Joshua 21
Promises Fulfilled
“The All-Knowing God”
Introduction:
Throughout scripture God has given man a multitude of promises:
Promise of Love
Promise of Forgiveness
Promise of Salvation
Promise of the Holy Spirit
Promise of Everlasting Life
Promise of Peace
Promise of Joy
Promise of Freedom
Promise of Growth
Promise of Encouragement
Promise of Excellence
Promise of Strength
Promise to Make You Holy
Promise to Bless You
Promise to Guide You
Promise to Protect You
Promise to Care for You
Promise to Chasten You
Promise to Come Again
Promise to Reward You
He makes a promise to the guilty and dejected that earnestly seek reconciliation
God makes a promise to those that are in despair
He makes promises to those that are disappointed with the present
God makes promises to the depressed and persecuted
God makes promises when you are Anxious, Confused, Impatient, Tempted, Weak, Afraid, Suffer and Grieve.
God makes promises to those that obey
God promises to take care of your needs and when you Witness.
God promises to Answer Prayer and to be with you wherever you go.
We have an almighty God that cares for us and desires that our hearts would heed His leadership for our lives. And so, He challenges us in the testing of our hearts and faith in Him so that we would grow in the understanding of His ways, learning to stand upon the solid rock of His unchanging and powerful promises.
LET US PRAY!
(READ Joshua 21:1-3, 41-45)
This chapter speaks specifically of the cities of the Levites and how these cities and the common-lands were distributed for them. Then to close off the chapter we are given a reflective moment that magnifies the faithfulness of God by fulfilling the promises He made to the nation of Israel.
Today we are going to look at the five aspects of a Promise Fulfilled here in this
21st chapter of Joshua:
1) God made a Promise to Israel
2) God kept His Promise to Israel
3) Israel took possession of the land Promised
4) Israel dwelt in the land Promised
5) The Lord gave them rest
1) God made a Promise to Israel
Joshua 21:43a
So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers,
God gave the nation Israel promises to develop within them the realization that they must be dependent upon Him and Him alone. Having no other God’s before them, but casting all their energy into following through on the direction God gave them through His promises. God told them that he was leading them to a land flowing with milk and honey and that he would deliver their enemies into their hands.
Why Does God Make Promises To You? He makes promises to you to demonstrate His sovereignty and raise your level of reverence towards Him. He makes promises to help you grow in your faith and to see the reality that God is Almighty. He’s more than able, He’s more than trustworthy, He’s impeccable, He’s perfect, Holy, and Righteous.
2) God kept His Promise to Israel
Joshua 21:45
Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Time and again the Lord placed before the Israelites His plan for their success. He gave them a promise and all He asked was that they would be faithful enough to follow through. He provided for all their needs, He gave them the direction and the leadership that was required and yet often times they turned away from the Lord of Lords.
Thankfully, during this period in Israel’s history it is a time to rejoice for the nation. They could reflect on God’s Word and the guidance that He provided for the nation and praise His name for the great things He had done.
How can we trust God? Because God keeps His promises, God doesn’t let His people down. He will never leave us nor forsake us. His Word is unshakable and we can rest assured when we live our lives by the Word of God our lives are going to be fulfilling.
Will there be trials and tribulations? Yes, of course there will be it’s promised in His Word and yet we can take comfort in knowing He’s in control and all that He has said will come to pass. The ultimate victory will be the glorifying of our heavenly Father and if we have trusted in the Lord we will rejoice in the last day.
3) Israel took possession of the land Promised
Joshua 21:43b
…and they took possession of it…
Although, the way in which the people of Israel took possession of the land was not the way God had designed. It was nevertheless completed. The nation through disobedience allowed obstacles to get into their way, such as, the fear of the giants that sent them wondering for forty years in the wilderness.
God expects us to take possession of that which He promises. When God puts forth His promises He expects His people to follow with all their heart. We should learn from the people of Israel and see that they were their own worst enemies and we’re no different.
There is nothing to worry about when we are fully leaning on the promises of God. Our hearts should be exuberant, our cups overflowing with anticipation of when and how these promises will come to pass, not if.
4) Israel dwelt in the land Promised
Joshua 21:43c
… and dwelt in it.
Here the nation of Israel now sits in the promise land. It was a time of great joy and reflection over the great things God had accomplished for their nation. Shaking their heads at the foolish decisions they made along the way and at the same time enjoying the splendor of the land God had given them.
God wants us to dwell in His Promises as well. He wants us to be aware of the promises He has made, watch how they come to pass and grow in faith through the trying of His Word.
When we are in tune to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives and follow through with the direction given. We ought to reflect and rejoice when victory takes place. Dwelling in the magnificent ways God works and lifting our hands in praise.
Too often we’re quick to jump into the next best thing on our agenda. But God calls for us to stop and rejoice. Lift His name on high, that’s why He demonstrated His power in carrying out the promise in the first place, which was for His glorification. So we are to stop and glorify Him. Recognizing that everything good comes from Him and without Him our actions are futile.
Dwelling in the good things that God has done focuses our attention on Him and that’s exactly where it ought to be.
Consider the heaven’s and at the salvation of one lost soul causes all heaven to stop and rejoice. So then, shouldn’t we also be driven to mimic that which God mandates for our future home? Let us too rejoice at every juncture that God reveals to us the movement of His mighty Hand in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Never allowing the acts of God to be responded to as if it were mundane or commonplace, He deserves our sincere praise and gratitude.
5) The Lord gave them rest
Joshua 21:44
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.
The people of Israel were given rest. They were no longer striving and struggling at this point in their history. They had peace and comfort, resting in the fulfilled promise of God that one day they would live in the promise land and it had come to pass. Joy and jubilation warmed the soul, worry and pain had taken a back seat. Affirmation of God’s sovereign wisdom overshadowed the difficulties of the past. How powerful it is to rest in the promises of God.
The people of Israel had to be drawn to consider their commitment level. Conviction may have caused them to ask, “What have I done to show my appreciation for the God that loves me so?” As this question may have came to mind, with it brought a stirring of the heart that caused warriors to weep and cry out, “Praise be to God.”
God wants us to rest in His promises, coming to the place of awareness that He is an all-knowing God that has no reason to be doubted. Each and every promise given to man will come to pass.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
It is with verses such as this and the ever working Holy Spirit in the lives of all believers that encourages and reminds us of the beauty of God’s plan. Though we may be frustrated at times because His ways are not our ways and we want the promises fulfilled today. We should ultimately come to the conclusion that there is no higher and mightier Word to rest upon than that of the Word of God, no longer restless but at peace knowing that He is in control.
Conclusion:
Witnessing to the Mormons and their limited view of an all-knowing God causes one to stop and ask what good are His eternal promises if He Himself is unsure of the future. ( The Mormon’s view God as ever evolving and only having limited knowlege. The knowlege exceeds man’s, but is not complete. They believe there is more for God to learn.) I put this in relationship with the promise of everlating life.
