As promised!

The Book of Numbers! What a ride! It began with God shaping and organizing Israel into a nation ready to conquer. Then the unthinkable happened! Israel rebelled on the eve of victory. The results? God turned that generation around and marched them to their death. Forty years of wandering in the wilderness! Now, at the close of this book, God has Israel on the eve of victory again! A new generation, same great promises, same holy and faithful God! It reminds me of Exodus 34:6-7.

The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:6–7, NLT)

What do we see amid a book full of ceremonial laws, lists, genealogies, travel records, censuses, and the blundering of a second generation? We see a God who keeps covenant, as promised! Spoiler alert! Israel crosses the Jordan River and takes possession of their inheritance!

To those of us who believe, rejoice! We have this same covenant-keeping God, but we have a better inheritance. Notice…

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. … So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. (1 Peter 1:3–6, NLT)

Just as we see God keeping his promises with Abraham and bringing Israel into their inheritance, God will keep His promises with us, as promised!

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