Series: Dog Daze
Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV
Deuteronomy 31:8 MSG
Amos 9:14 ESV
2 Samuel 7:12-13 ESV
There are times when promises are soft promises, as in Mother telling you she will take you to your favorite drive-through (in 1956 that was Mugs Up). We learned early on that those promises were contingent on our behavior, her work-load, and a host of other things that could interfere.
We came to realize those were soft promises.
There are other promises that are not so soft. I learned if ‘me da’ told us not to play in the construction site next door or we would be punished, he meant what he said. While that was a hard lesson (because when an older child I thought I could trust told me it was okay to play there) I learned ‘me da’ had the final word and he was the only one who could change what was said.
Those were promises that had consequences if we broke the rules.
When I divorced after several decades of being married I didn’t fully understand what happened. All I knew is that the life I knew was gone. In an instant everything changed.
I don’t remember how I found it but Deuteronomy 31:8 became one of my ‘go to’ scriptures, “the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
I was very broken because everything in my life changed overnight. I had too many losses and too many changes.
I was very afraid.
So I repeated Deuteronomy 31:8 over and over again. I said it so many times that I shortened it to ‘God is with me. God will not leave me. Do not be afraid.
The Message says, “God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.”
Even today when I am afraid I repeat Deuteronomy 31:8.
I repeated it last night when I found out a friend of mine was being attacked (not physically but emotionally) by a group of women. I prayed that my friend would not be afraid because God was with her. I thanked God that He would not leave her. I asked God to help her so she would not be afraid.
The promise that God made in scripture is rock solid certain promise.
There are many rock solid certain promises found in scripture and in Amos 9:14 God promises Israel, “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.”
When God made that promise to Israel they were divided between the Northern state of Israel and the Southern state of Judah.
Amos the Prophet saw God’s hope and forgiveness.
He saw an end to the division of God’s people.
He saw the hope of Israel and Judah being reunited in their land.
He saw a secure people.
He saw prosperity.
He saw a kingdom that would come that would reunite the children of God.
Not only did Amos see prosperity he saw vineyards that produced good wine. Even today it takes many years before a vineyard will produce really good wine so the promise made represented a lasting promise. So basically, Amos saw stability for Israel.
Amos also saw gardens that continuously produced really good fruit. That fruit represented abundance and a solid promise of restoration. God was showing Amos the line of David that would restore everything.
The promise of prosperity was not a soft promise.
It was not a promise that required everything in the universe to maybe line up. God was showing Amos that everything would line up perfectly for Israel.
God was promising that the line of David would come. In 2 Samuel 7:12-13 we read, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
From the line of David God established a kingdom that will last forever. There were 14 Generations from Abraham to David, 14 Generations from David to the Exile in Babylon, and 14 Generations from the Exile to the birth of Jesus. So, according to that information from the line of David there were 28 Generations until the birth of the One who was promised.
The point is that God had a perfect plan and at the perfect time the Messiah was born.
The coming of the Messiah was not a soft promise. It was real. It was fulfilled. It was eternal.
Spiritual Practice: God’s Promise
What does God’s promise mean for your life?
In God, Deborah
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