READING: Joshua 19-21, Luke 2:25-52
“. . . all came to pass.”
Joshua 21:45
I don’t know the origin of the saying, but I’ve heard it for years: “Promises are made to be broken.” It’s really quite a sad saying, actually, but it seems like it’s more true than not. I suspect that all of us can tell stories of someone breaking a promise to us, and most of us have broken a promise we’ve made. Nobody I know set out to break a promise, but it happens. Often. So often, in fact, that I’m wary of even making promises any more. It’s just too easy for me to break one.
Not so with God, though. He’s the perfect promise keeper, the One whose Word is intimately connected with His character. The Lord promised His people a land, and Joshua 21 records the fulfillment of that promise. Through Abraham He called out a people; in Israel, He gave them a land. In fact, “Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass” (Josh. 21:45).
No promise did not come to pass. None. Not one. If even one had, God would not have kept His word – and that’s not God. He cautioned that sin would bring death, and it happened. He promised never again to destroy the world by water after Noah’s flood, and He gave us the rainbow as a symbol of His word. Through His prophets, He spoke of coming judgment and exile for His wayward people that did indeed come to pass. The entire Old Testament pointed toward a Redeemer who entered history as a baby born in Bethlehem. He Himself spoke of His own death and coming resurrection – a miracle few expected, but that happened just as Jesus said it would. Now, we look forward to His second coming, a promise we know He will keep. That’s just who He is and what He does.
In the end (which will, in fact, never occur in eternity), we will look back through history and echo the same words: “not one of the good promises which the Lord made failed.” With that truth in mind, we must trust Him today. All will come to pass just as He said.
ACTION STEPS:
- Using a good study Bible, review some of the promises of God in His Word.
- If you’ve recently broken a promise to someone, repent and seek reconciliation.
PRAYER: “Lord, thank You for the promise of Your return. I trust You, and I commit to living a godly life in light of Your coming.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Joshua 22-24, Luke 3
