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- Joshua 21 ends talking about how they settled in the land that God had promised.
- It says how they had rest on all sides and how none of their enemies had been able to withstand them.
- It finishes with verse 45, “Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”
- All had come to pass. Not one word had failed.
- But, we know that they didn’t go into all the land promised yet. We know that some people were made into forced labor, not completely destroyed.
- It didn’t look exactly like it may have been projected or imagined at some time.
- But God was still faithful.
- Joshua messed up making that peace pact, but God didn’t abandon Him or the Israelites.
- When they settled in the wrong areas or weren’t able to drive a people out but turned them into forced labor, God didn’t abandon them.
- His story takes into account all our mess-ups. He weaves all into a story of a faithful God who is always true, always right, always good, always faithful to His word.
- We have to remember at any given time; it’s possible to look like God is the one who messed up, who failed, who lied or at least got it wrong.
- Here’s where faith kicks in. We have to know Him. Part of knowing Him is knowing that He is unchanging.
- He will always be faithful. He will always be true. He cannot lie. He is always perfect and loving and good.
- We have to know who He is, so we know that it’s our understanding that’s in the wrong, not God. He’s seeing the big picture and we’re not.
- I’ll give you a New Testament example.
- Jesus tells the disciples straight out that Lazarus’ sickness will not end in death.
- Several verses later Jesus announces to His disciples that Lazarus is dead.
- Was Jesus wrong? Did God not know the future or was He not powerful enough to prevent the death? Of course not!
- He knew the rest of the story. We only see in part.
- Lazarus rises from the dead and brings God glory.
- In fact, the Scriptures tell us that because of God’s love for the family, Jesus delays to go to them.
- There was a moment of suffering, but it left behind a memory of a miracle. God had not failed.