Fulfillment Centers

As soon as we click “purchase” online, it is immediately sent to be processed through a “fulfillment center.” The fulfillment center receives the order, searches their inventory for the product, obtains the product, packages the product to survive the postal system or their own system and then our product leaves the fulfillment center for transit to our home or place of business. 

And what do we do?  As soon as we place the order, we begin tracking our order!  We anxiously wait for our promised product to arrive as soon as possible!  We check the front porch often in case it arrived while we doing our tasks for the day—beginning with the second day after ordering!  Upon arrival, we expect our product to be exactly as advertised and exactly as we pictured it in our minds. If it is not; we are not happy. We are not a patient people, are we?  Admit it, we are as spoiled as an infants waiting on a bottle to put into our mouths in nanoseconds!  We know it’s coming but we whine and cry until it happens!

God gives us exactly what He promises, yet we still question His timing, His Son, His redemption for all our sins, and the guidance of His Holy Spirit.  This is a dangerous way to live as our Enemy preys on our venerable lack of faith.  God’s promises are true and trustworthy for God does not lie.  To combat our faith-lapses, we must do what the Psalmist did: “Be still”, let go of what we think we want, and wait.  And in the wait, get “to know God” who knows exactly what we need when we need it! (Psalm 46)

From Abraham to Moses to now Joshua; God’s promise of land for occupation was fulfilled. From Abraham’s call to “go” to Joshua’s call possess the promised land; the nation of Israel is established.  The stage is set for God’s Ultimate Promise to arrive.

Joshua 21

Towns for the Levites

Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel ² at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.” ³ So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

⁴ The first lot came out for the Kohathites, according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. ⁵The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.

⁶ The descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ The descendants of Merari, according to their clans, received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

⁸ So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

⁹ From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name ¹⁰ (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):

¹¹ They gave them Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) ¹² But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

¹³ So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Libnah, ¹⁴ Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵ Holon, Debir, ¹⁶ Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.

¹⁷ And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba, ¹⁸ Anathoth and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.

¹⁹ The total number of towns for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.

²⁰ The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:

²¹ In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer, ²² Kibzaim and Beth Horon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.

²³ Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon, ²⁴ Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.

²⁵ From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns.

²⁶ All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

²⁷ The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:

from the half-tribe of Manasseh,

Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Be Eshterah, together with their pasturelands—two towns;

²⁸ from the tribe of Issachar,

Kishion, Daberath, ²⁹ Jarmuth and En Gannim, together with their pasturelands—four towns;

³⁰ from the tribe of Asher,

Mishal, Abdon, ³¹ Helkath and Rehob, together with their pasturelands—four towns;

³² from the tribe of Naphtali,

Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns.

³³ The total number of towns of the Gershonite clans came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.

³⁴ The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:

from the tribe of Zebulun,

Jokneam, Kartah, ³⁵ Dimnah and Nahalal, together with their pasturelands—four towns;

³⁶ from the tribe of Reuben,

Bezer, Jahaz, ³⁷ Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands—four towns;

³⁸ from the tribe of Gad,

Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim, ³⁹ Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands—four towns in all.

⁴⁰ The total number of towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, came to twelve.

⁴¹ The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands. ⁴² Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.

⁴³ So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. ⁴⁴ The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. ⁴⁵ Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Waiting to experience the fulfillment of a promise from God often requires patience, persistence, and attention on God.  God provides for all the details of His promise.  We learn how important the details are as God’s Promise to the nation of Isarael which began with Abraham’s call to do what God says; “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) This began the fulfillment process of God’s gift of redemption for humanity! 

God’s Word, from Genesis to Revelation, teaches us these principles that govern the fulfillment of God’s promises. We must always remember that His promises …

• Are stated clearly. They are never hazy, shady, or uncertain.
• Come with guidance (Gen. 12:1, 6). God wants to be personally involved in every area of our life, because He knows we live in difficult circumstances. And God involves us personally in His promises!
• Require times of meditation to seek His direction (Genesis 7-8). As believers, we are constantly being shaped by the Lord. Recording what we learn can help us remember the lessons we’ve picked up along the way.  Newsflash:  We are not perfect, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” but we are perfectly forgiven by Jesus—and that’s a promise fulfilled!  Our messy mistakes are turned into great messages declaring the glory of God at work within us.

Jesus is God’s Promised Messiah proclaimed through God’s prophets who would fulfill all the promises of God!  Jesus stood in our place for our sins.  He took our sins on His shoulders and took the punishment we all deserve.  Jesus gave Himself, the one who knew no sin, and paid our debt of sin in full!  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 Our part in this fulfilled promise is to believe in Jesus and our God who sent Him with the promise of eternal life!  Our response to His promise is to “Go and teach” others of the fulfillment of all God’s promises in Jesus! (Matthew 28:20)

There will be times when we feel we must question God’s direction in the details, like many of His leaders did; but His Word teaches us that we live by promise and obedience, not by feelings or reason. Because some things will just not seem reasonable. God’s thoughts are higher than our human thoughts.  (Issaih 55:8)  To “follow our hearts” is dangerous living because “our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked!” (Jeremiah 17:9-10) Learn to follow the heart of God!  He never fails!

God may require something that might appear to be in opposition to what He’s promised (Gen. 22:1-2). Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac, the son through whom God’s promise was to be fulfilled. When we experience God’s faithfulness over time, we will trust Him even with things that seem extreme.  God’s promise may lead us to surrender something very dear to us (Gen. 22:3-5). Holding on to something God asks us to surrender won’t build our trust. It just delays the blessings of God—all that God wants to do in and through us!

Our faith filled obedience is key to God’s promise to complete His work in us!

Love God. Love Others.

Lord,

I am learning to pray with an expectant heart knowing that you want what is your best for us.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh and fill my soul of all that is you while removing all that is not of you. Restore the joy of your salvation at work within me to be more and more, in every way, like you.

In Jesus Name, Amen