Nougat 1

Are you familiar with the saying, ’a promise is a comfort to a fool’? Do you agree with it? What if God makes the promise? Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“I am giving you every place where you set foot, exactly as I promised Moses.” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭CEB‬‬

As God Promised

Moses had ‘gone to be with the Lord’, literally. Aaron and Miriam had died. Thus Joshua, an Ephraimite, had the daunting task of ushering the Children of Israel into the Land of God’s Promise. In one sense, it was to be expected, he was Moses’s protégé and had proven himself worthy.

But Moses was a Levite. During the Exodus from Egypt, God had established the role of the Levites. It might have been expected that such a prominent role would also pass to the Levites. Leading the Twelve Tribes, regardless of the number who died en route, required more than spiritual succession. Strategic skills and a leaning towards military gifts were also needed and Joshua had them all.

I suspect that having ‘apprenticed’ under Moses, Joshua knew what the task required, and needed reassurance that he was in fact, God’s choice as Moses’s successor. For, they had arrived at their destination, they had not settled in the land. God’s promise to be with Joshua would have been timely.

And God’s promise was profound.

Moses’ relationship with God remains the standard for our relationship with Jesus. He was God’s friend, God was Moses’s confidante and Moses made no plans as a leader without seeking God’s face. What God offered Joshua through that promise was availability, wisdom, accompaniment, and support – in leading the Children of Israel, and in securing what God had promised as their inheritance.

God didn’t just offer Joshua the world – there were boundaries. Within the boundary lines, the promise referenced the territory Joshua claimed: ‘wherever he set his feet’. If he didn’t set foot somewhere, then it probably was not to be claimed. History is somewhat divided about the extent to which this was realized, we know that some peoples remained in the Land. That’s part of the reason for the current fight. But it was somewhat reassuring to Joshua.

We may not ever know God’s intentions for the original peoples in the land. It may even have been that Joshua should have approached settlement in the Land of Promise somewhat differently. What is certain is that God honored God’s promise to Joshua; and Joshua believed in that moment, on account of what Joshua witnessed between God and Moses.

There are several witnesses whom we know personally (including ourselves), who are living proof of God’s faithfulness in keeping God’s promises. Some of the promises include a place prepared for us, availability, wisdom, accompaniment and support. Not only did God come through for Joshua, God’s Spirit offers us the same. Do we take those promises lightly, not wanting to be proven foolish, or do we seek God’s face as Moses and Joshua did, recognizing that Jesus has made direct communication possible?

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May all we seek be found in Christ