“Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof” (Joshua 15:47).
TEXT — Joshua 15:21-47
Message
Modern archaeologists have succeeded in unearthing the remains of several cities of the land of Canaan inherited by the children of Israel as recorded in the Bible. Many, though, are yet to be discovered, leading to needless arguments. We also do not know the exact boundaries of these territories, giving room again for naysayers to have a field day.
Scholars say what we should rather consider is the fact that God was faithful in fulfilling His promise to give the tribes their inheritance in the land of Canaan. Landless after centuries of serfdom in Egypt, the Israelites needed to possess a place of rest, where God would work with them to bring about the coming of the Messiah. Occupying a landed property of their own was also necessary to enjoy tangible prosperity promised them.
When the Lord said in Jeremiah 1:12 that “I will hasten my word to perform it”, He was simply referring us to how after centuries of His promise to give the descendants of Abraham their own land, He would go ahead to fulfil His word. He finally honoured His covenant in the days of Joshua. It should gladden the hearts of the followers of the Lord that we serve a God who is not oblivious of His plans for those who trust Him.
In today’s era of liberal philosophy madly driven by globalisation and the heavy gale of information technology, the true lover of the Bible focused on making heaven is cautioned to stick to the promises of the Lord concerning the Church in the last days. Even if fulfilment of the Lord’s promises seems to linger, His counsel is still, “I will…perform it”.
Thought for the day
Often, when God wants to bless us beyond our expectation, He makes us wait.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
8 comments
Thanks so much for today’s devotional. God bless you richly.
I have a question from Lev. 23 which was where I read in my Bible reading this morning. God was instructing Moses on all the festivals the children of Israel must keep for him to be their God. One of such is the festival of grains, that is, the first set of grains they’d harvest must be presented to the priest, then subsequent ones will be for them. This is what many denominations practice as first fruit. My question is: do we practice it in dclm (I may not have heard any message on that) and if we do who do we give it to(because Moses was instructed by God that such gifts/offering should be given to the priest).
Thank you🙏
A blessed morning to you in Jesus name.
Based on your question on first fruiting, I want to bring to your notice that Jesus said He came to fulfill the law and not to destroy it. At the same time, He also came to stop “traditions” that redirected man’s focus from the real spiritual service to God, which should be in spirit and in truth.
Therefore, such commandments as first fruiting is not completely abolished but redirected to its spiritual implication. Giving is important, but before giving our resources, we must first give our heart to God by surrendering totally to His will in “everything”, which is our first fruit – our hearts. Thereafter, our resources will be acceptable.
For more understanding, read 2Corinthians 8:1-15
Thanks so much for today’s devotional. God bless you richly.
I have a question from Lev. 23 which was where I read in my Bible reading this morning. God was instructing Moses on all the festivals the children of Israel must keep for him to be their God. One of such is the festival of grains, that is, the first set of grains they’d harvest must be presented to the priest, then subsequent ones will be for them. This is what many denominations practice as first fruit. My question is: do we practice it in dclm (I may not have heard any message on that) and if we do who do we give it to(because Moses was instructed by God that such gifts/offering should be given to the priest).
Thank you🙏
A blessed morning to you in Jesus name.
Based on your question on first fruiting, I want to bring to your notice that Jesus said He came to fulfill the law and not to destroy it. At the same time, He also came to stop “traditions” that redirected man’s focus from the real spiritual service to God, which should be in spirit and in truth.
Therefore, such commandments as first fruiting is not completely abolished but redirected to its spiritual implication. Giving is important, but before giving our resources, we must first give our heart to God by surrendering totally to His will in “everything”, which is our first fruit – our hearts. Thereafter, our resources will be acceptable.
For more understanding, read 2Corinthians 8:1-15
No we don’t practise any FIRST Fruit. Yes such gift was giving to the priest.
Psalm 23 say: the Lord is your strength i shall not want it make to lay down in sea passion.
I go to deeper life in lagos
very inpacking life
This word is timely God bless you papa GO
Amen and amen