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Scripture: Nehemiah
9:15
15 “You
provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger,
You
brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst,
And
You told them to enter in order to possess
The
land which You swore to give them.
A. The Promise
“The land which You
swore to give them.”
1. It was a
Covenant Promise
“The land which You
swore to give them.”
vs. 15
Genesis
12:18 . “On that day the LORD
made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“To your descendants I
have given this land,
. . .”
2. It is a Unilateral Promise
Genesis
15:7-11, 17, 18; 7 “I am the LORD who
brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess
it.” 8He said, “O Lord GOD,
how may I know that I will possess it?” 9So He said to him,
“Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and
a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10Then he brought all these
to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he
did not cut the birds. 11The birds of prey came
down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 17It came about when the sun
had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there
appeared a smoking oven and a
flaming torch which passed between these pieces. 18On that day the LORD made
a covenant with Abram, saying,
“To your descendants I
have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as
far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
. . .”
The Bible Knowledge Commentary says of these verses;
“Thus the holy God was zealous to judge the nations and to fulfill His
covenantal promises to Israel. He came down and made (lit, “cut”) a formal
treaty (a
covenant) with
Abram (the Abrahamic Covenant).
Since God could “swear” (confirm the covenant) by none greater, “He
swore by Himself.” In other
words this was a unilateral covenant. So its promises are absolutely
sure.” See Hebrews
6:13.
“For when God made the
promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by
Himself,”
B. The Proviso
“And You told them to
enter in . . .”
What God
Promises He Provides
Joshua
1:5– 8; 5“No man will be able
to stand before you all the
days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I
will not fail you or forsake you. 6“Be strong and
courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I
swore to their fathers to give them. 7“Only be strong and very
courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My
servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so
that you may have success wherever you go. 8“This book of the law
shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written
in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have
success.”
Most did
not enter into the promised land including Moses.
It was due to unbelief. Isn’t
that predictable? Romans
3:23 sums it
up like this; “for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God,”
C. The
Possession
“. . . to possess
the land . . .”
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