Yes, I am fast forwarding just slightly to Joshua Chapter 21. We are almost finished with our study in Joshua and I for one and am so thankful the Lord me through this study. After studying the promises of God in 2017, it helps to see God's promises fulfilled for the Children of Israel...even after they struggled and were disobedient. They were not a perfect people, just as we are not perfect people. Just because we make a bad decision or make a mistake, God doesn't withdraw the promise. He provides correction, discipline, and then He moves us forward.
Joshua 21:43-45 So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. (44) 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. (45) Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
This verse brings to a conclusion all of Joshua up to this point. There wasn't anything God had promised the Children of Israel that He did not give. The Lord had given them the land, so they took possession of it. They dwelt in the land. In other words, the people settled and made their homes in the land of promise after they took possession. Once they had fully taken possession and driven out the enemy, God gave them rest. They didn't take it upon themselves to rest. But once they were finished and all the enemies had been driven out of the land or utterly destroyed by the hand of God, God gave them rest in the land they possessed.
Do you ever quit before you finish something? I will be honest and say I have. I don't mean to quit and I usually just let whatever it is sit there for a little while and then come back to it because honestly, sometimes I just get tired. Sometimes the battle is just too much and it may take me a minute to realize that it is so hard because I am trying to do it on my own! Jesus said,
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Without the Lord delivering the enemy into the hands of the Children of Israel, would they have been successful in taking full possession of the land? No, I do not believe they would have been. Look at what happened when they were in disobedience and attempted to do that very thing at the city of Ai (Joshua 7). The Children of Israel experienced defeat. Yet, with correction from the Lord, they made their adjustments and once again moved forward in obedience to the Lord and what He had commanded of them and they experienced victory once again. They did not experience another defeat. The Lord honored His promise to their forefathers and delivered their inheritance into their hands...but not without bloodshed and not without the Children of Israel having to fight to possess it.
Joshua 21:45 says that "not a word failed of any good thing." What the Lord speaks comes to pass. Have you forgotten?
Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Whatever God says, whatever words He sends forth from His mouth, will accomplish the purpose He sent it out for. Not only will His Word accomplish the purpose He spoke it for, but it shall prosper in the area He spoke it over. Meaning, His word isn't just enought to get by, or just enough to meet a need. His word prospers! His word is Life! We are back to trusting in the Lord here aren't we? Our trust in Him must be complete and absolute. When our trust in Him is complete and absolute we are able to move forward and take possession of what He has promised to us. In Joshua's case, He promised a land flowing with milk and honey to the people. He promised to deliver their enemies into the people's hands. And He did. The final four words of chapter 21 say this:
God does what He says He will do, and He doesn't do anything halfway. He follows all things through to completion. After all, Paul said to the church at Phillipi:
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
I, too, am confident that what God has begun in me, He will complete. I am confident that what He has promised to me, He will allow me to possess. I am confident of what His thoughts toward me. He has plans for my future and a hope and He does not wish for my demise (Jeremiah 29:11).
Are you?
Joshua 21:43-45 So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. (44) 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. (45) Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
This verse brings to a conclusion all of Joshua up to this point. There wasn't anything God had promised the Children of Israel that He did not give. The Lord had given them the land, so they took possession of it. They dwelt in the land. In other words, the people settled and made their homes in the land of promise after they took possession. Once they had fully taken possession and driven out the enemy, God gave them rest. They didn't take it upon themselves to rest. But once they were finished and all the enemies had been driven out of the land or utterly destroyed by the hand of God, God gave them rest in the land they possessed.
Do you ever quit before you finish something? I will be honest and say I have. I don't mean to quit and I usually just let whatever it is sit there for a little while and then come back to it because honestly, sometimes I just get tired. Sometimes the battle is just too much and it may take me a minute to realize that it is so hard because I am trying to do it on my own! Jesus said,
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Without the Lord delivering the enemy into the hands of the Children of Israel, would they have been successful in taking full possession of the land? No, I do not believe they would have been. Look at what happened when they were in disobedience and attempted to do that very thing at the city of Ai (Joshua 7). The Children of Israel experienced defeat. Yet, with correction from the Lord, they made their adjustments and once again moved forward in obedience to the Lord and what He had commanded of them and they experienced victory once again. They did not experience another defeat. The Lord honored His promise to their forefathers and delivered their inheritance into their hands...but not without bloodshed and not without the Children of Israel having to fight to possess it.
Joshua 21:45 says that "not a word failed of any good thing." What the Lord speaks comes to pass. Have you forgotten?
Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Whatever God says, whatever words He sends forth from His mouth, will accomplish the purpose He sent it out for. Not only will His Word accomplish the purpose He spoke it for, but it shall prosper in the area He spoke it over. Meaning, His word isn't just enought to get by, or just enough to meet a need. His word prospers! His word is Life! We are back to trusting in the Lord here aren't we? Our trust in Him must be complete and absolute. When our trust in Him is complete and absolute we are able to move forward and take possession of what He has promised to us. In Joshua's case, He promised a land flowing with milk and honey to the people. He promised to deliver their enemies into the people's hands. And He did. The final four words of chapter 21 say this:
"All came to pass."
God does what He says He will do, and He doesn't do anything halfway. He follows all things through to completion. After all, Paul said to the church at Phillipi:
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
I, too, am confident that what God has begun in me, He will complete. I am confident that what He has promised to me, He will allow me to possess. I am confident of what His thoughts toward me. He has plans for my future and a hope and He does not wish for my demise (Jeremiah 29:11).
Are you?
