All The Good Promises Fulfilled

The LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD helped them conquer all their enemies. Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. Joshua 21:43-45

GOD HAD MADE ABRAHAM, the Israelites’ forefather, an incredible promise. His descendants would be held captive for four hundred years, but then God would bring them out and bring them into the land he intended to give them. And so God came to Joshua, their leader, and told him, “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them” (Joshua 1:6). God promised he would go before them in battle and eliminate the evil that had made its home in God’s Holy Land so that his people could live there securely, at rest, with God dwelling in their midst. When we come to the end of the book of Joshua, we discover that not a single promise the Lord had given to Abraham and his descendants was left unfulfilled. God’s people were at rest in his land.

And this should deeply encourage us as we realize that the promises made and fulfilled to Abraham and his descendants are a foreshadowing of far greater promises God has made to all who have become sons of Abraham by faith. God has promised to bless us. Even now he is at work reclaiming more and more territory in our lives from evil impulses and patterns. He is at work making our very lives holy land. The day will come when our greater Joshua —Jesus Christ —will lead us into the true land of milk and honey. Heaven will be the land we’ve always longed for, the land that Canaan was always pointing toward, the land where we will finally be at home.

Lord, our hearts become so enamored with the here and now. Will you lift our eyes to our promised inheritance? Will you fill our hearts with anticipation of all we stand to inherit when we enter into your Holy Land? And, Lord, we long to be there together as a family, every one of us, enjoying your rest. Bring us all home to you.