Joshua 15-17

Wow! What an awesome day of reading. To you and I today's reading might have been some of the most boring, but for a moment put yourselves in the shoes of the Israelites.

You have wandered for centuries as a people. Your are called Hebrews, "wanderers" or " sojourners" for a reason. Your people have never owned any land of their own besides a grave site. You spent four hundred years in Egypt, have recently wandered for forty through the wilderness, and have spent the last five years fighting. Then comes today...

Joshua begins listing off the boundary lines of your plot of land! You listen intensely as you learn of the territory which you and your families will call home. Today, Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh receive their inheritance. The others continue to wait as their lots are soon to be cast.

From no land to a great land. From wandering to a permanent residence. From a PO Box to a street address! God was giving to Israel what he had promised to Abram all the way back in Genesis 15. God's faithfulness had endured even in the midst of rebellion, disbelief, and trials.

This generation was able to witness first hand the fulfillment of God's specific promise. There are few times in history when great promises are witnessed. I think of Christ's incarnation, the birth of the church at Pentecost. I think forward to the consummation of all things one day. These are special times and the people alive to witness them are truly blessed to live in such unique seasons. Watching prophecies and promises be fulfilled must bring such an encouragement of faith to the believing participants.

The book of Hebrews talks about all those who looked to, but did not get to participate in, these special days, saying, "All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13).

These men and women looked forward to God's "big promises" being fulfilled. And they did so in faith without ever receiving the fulfillment. Yet they trusted God. And they were able to do so because they had walked with Him their entire lives. They were able to trust to the uttermost because He had proven His faithfulness in the day to day.

Jesus goes further and says that we who believe in times when "major" events do not occur are even more blessed than those who saw the marvelous things happen. Speaking to Thomas who was able to see the nail pierced hands, feet, and side, He says this, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed" (John 20:29).

We live in a time where God is actively working, not only in our own lives but in the progress of civilization. Will we see the end times which so many talk about? I don't know. But one thing I do know, we can celebrate its reality just as assuredly as if we were to see it. For God has proven Himself faithful throughout history, throughout Scripture, and throughout our own lives.

Praise God today for His faithfulness to fulfill His promises; for those promises great and small, prophesied or experienced firsthand. He is a faithful God. The Israelites in Joshua 15-17 knew this first hand, and must have rejoiced! So should we today.