Possess the Promised LandShembull

God’s Promise to the People of Israel

In this next week together, we will look at the life of Joshua and the steps the Israelites took to fulfill God's promises. We will discover the importance of obedience, meditating on God’s word, and stepping out in faith to receive the promises of God in our own lives.

The Israelites’ story in Joshua teaches us so much about the time just before the fulfillment of God’s promise to them and their forefathers: to bring them into the land He had promised.

More than 400 years passed between the time God made a covenant to give Abraham (who at the time was named Abram) and His descendants this land. (That is a really long time!) I don’t know about you, but waiting can be so hard for me!

God’s promise remained with Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites, through their captivity in Egypt. When Moses led the Israelites out of slavery, their destination was the Promised Land. Yet, they wandered in the wilderness for another 40 years. And so, the waiting for the promise continued.

In Joshua 1, we see God carrying on the promise from Moses to Joshua. “Moses, my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.”

Joshua is the new leader of the Israelites, God’s chosen people, who are just outside the Promised Land. They’ve waited and wandered for an entire generation with the promise in sight.

The vision and mission that God gave to Moses remain the same for Joshua. The Promised Land still belonged to God’s people. His purpose – for His chosen people to possess the land – hadn’t changed. His promise would come to pass.

I imagine that as the Israelites walked out of the river bed and into the Promised Land, there must have been an incredible sense of awe. They had waited so long to see the promise finally coming true.

We can learn a lot from Joshua and the Israelites about possessing the promises of God in our own lives.

Over the next few days, we will take a closer look at three things God commands the Israelites to commit to doing if they are going to possess the promise. I believe that God is calling us to do these same things if we are going to possess the promises He’s made for us.

My hope is that our time together will encourage you to step boldly into pursuing the Promised Land that God has for you.

Reflect:

Are there any areas in your life where you are experiencing a time of waiting?

How do you handle delays?