A Fulfiller of Promises - Draw Close to God

JOSHUA  23:14

IS IT hard for you to trust others?  Sadly, we live in a world where trust is routinely destroyed.   If you were hurt by someone you believed in-perhaps because of lies or broken promises-your trust may have been shattered.  There is, however, someone you can trust without ever being disappointed.  "Trust in Jehovah with all your heart,"  (Proverbs 3:5) urges us.   Why is  Jehovah deserving of such trust?  To answer that, let us examine the words of Joshua-a man who put is complete trust in Jehovah-recorded at Joshua 23:14. 

Consider the setting.  Joshua, Moses' successor as leader of Israel, is approaching 110 years of age. During his long life, he has observed firsthand many of the almighty acts that Jehovah performed in behalf of Israel, including the miraculous deliverance through the Red Sea some 60  years earlier.  Now, a reflective Joshua  calls together Israel's "older men and its heads and its judges and it officers."  (Joshua 23:2)  The words he now speaks reveal not just a wisdom born of age but the meditations of a heart full of faith. 

"I am going today in the way of all the earth," explains Joshua. The phrase "the way of all the earth" is an idiom for death. Joshua is, in effect, saying, "I do not have much longer to live." Knowing that he is about to die, Joshua no doubt has spent many quiet hours  contemplating his life.  what parting words does he have for his fellow worshippers?

Joshua continues:  "Not one word out  of  all the good words Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed. They have all come true for you.  Not one of them has failed."  These are the words of a an who has full trust in God. The reason?  Looking back on all that he has seen,  Joshua has come to know that Jehovah fulfills his promises-always.  The implication is clear.  Joshua wants his fellow Israelites to have absolute faith that all of Jehovah's promises for their future will also come true. 

Next time:  Conclusion of A Fulfiller of Promises -Draw Close to God

From the jw.org publications