Promised Land in the OT

[sotzo]

Coming from a commitment to the redemptive-historical hermeneutic, I've always understood the promised land to be the foreshadowing of the rest in heaven, which was to be bought the merit of Christ. Is this a correct understanding?

As a follow-up, I know many popular evangelists use these OT texts to preach a "health and wealth" gospel (ie, as God gave the Israelites the land because they claimed it, so will he prosper you if you obey him, etc.). However, at the time, wasn't it the receiving of the land and its natural resources which were signs of God's love for them. In other words,, at that time in redemptive history, wasn't the obtaining of these things signs of God's favor and rightly received as God's response to their claiming it through war/occupation?

Of course, the "proserity gospel" is despicable...I'm just trying to figure out how promised prosperity in OT times is appropriately interpreted apart from its foreshadowing of the infinitely better gift of God himself given to His people through Christ.

Many thanks for any help here. Working through Vos' Biblical Theology (seems to be taking awhile!!) and I'm trying to sort through these matters.

 

[sotzo]

After I reviewed my post, perhaps I can clarify it better...or perhaps it is best answered by pointing me to some exegetical work that deals with the issue of "promised land"?

 

[MW]

I remember reading a helpful work a number of years ago called "Grace in the End" by McConville. Goldsworthy traces the idea of being "in God's place" as one of three major themes in his scheme of Biblical Theology. "According to Plan" or "Gospel and Kingdom" will provide discussions on the significance of the land. Modern studies are looking into the idea of Joshua beng a land grant document. I shy away from imposing extra-biblical data on the text, but this research brings out concepts not understood before.

Rather than say the land is a type of heavenly rest, it may be better to stop at saying the land symbolises the gift of rest in God's presence, and then add that heavenly rest is the fullest manifestation of this. That way you don't read the full blown idea back into the seminal stages of its conception.

 

[Romans922]

O Palmer Robertson's book called "The Israel of God"

 

[Puritan Sailor]

The Temple and the Church's Mission by Greg Beale is very helpful not only in sorting through the themes of the promise land but also the Garden, the Temple, and how they connect to Revelation 21-22. Great things to meditate on.