Rest on Every Side

Rest on Every Side

Words of Faith 10-5-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Joshua 21

[43]  So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. [44]  The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. [45]  Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

        Chapter 21 ends the long section describing the allocation of territories and towns. God had kept His promise to give Israel the land and bring rest on every side. There was a victory over the enemies in the land. In fact, the Lord faithfully performed every part of His obligation. Not one of His promises had failed.

         This did not mean that every corner of the land was in Israel's possession, for God Himself had told Israel they would conquer the land gradually (Deut. 7:22). There would be times of tragedy and war during the period of the Judges and late the Kings, but this would be the fault of Israel, not God. When the people and leaders go their own way and do what is right in their own eyes, it creates some terrible situations.

          During the history of God’s people, Israel's unfaithfulness in no way impugned the faithfulness of God. The same is true for us.  Paul affirmed this fact in his words to Timothy, "If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).

         The rest that the people experienced under Joshua was not permanent. The true Sabbath is only found in Jesus.  The writer of Hebrews puts it this way—“For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience (Hebrews 4:8-11)

        We can rest in His peace, only if we receive His grace and mercy. Today is a good day to do just that.

       Thank You Lord, for the peace that You have won in my life.  You have won the truly important battles. You have delivered me from the perils of the world. You have paid for my sin and set me free from shackles of death. I praise You for all You have done, and I choose to rest in Your peace that surpasses understanding to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2005, 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.