5 Lasting Lessons from the Lands of the Bible

Biblical geography offers more for us than the maps in the back of our Bibles might imply. I recently shared a talk on how valuable the lands of the Bible can be to our understanding and application of Scripture.

(Photo: Sea of Galilee. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

This land served as God’s testing ground of faith. It was here, in this land where both personal and national existence were threatened, that Israel’s leaders and people were called upon to learn the true meaning of security and well-being, of trust in the Lord their God. —James M. Monson

If I could boil down the essence of how God used the lands of the Bible to shape the lives of the people of the Bible, this message would come close.

Click to listen as I share these 5 lasting lessons from the lands of the Bible.

You can also download my handout.

God taught His people to walk by faith . . .

1. Through settings of lack.

Means: Water
Examples: Deuteronomy 11:10-15; 1 Kings 17-18
Question: Am I trusting God alone to provide? God doesn’t have you in a place of lack in your life because He doesn’t care, or doesn’t love you. It’s precisely because He loves you that He allows the lack.

2. Through opportunities of influence.

Means: International Highway
Examples: Judges 1-2; 1 Kings 9:15; Matthew 4:13-25
Question: Am I influencing the world or being influenced? God has not put you where you are by accident. You have spheres of influence. If you have interactions with an unbeliever, ask yourself: Who is influencing whom?

3. Through lessons of contentment.

Means: Tribal Allotments
Examples: Numbers 32:5; Deuteronomy 19:14; Psalm 16:6
Question: Am I willing to accept my lot as from God? God is teaching us to walk by faith. What God wants to give us is always far better than what we want Him to give us.

4. Through recurring places of grace.

Means: Repeated Sites
Examples:
- Moriah—Genesis 22; 2 Chronicles 3:1
- Shechem—Genesis 12; Joshua 8; 24; John 4
- Tabgha—Luke 5; John 21
- Jordan River—Joshua 3:14-17; 2 Kings 2:8, 14; Mark 1:9-10
Question: Am I learning from God’s repeated cues? Sometimes God takes us to places over and over and over to emphasize a message.

5. Through promises of hope.

Means: Physical Kingdom of God
Examples: Genesis 12:1-3; 2 Samuel 7:16; Jeremiah 31:31-34
Question: Am I longing for the kingdom or just for the weekend? Before the heavenly city, we have 1000 years on this earth with Jesus ruling the world from the Holy Land.