When I was a young child, it seemed Christmas would take much longer to get here than it does now. Christmas was a magical time for me and my younger brother, Carl. We often had a part in the Christmas pageant in the country church where we grew up. Santa made his appearance, and each child received a bag of fruit, nuts, and candy. The cedar Christmas tree, glowing with red, green, white, and blue lights, sheltered the pile of gifts that would be exchanged. The church was abuzz with warm wishes and laughter. When the final Amen was said, each family went home to await our personal family Christmas.
When Christmas Eve finally arrived, Carl and I were so excited we could hardly sleep! But we must sleep, because Santa couldn’t come until we were unconscious. We had no illusions that our parents would give us extravagant gifts, but we were excited about the one or two treasures with our name on it. Our feet hit the cold linoleum floors around 4 AM, before our parents were awake.
My favorite gift was an electric train, something I think Mom and Dad must have regretted giving me because I had a knack for crossing the electrical wires and knocking out the lights. We went through lots of 20-amp fuses that Christmas.
I’m not very good at waiting for big events to happen, are you? What do you think it would have been like to wait for a big event you had been told about for 40 years? Well, that’s how long the Israelites in today’s story had to wait to go into the land God had promised them. Here’s a reminder why they had to wait so long. https://www.cosdavis.com/the-danger-of-forfeiting-gods-promises/
As we resume the story today in Joshua 1:1-4, the unfaithful Israelites have died, leaving their children and grandchildren to receive the promise they have forfeited. Forty long years of waiting for the promise to be fulfilled, but it’s about to happen, finally! None of these people, except their new leader, Joshua, and Caleb was born in Egypt. They are camped at the Jordan River, just across from the town of Jericho.
“Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord that the lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant saying, ‘Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun, will be your territory.'” Joshua 1:1-4.
From the Garden of Eden and the call of Abraham in Genesis and the unfolding drama of God’s dealings with His chosen people, we have learned a great deal about what He is like. We have witnessed His patience with these obstinate people, His forgiveness and desire for them to live under His protection, and His faithfulness to His promises.
God always keeps His promises. God’s faithfulness and dependability are a recurring emphasis in my blogs. When God makes a promise, you can depend on it happening. He may not do what He promised on our schedule, but He will always do what He says. The younger generation of Israelites waited 40 years, but God delivered on His promise. Did you notice what God said to Joshua about giving the land to the Israelites? “I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.” Joshua 1:3.
Our obedience brings God’s blessings. I remember as Christmas got closer, I began to think more about my behavior and how Mom and Dad might be more inclined to give me what I asked for if I proved myself to be a “good” boy. That’s a pretty immature way of getting what you want for Christmas because it’s about manipulating our parents for gifts when our attitude is wrong; we want the gift for selfish reasons.
That said, our behavior is connected to receiving God’s promises. He wants to bless us, and He will do what He has promised us when our hearts are right with Him. Living in obedience to Him allows us to receive what He has promised us. He is Lord, and His greatest blessings come when we live in a right relationship with Him, which means doing what He tells us.
We will be wise and open ourselves to receiving God’s promises by paying close attention to what God said to Joshua about this.
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9.
Don’t give up even though life is a struggle and you have a hard time understanding what’s going on around you. Trust in the Lord and do all the good you can in every way you can. God will reward you for your faith in Him.