Scripture References: Joshua 21:43-45; Act 13:26-33
From Last Lesson: The Lord is speaking to Joshua with these instructions:
“Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses” (Joshua 1:2-3).
Without any wavering, the Israelites believed that they had come to the land that was rightfully theirs. They had waited and waited. Generation after generation had passed on. There had been much suffering and death on the way to being where they believed God had led them, and now they were prepared to use whatever means necessary to claim the reward of their obedience.
Never did Israel claim to deserve it, nor even to own it. The land was Yahweh’s; only God doing battle on Israel’s behalf had assured her possession of the land. It was within God’s designs, so Israel reasoned, that her warfare was conducted.
Israel’s warfare was conducted in Canaan, and with success. The writer of Joshua reports, “As the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; and they divided the land” (Joshua 14:5). In their eyes, this was not a new plan at all.
In addition to the basic promise of the land, somewhere along the way (see Deuteronomy 3:20) God had also promised the ability to enjoy the promised land. As the writer of Joshua recalled:
“The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand” (Joshua 21:44).
On these bases, the writer comes to the answer to his question about whether or not God keeps promises. What we have here is a moving affirmation and confession of faith in God who is absolutely trustworthy. The writer looked back, having scrutinized the evidence, and said with assurance:
“Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass” (Joshua 21:45).
The Lord kept every one of the promises made to the people of Israel.
Let’s be clear about what God actually promises. To say, “God said,” before someone gives a word, lesson, or instruction appears to give more credence than it would otherwise have. It is not hard to see this principle at work in this time we’re living, and for all kinds of reasons it is very much abused. Man tries to put into God’s mouth what we want to hear, and the message we put there may range from promises of our own prosperity all the way to damnation of our enemies or people we just don’t happen to care much about. When we are not able to own up to our self-motivation for making a given decision or choosing a certain course of action, we, as people of God, often blame our choices on God; though we may express ourselves with much piety. We become all too careless in using phrases like “God told me” and “God led me.” We end up blaming all kinds of crazy things on God.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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