Joshua 21

Bible Passage:  Joshua 21

This chapter marks the end of the allocation of the land of Canaan to the Israelites.  Although the Levites did not have their own particular land, they were given land to live on amongst all the other tribes.

Again this chapter will be of great interest to the Bible Geography scholars but for me…. my eyes jumped straight to the last part of this chapter … Joshua 21:43-45

So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.  Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

The LORD Gave…

We read two times the phrase “the LORD gave…” from verses 43 to 45.

“The Lord gave Israel all the land….” (v.43) emphasises on the soverignity of God and His actions.  Although it was necessary for the people to be obedient and submissive to God’s instructions… all of this was only possible because of the Lord.  Without His will and permission, none of this would have taken place.

The land was God’s gift.  Not all the land of Canaan was in Israel’s possession nor were all her enemies destroyed.  But Israel was basically in control of all the land.  What started out as a promise to Abraham all those years ago has now been fulfilled.  Truly… what the Lord promises, He will do.

“… the Lord gave them rest all around…” (v.44).  They were able to love securely in the land (cf. Deut 12:9-10) and all hostilities has ended.

This reminds me of the rest that the author of Hebrews talked about in Hebrews 4:1-11…

There is a better rest that awaits us that can only be found in Christ Jesus.  I will not write too much on Hebrews 4 but ask that you do and underline for yourself what this true rest means and what we must do to enter that rest….

But again the key reminded for us is this… it is the Lord who gives this rest and only from Him can we enter into this rest.  A timely reminder for the Sabbath.

Not A Word Failed…

Joshua 21:45 is a wonderful and comforting verse to remember…

Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

This is a lovely way to celebrate the conquest and division of the land – a timely reminder that God has never ever failed in His promises to His people.

God never fails us.  It is we who are the ones that often fail God.

A sister, upon reading this verse, shared with me how it reminded her of one of her favourite verse in Psalm 34:10…

The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

Psalm 34 is all about praising the Almighty God. And here, David praises God for his deliverance.

If you are like biblereader who watches the Discovery Channels or documentaries… you may have seen programs about life in the wild safari.  There, you will learn the truth of this verse in that the lion – even young and strong lions – do not always catch their prey.

But the amazing thing is this… time after time, however, the believer of Jesus is able to attest how God has met their needs.

How sweet it is that the Lord shows His goodness to us again and again.

We grow weak more often than the mighty lion and yet, are blessed far more.

When you focus on the needs God has met in your life, you will find yourself praising Him like David.

And if the people of Israel focused on how God met all their needs… from Egypt, through the wilderness, across the Jordan, against the hostile cities and people already in Canaan… then they will never go slack and fall away from having God as their sole commander and Lord.

It is a good reminder for us today as well.  We tend to complain a lot about what we do not have… but let’s hold fast to this promise….

God has never failed to do good to those who seek Him.