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Why in Birchas Hamazon do we say "Eretz chemdah tovah" before we thank Hashem for taking us out of Mitzrayim (i.e. before "Val shehotzesanu meeretz mitzrayim")? Didn't we leave Egypt before we got the land?

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Clearly the order is not chronological:

  1. Land of Israel
  2. Exodus from Egypt
  3. Circumcision / Covenant
  4. Torah
  5. Food

I'm not sure what the intended order is, have to check some commentaries.

But most likely we start by thanking Hashem for the land because a.) the verse in the Torah says "bless Hashem for the land" b.) this blessing was composed by Joshua upon entering the land.

Then once we're saying "thank you for the land", we add in these other thanks.

Someone please remind me again what the Talmud's list of things you need to mention are? Land, covenant ...? And what's the ordering given there?

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Midrash Tanchuma Masai says: "ואין לך חביב מכולן יותר מברכת על הארץ ועל המזון. שכך אמרו חכמינו זכרונם לברכה, כל מי שלא הזכיר בברכת המזון, על הארץ ועל המזון, ארץ חמדה, ברית ותורה, חיים ומזון, לא יצא ידי חובתו." - Is that what you're referring to? Interestingly enough, it doesn't mention Mitzrayim. tsel.org/torah/tanhuma/masai.html -- however, if Yehoshua composed that beracha the Midrash may well be following the order that's already in the blessing, not the other way around. – Menachem Sep 5 '11 at 19:24
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There is a Targum Yonsan Ben Uziel on the Posuk "AND I WILL PLACE YOU ON EAGLES WINGS" (Shemos 19:4) there he says the night of the first Pesach we where in Israel and only then did we go to leave Egypt so the Order in Bentching is Correct.

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And He brought us to this place, and gave us this land (Devarim 26:9) - Should not the order be reversed?...But here we have an allusion to that which the Targum Yonatan relates: that on the first Passover (while still in Egypt) the Children of Israel were carried on "wings of eagles" (see Exodus 19:4) to the Temple Mount, where they brought the Passover offering. -- (Etz Chaim) - quote from here: chabad.org/parshah/in-depth/default_cdo/aid/57789/jewish/… – Menachem Sep 16 '11 at 21:10

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