Joshua 21:43-45 And the LORD gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelled therein. Joshua 21:43-45. The Lord is not a man that He should lie, or the Son of Man that He should repent. His promises are "yea and amen." This is the great truth brought home to us by the beautiful conclusion of the partition of the land of Canaan. "The Lord gave to Israel all the land which He sware to give unto their fathers. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass" (vers. 48, 45). Heaven and earth may pass away, but the word of the Lord must stand. (1) His word cannot return to Him void; for it is always instinct with vital power. "In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God; and the Word was God." God spoke, and a world sprang into being. Every word of prophecy has been fulfilled in the history of our race. His promises in like manner can never be empty words - they must have an answering reality. (2) He is the God of truth, ever faithful to Himself. (3) He is the God of love, and His love cannot belie itself. (4) He is the God of eternal ages. To Him there is no interval between the promise and its fulfilment; it is to our apprehension only that the promise tarries. The new Israel may say, like Israel of old, "Not one good word has failed of all that He has spoken." The covenant of grace is a new land of promise. In it the Church has found a settled abiding place: it has overcome its adversaries and shall go on conquering and to conquer. So also shall it be with the third great land of promise, the heavenly Canaan. Upon this inheritance shall the redeemed at last enter singing, with a new meaning, this old song of triumph: "The Lord hath given us rest round about, according to all that He sware unto our fathers" (ver. 44). - E. DE P. Parallel Verses KJV: And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. |
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