Did you know that the reference to the river and the sea is a Biblical promise to Israel?
Also, ‘the River to the Sea’ references the Mediterranean and the River Euphrates, which were promised by God to Israel under certain conditions.
This is interesting because the current controversy over possession of the land between the river and the sea in the Middle East is a wresting from the original promise to a claim that is not ancient but modern.
Let’s look at some scripture on this.
After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.
Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.
Joshua 1:1-4
The Great Sea is the Mediterranean. In fact, God is pointing out that the land possession would stretch as far as the borders of Egypt and Lebanon on the Mediterranean.
God had promised this to Moses before Israel returned from their captivity in Egypt under the Pharaohs, but had forbidden Moses to enter what would be called the Promised Land because of a misdemeanour. The task of crossing into the Promised Land was then given to Joshua.
Let’s look at what God had said to Moses when he was leading Israel.
“For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him— then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves.
Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.”
Deutoronomy 11:22-25
God was promising Israel that they would dispossess the existing nations in what was the Promised Land, and that they would then inhabit that region.
The interesting part of the promise is the extent of the land, being from Lebanon, to Egypt to the River Euphrates.
It’s recorded that although Israel did possess some of that land, their internal struggles and rebellion against God’s will meant that they never actually fully achieved God’s promise to them, which was not God’s failure, but rather the inability of Israel to live and operate according to God’s desire for them.
Whether this promise remains for future days will be seen, but when we hear chants about the river and the sea we should be conscious of the Biblical prophecies and promises which are written for all to see, that the land from the River to the Sea has been designated to Israel.
