from the Bible about the land of Canaan:
- Canaan was good, bountiful, fertile land.
- Canaan was a polytheist nation.
- The land of Canaan was increasingly wicked.
Canaan In the Bible Was Good Fertile Ground
God describes Canaan as a land “flowing with milk and honey” (see Exodus 33:3).
When Moses sent the Israelite spies to scout out the land they brought back pomegranates, figs, and a branch with clusters of grapes and reported, “it is truly a land flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit…” (see Numbers 13:23-26).
Canaan Was A Polytheist Nation
Canaanites and Israelites lived very different lives; from culture to religion and everything in between. While the Israelites worshiped only one God and believed Him to be sovereign over everything, the Canaanites believed in many gods. The lengths they would go to worship their gods and experience pleasure, created a culture that allowed chaos and evil to run rampant.
The Wickedness of Canaanites
people in the land of Canaan were involved in a lot of wicked practices. Some of them were the result of their own lusts and others they practiced as a part of their religion. The Bible says that it is because of this wickedness that God chose to drive the Canaanites out of the land. Their sin was corrupting the people. Worse than that, their sin was putting innocent people in bondage. Here are some of the practices that contributed to the depravity of the land of Canaan (as referenced in Leviticus chapters 18-21 and Deuteronomy chapters 9, 12, and 23) :
- Child Sacrifice (commonly described as passing a child through the fire).
- Idolatry
- Sexual Immorality (incest, trafficking, prostitution, and more.)
- Witchcraft
- Wicked leaders
- Rejection of God and righteousness
And these things were the norm. Just part of everyday living. Can you imagine how a culture like this would affect the more vulnerable members of society like women and children? The Bible gives us a glimpse through the story of Rahab (read about it here). God didn’t want these atrocities to continue, so he took the land from the oppressors, gave it to Israel, and instructed them to steward it righteously.
Is Canaan the Promised Land?
The promised land is the and God promised He would give to Abraham’s descendants.
On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying: “To your descendants, I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates – the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Genesis 15:18-20
According to these boundaries, Canaan is the promised land that God gave the people of Israel.
Why Did God Give the Israelites The Land of Canaan?
The Bible gives us a couple of different reasons why the land was given to Israel.
First, it was a part of the covenant that God made with Abraham.
Second, God told the people of Israel that this would be an everlasting covenant. That land would be theirs as long as they did their part to uphold the covenant they made with God at Mt. Sinai. If the people waivered from the covenant and did not repent they would be expelled from the land. If they waivered but repented, He would forgive them and bring them back into the land. We see God’s faithfulness to this covenant outlined through the history of Israel and the books of the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament).
Third; the people dwelling in the land had allowed sin to defile it with their wickedness (see Deuteronomy 9:4-6). God chose to remove the wicked and give the land to people that would follow Him. It would be their kingdom and He would be their king.
What Is Canaan Called Today?
A lot has changed concerning the borders and the expanse of the land of Canaan. The land that was Canaan now describes parts of Lebanon, southern Syria, Palestine, Israel, and Jordan.
Is Canaan located in Africa?
Most people assume that the complexion of many Canaanite races means that the people must have come from Africa or that Canaan is a part of Africa. That’s simply not the case. If you look at a map you’ll find that Africa and the lands that made up Canaan are different.
What Does the Land of Canaan Represent In the Bible?
For the people of Israel the land of Canaan represented rest (see Joshua 1:13), salvation, and restoration.
To believers in Jesus, the land of Canaan represents eternity in God’s kingdom where we too will be given rest, salvation, and experience restoration.
For all people, the land of Canaan and the history attached to it serves as both a warning and a blessing.
I think the book of Hebrew describes it best,
For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
Hebrews 4:9-11
Canaan is a reminder that God sees the wicked in this world and that it won’t last forever. Not only does He restore the hearts of man through Jesus, but He will also restore the earth and both people and earth will be free from sin.
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