It seems pretty clear that possession of the land—when it comes to Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites—possession of the land was tied to Israel’s faithfulness. Since the OT is clear that Israel was unfaithful and was sent into exile—basically it did all the things that, we just read, they weren’t supposed to do—many Christians, for that reason, believed the land promises were forfeited, paving the way for the new people of God to be the kingdom, a worldwide kingdom that we associate with the church.