“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.  From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.  There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.   Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.”  Joshua 1:1-6.

In this verse we see God outlining the promised land given to Israel which was also mirrored in Deuteronomy 11:24 and prefigured in God’s invitation to Abram in Genesis 13:14-17.  This land stretches roughly from the Red Sea, around Eilat, as a southern boundary, to the Mediterranean at a point south of Gaza and extending from there up the coastline at least as far north as Sidon in Lebanon, to form the western boundary, then north to the Euphrates River, to form the northern boundary, and down the line of the Jordan River to form the eastern boundary.  These boundaries have never been fully realized historically by Israel, due to their disobedience, although it will find its fulfillment in the Millennial Reign of Christ (Ezekiel 36:8-38).  Solomon’s kingdom extended from the Euphrates to the border of Egypt, but it included states that paid tribute to Solomon but maintained their own internal government.

Today this area would encompass the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, also called Judea and Samaria, and Gaza along with significant parts of Syria and Lebanon not fully controlled by Israel.  However, this land has already been promised by God to Israel and they will possess it someday.  No one will be able to thwart God’s Sovereign plan or stand against Israel when the time comes.