Looking Beyond Canaan

Lift Up Your Eyes

As I sat reflecting on everything YAHUAH had revealed throughout the first two parts of this journey, I realised that the little piece of purple lint hanging in the thorny bush had become much more than an unexpected discovery on a mountain.

What had first captured my attention as a simple prophetic sign had now opened a breathtaking journey through the Scriptures. Beginning with Abraham on Mount Moriah, moving through Romans 4 and Deuteronomy 7, YAHUAH had been unfolding layer upon layer of His eternal purposes.

As I reflected on these Scriptures, another beautiful connection suddenly came into view. During the seven-day journey through Deuteronomy 7, one of the nations we dealt with was the Canaanites.

Throughout Scripture, the Canaanites became closely associated with merchants, trade, earthly wealth and material security (see Hosea 12:7). Their stronghold was not merely possessions themselves, but placing trust in earthly provision rather than in YAHUAH.

We dealt with this stronghold on Day 4 during the 7 day walk through Deuteronomy 7:1’s 7 nations, here is the link if you need to look back: https://mattaniahministries.co.za/2026/06/26/day-4-the-canaanites/

Looking back now, I cannot help but marvel at the Father’s timing. Immediately after that journey, He led me into Romans 4, where Paul begins dismantling that very mindset. The inheritance cannot be earned like wages in a marketplace. It is not a debt that YAHUAH owes us. It is received through faith.

Then, just when I thought Paul was speaking about Canaan, he enlarged the promise beyond the land itself and declared that Abraham would become heir of the kosmos. Suddenly I realised that YAHUAH had not only exposed the Canaanite stronghold—He was replacing it with an eternal perspective.

Looking beyond Canaan means refusing to let our hearts become anchored in material security, earthly success, or temporal possessions. It is lifting our eyes above what Canaan represents and fixing them on the everlasting promises of YAHUAH.

What exactly is the inheritance?

After completing Part 1 and Part 2, one question continued echoing in my heart:

If Abraham received the promise by faith, and if sanctification prepares us to possess that promise… what exactly is the inheritance?

Like many believers, I had often thought of inheritance in terms of this present life. We naturally think of homes, provision, ministries, answered prayers, and earthly blessings. Certainly, YAHUAH delights in providing for His children.

Throughout my own journey, I have experienced His faithfulness again and again. Even after the devastating flood that swept away so much only a few months ago, He graciously opened a temporary home for us in this little village. His hand has never failed us.

But as I continued searching the Scriptures, another question quietly began to grow:

If this present heaven and earth will one day pass away, as John writes, “And I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away…” (Revelation 21:1), then why would our everlasting inheritance be limited to something that belongs to a creation which itself will one day pass away?

That question completely changed the direction of my study.

Instead of searching for more promises about earth, I found myself returning to the beginning of Abraham’s journey. Only this time, I noticed something I had never truly seen before. When YAHUAH established His covenant with Abraham, He did not first describe the borders of Canaan, He did not begin by speaking about vineyards, cities or possessions.

Instead, the Scriptures tell us,

“And He brought him OUTSIDE and said, ‘Look now toward the HEAVENS, and count the STARS if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So are your seed.'” (Genesis 15:5).

That one verse suddenly became alive to me. YAHUAH first brought Abraham outside. Then He told him,

“Look now toward the heavens.”

Of course, the immediate meaning of the passage is clear. YAHUAH was promising Abraham descendants beyond number. The Scriptures plainly teach that, and we should never move beyond that truth. Yet I could not help but notice the order in which YAHUAH spoke.

Before He enlarged Abraham’s promise… He first enlarged Abraham’s vision.

As I followed this thought through the Scriptures, I realised that YAHUAH repeatedly calls His people to lift their eyes beyond what is immediately before them.

David declared,

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains; Where does my help come from? My help comes from YAHUAH, Maker of the heavens and earth.” (Psalm 121:1–2).

Isaiah proclaimed,

“LIFT UP YOUR EYES on high and see who has created these…” (Isaiah 40:26).

Yahushua encouraged His disciples,

“LIFT UP YOUR EYES and look…” (John 4:35).

Paul wrote,

“Set your mind on what is above, not on what is on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2).

Again and again, YAHUAH gently calls His people to look beyond the temporary and fix their hearts upon the eternal and as I continued reading Romans 4, another remarkable detail seemed to confirm this beautiful pattern.

Paul writes,

“For the promise that he should be the heir of the WORLD was not to Abraham or to his seed through the Torah, but through the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13).

One word immediately caught my attention. “World.” I had always assumed Paul simply meant the earth, but when I searched the Greek text, I discovered that the word translated “world” is κόσμος (kosmos), Strong’s G2889.

What I found was breathtaking.

The primary meaning of kosmos is not merely “the earth.” It describes an orderly arrangement, a harmonious order, an ornament, an adornment, or the ordered universe. It is from this very word that we derive our English word cosmos.

Suddenly Romans 4:13 took on an entirely new depth. Paul does not say that Abraham became heir of Canaan. Neither does he merely say that Abraham became heir of the earth. Under the inspiration of the Ruach HaKodesh, he writes that Abraham became…

“…heir of the kosmos.”

How beautiful is that?

The very Father who once brought Abraham outside and said, “Look now toward the heavens,” later inspired Paul to describe Abraham’s inheritance with a word that embraces the ordered creation itself.

It was as though YAHUAH was gently lifting Abraham’s eyes beyond the boundaries of Canaan.

And perhaps… He is lifting ours as well.

As I continued meditating upon everything YAHUAH had been revealing through this journey, I found myself returning once again to Abraham. The more I reflected on his life, the more I realised that perhaps I had misunderstood one of the greatest promises in all of Scripture.

Like many believers, I had always thought of Abraham as the man who inherited the Promised Land. After all, that is the promise we so often associate with his life. Yet the more I allowed the Scriptures to speak for themselves, the more I realised that Abraham himself had never regarded Canaan as the final destination. There was something within his heart that was reaching far beyond the borders of the land he was called to possess.

One morning, while reading through Hebrews 11, I came across a passage that seemed to bring everything we had been studying together into one beautiful picture. The writer tells us, “By belief he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Yitshaq and Ya’aqob, the heirs with him of the same promise” (Hebrews 11:9).

I paused for a moment and read the verse again. The words seemed almost contradictory. Abraham was living in the very land that YAHUAH had promised him, yet the Scriptures describe him as a stranger living in a foreign country. How could that be? How could a man be standing within the promise and still consider himself a pilgrim?

The answer came in the very next verse, and it was as though another precious jewel had been added to everything YAHUAH had already been revealing. The writer continues, “For he was looking for the city having foundations, whose Builder and Maker is YAHUAH” (Hebrews 11:10).

Suddenly I understood that Abraham’s heart had never become attached to Canaan itself. The land was indeed part of the promise, but it was never the fullness of the promise. It was pointing beyond itself to something eternal.

Abraham walked upon the soil of the Promised Land, yet his eyes were fixed upon another City. He lived in temporary tents because he knew that YAHUAH was preparing an everlasting dwelling, built not by the hands of men, but by ALUAH Himself.

As I continued reading, the writer of Hebrews seemed to confirm exactly what had been stirring within my own heart. He writes, “These all died in belief, not having received the promises, but seeing them from a distance, and being persuaded of them, and embracing them, and confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).

Those words lingered with me for quite some time. They did not die disappointed because they had failed to receive what YAHUAH had spoken. Rather, they died with unwavering confidence because they understood that the promise extended far beyond the boundaries of their earthly lives.

They embraced it from afar, believing with all their hearts that the One who had spoken would surely fulfil every word in His perfect time.

The writer then draws this beautiful conclusion: “But now they long for a better, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore YAHUAH is not ashamed to be called their ALUAH, for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16).

As I quietly read those words, I could almost sense the Father’s heart. He was never merely preparing a piece of land for Abraham. He was preparing a City. He was never merely establishing an earthly inheritance, He was unfolding an everlasting Kingdom that no flood, no war, no earthly kingdom and not even time itself could ever destroy.

Perhaps that is why this study has touched me so deeply. Only a short while ago, I watched floodwaters sweep away so much of what had once felt secure. Like many of us, I had naturally attached value to the things I could see and touch. Yet through Abraham’s life, YAHUAH gently began teaching me that every earthly home is, in a sense, another tent. Every place we temporarily call home is only a reminder that we are pilgrims journeying toward something far greater than anything this present world can offer.

Abraham understood this thousands of years ago. He held the blessings of this life with grateful hands, but he never allowed them to become the anchor of his heart.

As I closed my Bible that morning, one thought continued echoing within me. Perhaps this is why YAHUAH first brought Abraham outside and said, “Look now toward the heavens” (Genesis 15:5). Before He ever spoke about the land, He first lifted Abraham’s eyes, before He enlarged the promise, He enlarged Abraham’s vision.

Looking back now, I cannot help but wonder whether our Heavenly Father is doing exactly the same with each one of us. Perhaps He is gently inviting us to look beyond our own Canaan, beyond our present circumstances, beyond the temporary blessings of this life, and to fix our hearts upon the everlasting inheritance that He has been preparing from the very beginning.

As I closed my Bible that morning, I realised that YAHUAH had gently answered one question, only to place another, even greater question upon my heart.

If Abraham spent his entire life looking for a City whose Builder and Maker is YAHUAH, then surely the Scriptures must eventually reveal that City. If he was willing to live in temporary tents because his heart was fixed upon an everlasting inheritance, then what did he see by faith that gave him such unwavering confidence?

I turned the pages of my Bible toward the closing chapters of Revelation with a growing sense of expectation. There, the final pieces of this remarkable journey began to come together.

Suddenly, the words of Paul in Romans, the faith of Abraham in Genesis, the testimony of Hebrews, and the glorious vision given to John all became one magnificent story. It was as though every road in Scripture had been leading to the same destination from the very beginning. Yet, as breathtaking as the New Jerusalem is, I discovered something even more glorious.

The City is not the greatest promise and the inheritance is not the greatest reward.

There is something infinitely more beautiful waiting for every heart that loves YAHUAH.

Join me in Part 4 as we bring this extraordinary journey to its conclusion and discover that the greatest inheritance awaiting the Bride is not simply a place prepared by our Father…

King of Glory, Abba YAHUAH,

How magnificent are Your ways. As we have journeyed through the lives of Abraham, Paul and the faithful ones who walked before us, You have gently reminded us that this present world is not our home. Thank You for lifting our eyes beyond what is temporary and revealing that Your promises are far greater than our natural minds can comprehend.

Father, forgive us for the times we have become so occupied with the things of this life that we have lost sight of eternity. Search our hearts and reveal every place where we have allowed earthly security, material possessions, comfort or temporary blessings to become the focus of our hope instead of You.

Teach us, like Abraham, to walk by faith and not by sight. Help us to hold every blessing You graciously place into our hands with gratitude, yet never allow our hearts to become anchored in the things that will one day pass away.

May we live as strangers and pilgrims upon this earth, always remembering that You are preparing something far greater than anything we have ever known.

Abba, just as You once brought Abraham outside and said, “Look now toward the heavens,” I ask that You would bring each one of us outside of our own limited understanding. Lift our eyes above our present circumstances, above our fears, above our disappointments and above the distractions of this world.

Teach us to fix our eyes upon Yahushua HaMashiach, the Author and Perfecter of our belief, and to eagerly await the fulfilment of every promise You have spoken and open our mind of understanding.

Father, thank You that our inheritance is secure in You. Thank You that You are faithful to complete every word You have declared. Give us the endurance to remain steadfast, the courage to keep walking, and the joy of knowing that every step of obedience is leading us closer to You.

May our hearts long, not merely for the inheritance You have prepared, but above all for Your Presence. May our greatest desire be to dwell with You forever and to bring You glory in every season of our lives.

We give You all the glory, all the honour and all the praise, for You alone are worthy.

In the beautiful Name of Yahushua HaMashiach, our Chief Cornerstone, our Door and our coming King. HalleluYAH!

This is a remarkable journey and we will continue together in Part 4.