Exodus, Sinai and the Land

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.                                                    Leviticus 25:38

In his commentary on our verse, Rashi quotes our Sages’ statement [Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 110b]: “One who dwells in the Land of Israel is considered as having a God, while one who dwells outside the Land is as if he has no God.”

We might expect that the order of events in the verse would be: brought you out of Egypt, to be your God, to give you the land, which follows the actual chronology of events: exodus, the revelation at Mount Sinai and entrance into the Land. The order which the verse presents reflects the concept that Israel’s entry into its Land is a necessary step in order for God to be Israel’s God. Indeed, the Sages’ comment is based upon our verse and is derived from the order of the verse.