Is God's word good? Can He keep His promises when they seem so big and we are so far from him?
"Not one of all the LORD'S good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." Joshua 21:45. NIV.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
God made many promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding their inheritance and future generations who would receive the Promised Land. They lived in Egypt for 400 years during which time they became great people. When they were delivered from the oppression of Egypt they returned to the land God had promised them. This verse is quoted at the conclusion of the book of Joshua which tells of the taking of the land from the Philistines and other peoples.
NOT ONE ... FAILED
God is all-knowing and all-powerful therefore it is not possible for Him to make a promise He could not keep. Since God is all-knowing He would know not to make such a promise, but being all-powerful there is nothing He cannot do so if he promised it he can do it.
If a promise was only partly kept it would undermine God. It would mean he is not all-knowing or all-powerful or that he was capricious. The promises of God must be kept 100% or not at all; if they are only kept in part it would mean He cannot be trusted and we would have reason to doubt.
EVERY ONE
The double emphasis is a method of scripture used often to give what the Bible calls witness or testimony since by the testimony of two or three a thing is established in Levitical law.
None of the promises of God were overlooked or forgotten. If you had a list in front of you and you were checking them off you would check them all off.
WAS FULFILLED
God didn't just keep the promises He makes- He abundantly keeps them more than we can imagine. They were not half full but overfull.
God kept the promises in spite of the kind of people they proved to be in the wilderness, where they rebelled and sinned against him numerous times.
THE LORD'S GOOD PROMISES
God's Word is full of promises to us today just as broad and great as he had given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those promises to us are good and generous; God has no reason to be stingy but to the contrast, his gift of his son illustrates his tremendous generosity.
That God kept his promises to Israel should encourage us to search His Word for the promises he has for us so we may learn them, observe their conditions, and experience the blessings He has for us.
"Not one of all the LORD'S good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." Joshua 21:45. NIV.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
God made many promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding their inheritance and future generations who would receive the Promised Land. They lived in Egypt for 400 years during which time they became great people. When they were delivered from the oppression of Egypt they returned to the land God had promised them. This verse is quoted at the conclusion of the book of Joshua which tells of the taking of the land from the Philistines and other peoples.
NOT ONE ... FAILED
God is all-knowing and all-powerful therefore it is not possible for Him to make a promise He could not keep. Since God is all-knowing He would know not to make such a promise, but being all-powerful there is nothing He cannot do so if he promised it he can do it.
If a promise was only partly kept it would undermine God. It would mean he is not all-knowing or all-powerful or that he was capricious. The promises of God must be kept 100% or not at all; if they are only kept in part it would mean He cannot be trusted and we would have reason to doubt.
EVERY ONE
The double emphasis is a method of scripture used often to give what the Bible calls witness or testimony since by the testimony of two or three a thing is established in Levitical law.
None of the promises of God were overlooked or forgotten. If you had a list in front of you and you were checking them off you would check them all off.
WAS FULFILLED
God didn't just keep the promises He makes- He abundantly keeps them more than we can imagine. They were not half full but overfull.
God kept the promises in spite of the kind of people they proved to be in the wilderness, where they rebelled and sinned against him numerous times.
THE LORD'S GOOD PROMISES
God's Word is full of promises to us today just as broad and great as he had given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those promises to us are good and generous; God has no reason to be stingy but to the contrast, his gift of his son illustrates his tremendous generosity.
That God kept his promises to Israel should encourage us to search His Word for the promises he has for us so we may learn them, observe their conditions, and experience the blessings He has for us.
(c)Adron Dozat 2/21/15
