GOD HELPS HIS PEOPLE TO THE PROMISED LAND
GOD helps the people of Old and New Testaments who trust him get to the land he promised them, despite the many problems they face. (Genesis 12:1-2; Psalm 34:19).
Psalms 34:19 says, “The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.” Peter 4:12-13 says, ”Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
GOD FREES HIS PEOPLE FROM BONDAGE:
IN THE OT. The Lord God used plagues to persuade Pharaoh to frees his people, Israel, from bondage in Egypt (Exodus 12:31-32). When the regretful Egyptians pursued after them, God miraculously parting the Red Sea for them to escape. But God closed the Sea to destroy their pursuers (Exodus 14:23-31).
IN THE NT. God sets his people free from sin: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). “For The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
GOD PROVIDES FOR HIS PEOPLE IN DIRE SITUATIONS:
IN THE OT. When the people of Israel cried to the Lord for lack of food, he sent quail in the evening that covered their camp. And in the morning he caused thin flakes like frost to appear on the desert floor. Moses told them, It is the meat and bread the Lord has given you to eat (Exodus 11-15). When the people felt they were dying of thirst, the Lord told Moses to strike a rock. When he struck the rock, water came out for the people to drink (Exodus 17:1-7).
While the people of Israel were lost in the wilderness, “the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night” (Exodus 13:31).
After Israel had wandered in the desert for 40 years, the Lord reminded them: “For forty years I led you in the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out” (Deuteronomy 29:5).
IN THE NT. God assures his people: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus Christ is the same “Spiritual rock” which followed and took care of God’s people in the OT (1 Corinthians 10:4).
Jesus said he is “the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:32-33). And he said, 38Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” c 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him [would] receive” (John 7:38-38]. “God will supply all your needs [spiritual and physical} according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
God tells his people: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthews 6:33). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall [a]direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). The Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
GOD HELP HIS PEOPLE OVERCOME POWERFUL ENEMIES:
IN THE OT. Moses sent out spies to the land of Canaan which God promised the people of Israel. Some spies, who did not believe God, came back saying, “we are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” But Caleb, a spy who believed God. said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”(Numbers 13:30-33). With God’s help, Israel took the land God promised them
After the death of the Lord’s servant Moses, the Lord said to Moses’ helper, Joshua the son of Nun, 2 “My servant Moses is dead. So you and all these people get up and cross the Jordan River to the land I am giving to the people of Israel” (Joshua 1:1-2)
IN THE NT. The Lord informs his people: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” And the Lord instruct his people to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground….” (Ephesians 6:12-19).
Jesus triumphed over the powers and authorities of the devil by dying on the cross for the sins of whoever truly believes in the Lord (Colossians 2:15; Romans 5:8). But the devil continues to pursue God’s people like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) for he knows that in the past he “has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 26). However, the Lord has given his people who have a hearts’ desire to obey him, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to keep them (John 14:15-17). For greater is the Spirit that is in them that the devil who is ruler of people of this world (1 John 4:4).
The Holy Spirit inspires God’s people to live by every word of God (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). And the indwelling Spirit empowers and enables them to love and obey him as he has love them (John 14:15-17; John 15:13).
THE LORD WILL TAKE ALL HIS PEOPLE TO HEAVEN TOGETHER: “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [d]asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18Therefore comfort one another with these words” (! Thessalonians 4:13-18: Hebrews 11:39-40).
