Joshua Chapter 21: verse 45 to Joshua Chapter 22: Verse 3
Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you.”
I think the last verse in Chapter 21 of Joshua is one of the most encouraging verses in the Bible. It shows that in spite of all of Israel’s ups and downs, all the peoples’ mumping and moaning, and all their contrary ways, God never let them down. Every single promise made over the course of their forty-year journey was kept. How gracious is God!
But we see at the start of chapter 22 that the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh were also faithful to the promise they had made to God. God will never break a promise to us, but neither should we forget the promises we make to Him. Sometimes we may make a promise as a bargaining tool. We say, “Lord, if You will only do this for me, then I will do something for You in return.”
That’s not how God works. He wants our love and our obedience, given to Him freely and without condition. After all, we too have received from Him, surely that’s not too much to ask for?
Dear Lord,
Thank You for every promise fulfilled. Help me to hold on to those that are not yet completed, trusting that they too will be fulfilled when the time is right. Help me never to make empty or spur of the moment promises, but to be faithful to You with the help of the Holy Spirit. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.