As part of the FIRST UNITED Advent and Christmas Calendar, Rev. Lauren Sanders, Spiritual Care Manager, has prepared a five-part Bible study series. The short Bible studies are to meant offer ways to engage in group or individually.

Torah & the Promised Land

What does it mean to be promised land that other people live, work, and play on?

Genesis 12:1 (NRSV)
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

Genesis 12:7 (NRSV)
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 15:18-21 (NRSV)
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Exodus 3:17 (NRSV)
I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Exodus 23:31–33 (NRSV)
I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will hand over to you the inhabitants of the land, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. They shall not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.

Numbers 34:2 (NRSV)
Command the Israelites, and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan, defined by its boundaries)…

Deuteronomy 19:8-9 (NRSV)
If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors—and he will give you all the land that he promised your ancestors to give you, provided you diligently observe this entire commandment that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God and walking always in his ways—then you shall add three more cities to these three

A Conversation with the Text

The Torah tells a story of land—promised, journeyed toward, and entered. From Genesis to Deuteronomy, the land of Canaan is not merely geography. But how we interpret this promise matters deeply, especially in light of the colonial misuse of Scripture to justify conquest.

The Torah’s narrative arc—from Genesis to Deuteronomy—is deeply rooted in the theme of land. God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12:1, 7 and Genesis 15:18–21 is not merely about territory; it is about relationship, covenant, and divine presence. The land is a gift, not a conquest. It is a place where justice, hospitality, and holiness are meant to flourish.

Yet, this sacred story has been misused. The Doctrine of Discovery, born from colonial ambitions and theological distortion, weaponized the biblical promise of land to justify the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Passages like Exodus 23:31–33, which speak of driving out inhabitants, were twisted to support imperial expansion, ignoring the Torah’s deeper call to justice and covenantal responsibility.

The Torah itself resists such misuse. In Leviticus 25, God declares, “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine.” This radical claim undermines any ideology that treats land as a commodity or conquest. Similarly, Deuteronomy 19:8–9 ties the expansion of territory to ethical living—“provided you diligently observe this entire commandment… by loving the Lord your God and walking always in his ways.” The land is not a reward for power, but a trust given to those who walk in justice.

Liberation theology invites us to read these texts through the lens of the oppressed. The Exodus story, echoed in Exodus 3:17, is not a tale of domination but of divine solidarity with the enslaved. It is a call to dismantle systems of oppression and to journey toward a land where milk and honey flow—not because of conquest, but because of covenant.

In this light, the Promised Land becomes a symbol of liberation, not colonization. It calls us to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery and to embrace a theology that honors Indigenous sovereignty, land stewardship, and the sacredness of place.

Deeper Reflection Questions

• What does it mean to be called to a land already inhabited by others? How do we reconcile the idea of divine promise with the reality of displacement?
• How do we interpret Genesis 15:18-21 in a way that honors the dignity of those named? What does this teach us about the complexity of divine promise and human justice?
• How might Exodus 3:17 be used to support both liberation and colonization—and how do we discern the difference?
• What theological dangers arise when Scripture is used to support exclusion or violence?
• How does the Torah’s portrayal of the Promised Land challenge or affirm our assumptions about land ownership and entitlement? In what ways can we understand the land as a gift of relationship rather than a reward for conquest?

Closing Prayer: A Prayer for the Land and Its Peoples

God of Covenant and Liberation,
You called Abram to journey toward a land of promise,
not for conquest, but for communion.
You heard the cries of the oppressed in Egypt
and led them to a place of freedom and flourishing.

We confess the ways your Word has been misused—
to justify theft, colonization, and erasure.
We lament the Doctrine of Discovery,
and the harm it has caused to Indigenous peoples and lands,
and ultimately ourselves and creation.

Teach us to walk humbly on this land,
to listen deeply to the wisdom of those who have protected it for generations.
May we be people of justice, repair, and right relationship.

Let your promise of land be a call to healing,
not possession; to inclusive community, not conquest.

In your mercy, guide us toward the land of beloved community,
where all may dwell in peace, dignity, and abundance.

Amen.