Sunday: Eden and Canaan
Daily Lesson for Sunday 23rd of November 2025
Read Genesis 2:15 and Genesis 3:17-24. What were the consequences of the Fall, as far as the living space of the first human couple was concerned?
At Creation, God placed Adam and Eve in a perfect environment that embodied abundance and beauty. The first human couple met their Creator in the setting of a lovely living space that could provide for all their physical needs. In addition to the spoken word of God, the Garden of Eden served as a learning center where Adam and Eve gained significant insight into God’s character and the life He intended for them.
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Therefore, when they broke the trusting relationship with their Creator, their relationship with the Garden of Eden changed as well, and as a sign of the broken relationship, they had to leave the garden. They lost the territory that God had given to them. Thus, the Garden of Eden became the symbol of abundant life, and we will rediscover its motifs in the theme of the Promised Land.
How did the patriarchs perceive the promise of the land? (See Genesis 13:14-15; Genesis 26:3,24; Genesis 28:13.) What do you think it means to us, as Adventists, to live as heirs of the promises (Hebrews 6:11-15)?
As Abraham entered the land God had shown him, by faith that land became the Land of Promise to him and his descendants. It remained the Land of Promise for 400 years. The patriarchs did not really own the land; it was not theirs in such a way that they were able to give it to their children as an inheritance. Rather, it belonged to God, as the Garden of Eden had belonged to Him. As Adam and Eve did not do anything that entitled them to the Garden of Eden, Israel had not contributed anything to deserve the land either. The Promised Land was a gift of God based on His initiative. Israel had no inherent right or claim to own the land (Deuteronomy 9:4-6); it was only by God’s grace that the Israelites could possess it.
The patriarchs were heirs of the promises until they were fulfilled. We, as Christ’s followers, have inherited even better promises (Hebrews 8:6) that will be fulfilled if we become “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12, RSV).
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Some 400-odd years elapsed between the promise made to Abraham and the arrival of the Israelites in the Promised land. We sometimes forget that when we jump around in biblical history, catching a story here and there as they come up in our lesson study. In our modern world that is bout 16 generations, and I bet that most of us know very little about what transpired in our own families 16 generations ago, I have documentary evidence about some things that occurred in my own family about 8 generations ago, but the names and the events, while interesting are meaningless to me.
The point that I want to make is that the timeline of God’s promise to Abraham was long enough for its purpose to have been ignored and lost. The task of renewing and reestablish the promise was enormous. Our lesson today draws some parallels between the Israelites and our own situation in the modern world. Four hundred years ago takes us back to roughly the time of the protestant reformation. (No I am not setting a timeline for the Second Coming.) Just as the promise to Abraham had to large extent been forgotten and had to be revived before his descendants could enter the Promised Land, what was the promise of the reformers, and what have we lost in the 400 years between them and us?
I raise this issue because among Seventh-day Adventists, some claim that we are the true descendants of the reformers. Perhaps, rather than just making that claim, we need to rethink what we have inherited, and maybe admit that we have lost something in the passing of time.
How did the patriarchs perceive the promise of the land?
“By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”(Hebrews 11:9-10, NIV).
It is extremely important to note and reflect on the attitude of the patriarchs towards the promise of the Promised Land. It sounds rather “strange” how the patriarchs could live as strangers in the Promised Land, living in tents. The Promised Land was meant to be their permanent residence, but they had the mindset of pilgrims. Why? However, this land was flowing with milk and honey; by faith, there was a better land than this. The Promised Land was not the ultimate land. It was by far less than Eden. Therefore, they fixed their eyes and hoped for the future eternal promise. This is the true mindset of anyone looking forward to the second coming of Saviour Jesus Christ. This world is not our final home. We ought to emulate the spirit of the patriarchs and learn a few lessons:
1.Faith in God’s promises requires sacrificing immediate comfort. We may not receive all of God’s promises in this life, but ultimately God is faithful in all that He has promised.
2.As believers, we have been called to have the mindset of a pilgrim. The earthly life is temporary, and our true inheritance is spiritual and eternal (Matthew 6:19-21, Colossians 3:1-4).
3.Like Abraham, we need to have an enduring hope, looking beyond present circumstances and trusting that God will fulfill His promises, even if we do not see them completely in this life.
4.While we live on this earth as believers, our ultimate citizenship is in heavenly Canaan. We should be people with great anticipation (1 Peter 2:11).
5.Like Abraham, who was content living in tents in the Promised Land, we too should know that material possessions are not all that is in this life."But godliness with contentment is great gain."(1 Timothy 6:6, NIV).
The Garden of Eden was a place that God intended to have endless and unbroken communion with His people; thus it had perfect provisions supplied by God, there was full harmony since God's presence was there Genesis 2:8 10, the bible say that God planted all vegetation in the east of the garden and all He did was pleasant and good for food. The rivers that flowed in Eden nourished the land as a sign of abundance and life. Eden was a representation of an ideal relationship between God and his people. It was like a sanctuary where God related with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8), a clear reflection of an intimate relationship that remained a blessing before sin disrupted the harmony between God and man.
Equally the land of Canaan was a place of promise, hope and blessings, it was to be a place of abundance flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8), it was an everlasting inheritance for the children of Israel, a land of plenty where God was the provider (Genesis 17:8). Indeed when the spies entered Canaan the fruit of the land was so much that a single cluster of grapes required two men to carry it (Numbers 13:23). Eden was the original home that God wanted His children to stay and commune with Him daily but sin interfered and destroyed God's plan demonstrating what sin can do- ruin perfect plans and relationships. Canaan is the story of God leading His people from sin to perfection, a story of restoration, a story of hope, a story of a faithful God fulfilling his promises by restoring the broken relationships.
The large cluster carried by two men symbolizes that God’s blessings sometimes require effort, cooperation and guidance to fully enjoy.
As we travel through this pilgrim land let us remember that this world is not our home and we are just passing through.
May we fix our eyes on the Heavenly Canaan, because there is where our true inheritance lies!!!!!!
Allow me to quote the second last paragraph of Sunday's lesson.
If the land was a gift from God to His people, upon the receipt of the gift, why could not the people claim it as the owner of the land? If implicit in this arrangement of gifting between God and His people is a covenantal relationship, can we instead look at this arrangement more like a 'lease' rather than a gift (i.e. if you don't break the term of the lease, then you are free to dwell in it—as opposed to gift where when you receive it you become the sole owner of it)?
Another good word would be stewards.
Just a thought about the Sabbath School lesson for today. When we contemplate how God told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, in the day that they ate from the tree, they would surely die. Genesis 2:17. If they would have died as soon as eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, man's life on earth would have been over. Human beings (you and I included) would never have had the opportunity to choose to inherit eternal life because we would have never been born. But, our merciful God had mercy on those that He created! He had a plan to provide a second chance for fallen mankind! See Genesis 3:15. From here we can go on to the promises He made to Abraham, and to us.
"When He was on the cross, I was on His mind".
The works of the reformers are not different from the works of the prophets in the Old Testament, and although the reformers bear witness to the new covenant, Jesus Christ came to complete the works of the prophets. The ordinance of Jesus Christ does not change the commandment God gave to the people of Israel, and we must bear in mind that we are descendants of Abraham.
If the reformers believe in the works of the prophets and consider them to be their ancestors, then how might the relation of the modern generation to the reformers differ from the relation of the reformers and the prophets? We are descendants of Abraham, and we are part of God’s covenant.
It baffles to learn that the modern generation feel different from God’s primary initiative. We are part of God’s plan and that idea started on the day He created man. Jesus Christ believed in the commandment God gave to Moses, and a believe in His doctrine will me part of His inheritance.
We might have forgotten that we are called to be stewards, never 'owners' of that which God created. The Promised Land - Canaan - is just that, a land which was promised to Abraham's children to tend, not to ‘possess’, but to become a beacon of hope for others to see God's gracious abundance and mercy through their faithful stewardship.
'Canaan' and 'Eden' are nothing more than the place God established for man to grow in the stature pleasing to God; spiritually, as well as in his skills of stewardship for taking care of that which God blessed man with to enjoy – Gen.2:15.
We are pilgrims walking the path of faith until we reach the ultimate ‘Promised Land’ - 1Cor.9:24-27; Heb.12:1-2; being loving, kind, considered, humble, thankful stewards of whatever our Creator God calls upon us to take care of - Col.1:15; Gen.1:26-27; Gen.1:26-28; Gen.2:7.
We may worry about material possessions, but by being obedient to God and wisely asking for His guidance, we should have no fear! He will never fail us, and will grant us what is for our happiness here and after.
Since 1844, God has called a people to understand prophecy and prepare for Jesus’ return. Like Abraham, whose promise took 400 years to fulfill, we face the reality that God’s timeline often stretches far beyond our expectations. Over 180 years have passed since 1844, yet the promise of our heavenly inheritance remains sure.
The Reformers remind us that truths can be lost or forgotten over time. Likewise, we must actively renew our hope, keeping Christ’s soon return at the center of our lives. Our “Promised Land” today is both heaven and a life surrendered to God, reflecting His character and proclaiming His truth.
Time may test our patience, but God’s promises never fail. Let us hold fast to hope, trust His timing, and live faithfully, confident that our inheritance is secure.
To possess the land, then, meant that the Israelites were to live on it without interference from the previous occupants because God drove them out. Their final arrival to occupy the land is symbolic of the new heaven and new earth when sin and all its pain shall be no more Revelation 21:1-5 NIV
They would then live on the land as stewards, not as owners. Just like any blessing that God bestows upon us, we are to use as stewards, not owners. Marred by sin as this earth is, we are to live on it as stewards, caring for both nature and people as God would have us do. Not clinging to anything placed in our hands, but sharing to bless others. Not struggling to accumulate anything, but depending on God's timing and providence. That way we live as pilgrims looking for that better world to come, without neglecting present duty