08/25/2008
Joshua 21:43 - 45 (HCSB) 43So the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44The LORD gave them rest on every side according to all He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the LORD handed over all their enemies to them. 45None of the good promises the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.
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I’ve skipped way ahead in the story of the Israelites’ crusade to take the land promised to them. Suffice it to say, many battles were fought, many individual stories, and now, Israel rests.
Many hundreds of years have passed since this original promise was given. As you recall, God first promised this land to Abraham. Abram was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was the father of Jacob, who became Israel. Jacob’s son, Joseph, was sold into slavery and ended up in Egypt. There God raised Joseph to a position of second-in-command of all of Egypt. A famine across the middle-east brought the rest of Joseph’s family to Egypt where they remained for at least 400 years.
Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and they wondered the desert for 40 years before they entered the land. As they entered the Promised Land, they encountered much opposition and the task was not easy. Yet, now we read that they have completely inherited the land and are at rest.
Several things come to mind as object lessons for us. First, God will always follow through with what he promises. Men can fail their word and often do, but God will always remain faithful. Second, we must participate with God. God will never give you anything “on a silver platter.” He has created us to co-exist with Him in communion with Him, so He involves us in what He is doing. Third, the task may not be easy. We’ve read about how Israel languished in the desert hungry and thirsty—but God never failed to provide their needs. I’ve skipped a lot of stories of battles won and lost, but in the end, the land was taken. Fourth, what God has promised may not come right away. In fact, Abraham, to whom the promise was made, never saw the fulfillment of it, but He trusted God and God did indeed bring a great nation out of him. And finally, our success in God is directly proportional to our faith in His word. Note that all of the setbacks that Israel encountered were a direct result of their lack of faith that God would do as He promised.
We should remember all these points:
God will always do what He promises
We are called to participate with God in His work
Things will not always be easy
Things will not always be quick
Our success in His task is in direct proportion to our faith.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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