Do you possess all the promises that God has made to you? The following came out of the East Knox Area Women’s Bible Study this week as we began our study on the book of Joshua. It’s not too late to join us if you live in the East Knox (TN) area, or don’t mind driving. E-mail me (see contact info) for more information.
Joshua 1:3b-4 “Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.” (Emphasis added).
After Moses died God reminded Joshua that he would be the one leading the Children of Israel across the Jordan River into the “Promised Land.” In this passage God reminded Joshua where the geographic boundaries lay. (For a detailed description of the boundaries, from landmark to landmark, read Numbers 34:2-18). The whole of the Promised Land would encompass over 300,000 square miles.
However, the “Promised Land” never fully became the “PossessedLand.”
The most that the Israelites ever possessed was a mere 30,000 square miles – about 10%.
It wasn’t God’s fault. He gave it to them. They just never took it. The ownership of the land; the promise of the land was unconditional – however, the possession of the land was conditional – it was conditioned upon obeying what God told them to do.
The promise of the land was first given to Abraham in Genesis 13:14-17. God repeated the promise 3 more times to Abraham; He made the promise to Isaac and to Jacob (Genesis 15:18-21; 17:5-8; 26:3; 35:12); and made the same promise to Moses 3 times (Exodus 23:31; Numbers 34:3-5; and Deuteronomy 11:24). Are you getting the picture? This is not just a promise – it’s a done deal. “I have given it to you!”
So think about this – how many promises has God made to us that we haven’t made our own? I’ve studied the Bible for as long as I can remember – I know a lot of stuff about the Bible – but in the last year or so I’ve started studying the Bible in a new way – I’m looking for the promises.
There are more promises in the Bible than you can even imagine. So, how do we find them among the stories? We have to differentiate between “incidentals” and “promises”.
For instance, if you look at Jeremiah 1. In the first chapter of Jeremiah we read that Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin and that the word of the Lord came to him during the days of a certain king and lasted until the days of another king – these are incidentals. These just apply to Jeremiah. But, when God says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” we have to ask, “Did that just apply to Jeremiah? Or does it apply to us? It applies to us. It’s not so much a promise of “I will do something” but it’s a promise of God’s Sovereignty. He knew us before He formed us in our mother’s wombs. Wow.
If you’re new to looking for promises, read John 14. It is filled with more promises than we can shake a stick at – but how many of them do we really “possess”?
As Christians, we own – we’ve been given every promise in the Bible, but do we possess every promise in the Bible? How many of God’s promises strengthen us in our daily walk? They can’t strengthen us if we don’t take possession of them and make them our own.
Loving and gracious Father, You’ve given us promises galore, we just haven’t taken possession of them. Open our eyes to see them, open our hearts to receive them, and give us strength and courage to obey what You have called us to do.
When we are thirsty, You are the Living Water, but we have to drink it. When we are hungry, You are the Bread of Life, but we have to eat it. Satan has been defeated and the weight of sin has been borne, we just have to take it off our shoulders and lay it down at the foot of the cross. But, even when we haven’t taken possession of your promises, You still love us, and keep offering them. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name – Amen.
The information is very helpful in my endeavor to broaden my. knowlwdge of the HOLY SCRIPTURES. Thank you so much. Elder Ellis
Thank you! I appreciate your encouraging words.
God bless you. What a perspective!
Thank you Bill, I appreciate that!