God Keeps His Promises

June 5, 2011


Background Scripture: Joshua 1:1 – 6: 11:1 – 12:24
Lesson Passage: Joshua 1:1 – 6: 11:16 – 23

“Joshua, you have been chosen to be the executor of Abraham’s estate. What was promised to Abraham is now being delivered into your hands for distribution according to the sovereign will of God who deeded the property to Abraham in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans. Moses has completed his work of leading Abraham’s heirs out of bondage in Egypt and bringing them to the place where you now stand. Your work must begin here and now. The anointing and protection that Moses relied on to complete his work will now be upon you. You should now take heart and be of good courage. The east and west boundaries of the land are the Euphrates River and the Mediterranean Sea. Everywhere you walk within those boundaries is part of the promised possession of Abraham’s heirs. This land is now inhabited by many people but when you go to possess it for the seed of Israel, no one will be able to resist you or establish a successful defense against you. I have declared this and this is the way it is going to be.” How’s that for a conversation with God? It really puts into perspective some of the simple and mundane requests we make in our prayers of petition to God. Sometimes we act as though God has to work himself up to the point of accomplishing some of our requests—that if given a little more help we could accomplish ourselves. The difference is a matter of whose will are we really pursuing. If it is truly God’s will that we are praying about, then it is a matter of understanding what is His promise concerning the matter. God does keep His promises. This lesson opens with Joshua’s commission by God. Note how specific God is in detailing to Joshua what his mission is and what his constraints are as far as boundaries are concerned. In fact, the only constraints that were given to Joshua were physical boundaries to the east and the west. The lesson closes with Joshua completing the first phase of his mission which was to conquer and destroy the nations that were living in the land of promise. God’s enemies quickly became Israel’s enemies. Several nations banded together to strengthen their numbers against Israel but God was the Commander-in-chief of Israel’s army. God assured Joshua that the enemy’s number would not be enough to spare them destruction at the hand of Israel’s army. Even as God promised, so did Israel to all their enemies. Thirty one kings were destroyed by Israel’s army under the leadership of Joshua and the guidance of God—just as God had promised. Many years had passed since God made the promise to Abraham. In spite of the passage of time, God never wavered in His determination to fulfill His promise. Israel is a great example for the church in our quest to understand God’s dealings with His people. In today’s lesson, we are reminded that what God promises, He is well able to deliver. We can rest assured that every promise that God has made to the church will be fulfilled in time according to God’s sovereign will. Yes, God has promised many things to the church. Christ has promised to never leave the church nor forsake her. He has promised to love her. And he has also promised to return to receive the church unto himself as his bride and to usher her into eternal life in his presence. These are indeed precious promises and we can rest assured that they will all be fulfilled.

Robert C. Hudson
May 28, 2011