Class 5 Devotional: Promised Land: Is This What You Dreamed Of?

After Israel crossed the Jordan (miraculously), God demolished the walls of Jericho and delivered the land of the Canaanites to the Israelites as promised to Abraham. With only a few setbacks, the new nation was firmly established in the Promised Land! Was it everything they dreamed it would be?

The people (Israel) served the Lord throughout the life6me of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. (Joshua 24:31, Judges 2:7)
After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. (Judges 2:10-11)
It didn’t take long for the people to forget the Lord and blend in with the people around them.

What did they forget?

Covenant—God initiated, consummated, and delivered on his promises to Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua. He held up his side of the covenant.
Holiness—God instructed them how to be a nations set apart as a kingdom of priests to guide the other nations into the life they had been created for.
Righteousness—God established a relationship with the nation of Israel based on his mercy, grace, and love, showing them how to live in right relationship with him and each other.
Integrity—God demonstrated his character and expected his people to reflect the same integrity he revealed to them.
Spirit—God gifted his Spirit to lead and guide the people into a life of confidence and abundance in his presence.
Truth—God showed the people the difference between living in deception and living in truth. Other religions promised success, pleasure, wisdom, and treasure but ultimately delivered only heartbreak and destroyed relationships.
Is this any different than what we face today?
Through CHRIST God demonstrated his Covenant, Holiness, Righteousness, Integrity, Spirit, and Truth. However, a covenant is not a one-way relationship. When we forget CHRIST we become the people who “knew neither the Lord nor what he had done…” We do “evil in the eyes of the Lord and serve the Baals.”

Today, we still await the final consummation of the kingdom of God. God continues to plead with us to
embrace CHRIST, remembering every promise that God has fulfilled, and trusting that he will continue to deliver us from evil. Join with me to commit to living in his presence, under his reign, proclaiming Jesus as Lord and renouncing the false gods (Baals) that tempt us to take our focus off the ONE who keeps his promise.

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (1 Thes. 5:24)

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