Originally posted: 09/06/2019
Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass, (21:45).
If the only truth we knew about the Lord was what was pronounced in Joshua 21:45, this one declaration of twenty-one words in the New American Standard translation… we would know much.
In this one verse is an abundance of truth revealing His Care and Character: His Promises are Good; He is Good to bring them to pass; and He is as Good as His Word.
Consider His Good Promises
So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. 44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. 45 Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass, (21:43-45).
- His Good Promises are upheld by His Word.
- So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.
- His Good Promises provide rest.
- And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers,
- His Good Promises subdue and conquer the enemy.
- …and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand.
- His Good Promises never fail.
- Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed;
- His Good Promises all come to pass.
- …all came to pass.
How do we respond to His Good Promises?
When we trust Christ for our salvation, it is not merely to ensure a future escape from hell. His Good Promise of eternal life is a Good Promise of abundance; His Good Promise is sure; and His Good Promise begins now.
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,” (John 10:10).
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent,” (John 17:3).
All His Good Promises are revealed and upheld in the Son of God, Christ Jesus, and made available to all who come to Him by faith. When we trust Him for salvation, He adopts us as His own and all of His Good Promises are freely bestowed, and all of His Good Promises are yes and Amen in Him.
…In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved, (Ephesians 1:4-6).
For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. 20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us, (2 Corinthians 1:19-20).
As we consider all He has done, let us consider what His Good Promises declare about His Care and Character. May we grow in our faith to believe, receive, and appropriate His Good Promises; that He would be glorified through us.
- His Good Promises are upheld by His Word: He is the Truth.
- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God, (John 1:1-2).
- Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” (John 14:6).
- Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst…. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out… 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day,” (John 6:35, 37, 40).
- His Good Promises provide rest: He is Gentle with His own.
- “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light,” (Matthew 11:28-30).
- His Good Promises subdue and conquer the enemy: He is Omnipotent.
- What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? …37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us, (Romans 8:31-32,37).
- His Good Promises never fail: He is Able.
- And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed, (2 Corinthians 9:8).
- His Good Promises all come to pass: He is Faithful.
- If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself, (2 Timothy 2:13).
Let us pursue Him in His Word, that we may grow in our faith and daily take hold of His Good Promises; for not one will fail, they will all come to pass!
For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory, (2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT).