Book of Deuteronomy Visions of the Promised Land

Picture this: you're driving through Minnesota in the dead of winter with no heat. Suddenly, you come upon a magical place where it's 72 and sunny, there are warm-water beaches, all Apple products are free, and all utility bills are paid. Sounds nice, right?

In the Promised Land, the Israelites won't have to work for anything. The plan, as it's laid out in Deuteronomy, is for them to evict the people living in the Promised Land. That way, they won't have to build houses, plant trees, or wait for anything to grow. They'll just take over, and prosperity will abound—as long as they obey God, of course.

Unfortunately, the Israelites will be victims of their own success. Because life will be so easy peasy, the Israelites will begin worshipping idols, and God will evict them from the Promised Land. What can we say? Utopias are a tough sell.

Questions About Visions of the Promised Land

1. What specific visions of the Promised Land do we get? How is it described? Does it seem realistic?
2. Why did God choose the Israelites out of all the other nations to take the Promised Land?
3. What about all the people who are living in the Promised Land now? Why is God okay just destroying them and taking their land?
4. What is the relationship between the Promised Land and the Garden of Eden in Genesis?