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It is all too easy for us to lose sight of the grace, mercy and goodness God extends to us each and every day of our lives. We can so easily develop a mindset of entitlement. We can begin to think we deserve every good thing we have, as well as every good thing we don’t have. We can act as if God’s role is to serve us, instead of the other way around. We can easily forget that every good and perfect gift comes from Him.(1)

One day, seventy years after God led the Israelites out of Egypt, their leader, Joshua, assembled them for what would be his last time.(2) He reminded them that seventy years earlier they had been the property of their Egyptian masters. They had possessed very little, if anything, that they could call their own. They had taken their direction from the Egyptian pharaoh, his government and their masters. Egypt had been built, fed and maintained through the strain of their backs and the sweat of their brow. The only act of service they were not permitted to perform was to serve in the Egyptian army, for fear by their masters that armed Israelites would turn against them.

Their worth was judged by their masters based upon the crops they harvested, the bricks they made, the edifices they built, and the roads they constructed. Their Egyptian masters had no recollection of Joseph or the contribution his leadership had made to their success as a nation. All they knew about the Israelites was that they were property to be owned and labor to be expended.

Some of the leaders that Joshua was speaking to on this day – those over seventy years of age – had been young children in Egypt. Some of the very oldest would have been teenagers when they left Egypt. They had some faint recollection of those days. Those who were older than their mid-seventies would have remembered the day of the great exodus – the excitement, the activity, the sense of relief – the chains and shackles of slavery having finally been cast off.

Those over thirty years of age but under seventy, had no recollection of Egypt whatsoever. They had been born in the wilderness. Their earliest memories were as a nomadic people – living in portable tents, moving from place to place, eating manna and meats, fruits and vegetables that they were able to bring on the journey with them or forage along the way. They had no concept of “home” in those early years; they were continually on the move. They had heard from as early of an age as they could recall, about a Promised Land – a place where they were going – that would one day be their home. But for most, throughout all those years of wandering, the Promised Land had seemed like an elusive dream.

Those over their mid-thirties remembered that great day when they finally walked across the dry riverbed of the Jordan River and stepped foot – for the first time – on the land that God had given them – the Promised Land. And they remembered that feeling – “we are finally home!” They acutely remembered the battles with the thirty-three kings of Canaan over those first seven years, as they took possession of the land that God had given them for their home. They remembered even those from among them who had been killed in those battles.

Those gathered before Joshua who were under thirty years of age had been born in the Promised Land. They had no recollection of Egypt, or the wilderness. They had always been at home there in the Promised Land. They didn’t really know what it meant to be a slave. They had never tasted manna. They had heard about the great miracles of God – the plaques in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the water gushing forth from rock, the stopping of the waters of the Jordan, the collapse of the walls at Jericho – and even, the sun standing still over Gibeon. But they had only heard about them; they had not witnessed them first hand.

And now Joshua had assembled all the tribes at Shechem – near his home in the hill country of Ephraim. This would be his last time to assemble them and speak to them as their leader. He wanted to remind them of the faithfulness of their Lord God Jehovah – specifically, in three ways.

1. He reminded them of the victories in battle which God had given them which they had not earned. The victories had not been the result of great military strategy and planning. Joshua could bear witness firsthand on that account. No matter how good of a military strategist or leader he was – the victories had nothing to do with it. It was not their swords, or their bows, or even their strength and fighting ability. Yes, they had fought hard. They had fought valiantly. They had been relentless in pursuit and efficient in their execution. But none of that is what had won the day! It was the sovereign and mighty hand of the Almighty God. None of their effort would have mattered one iota, if God had not gone before them. They could take no pride in their victories – only thanksgiving! Because the victories were not the result of their efforts; they were from the hand of the Almighty God. The victories were not earned; they were granted by God. They were not achieved by strength; they were received through the grace of God. They, who had never been permitted to defend themselves in Egypt, had been victorious in Canaan by the grace and strength of Jehovah God.

2. They were living in towns – those they now called home – which they had not built. A people who as slaves had nothing, now had been given homes that were already built and furnished for them. They did not work for their homes or their towns. Their hands had not built them. God had prepared them through others, and now had freely given them to His people.

3. They were eating from vineyards and groves in which they did not plant. God sustained them through their Egyptian taskmasters, cared for them throughout the wilderness, and now provided for them through plantings which they now called their own – even though they had never planted them. They were feeding from the fruit that others had planted – all in God’s sovereignty – and all by His grace.

“So fear the LORD and serve Him wholeheartedly!”(3) Joshua declared to them.

Just like the Israelites, we too are slaves and wanderers. We have been slaves to our sin, wandering in our disobedience. And it is only by God’s grace that He extended to us the promise of eternal life through His Son. He alone has given us victory over sin and death. No matter how hard we try, we can’t accomplish it on our own. He alone has prepared a place for us – a place that is our home with Him. And as the Giver of Life – it is a place where He will sustain us. Yes, that victory and that “town” and those “vineyards and groves” are with Him in eternity – but they are also in the here and now.

All that we currently have is from Him – victory over sin, the victorious life that is ours to live, the towns and homes in which He has placed us to be salt and light, and the vineyards and groves on which He produces fruit that sustains and fruit that multiplies through us.

We, too, are living in “towns” we did not build… because the Master has placed us here out of His goodness and grace. As the songwriters wrote (see below), all that we have is from Him, including the very breath in our lungs. He has held us in His hands for all of our days.

Let us tell of His wonderful goodness. Let us lift our voices and hearts to Him. And may He find us faithful with all that He has entrusted to us… and may we serve Him wholeheartedly!

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You can read the text of what Joshua said to the people in the Book of Joshua, chapter 24, verses 1 – 14.

Also, i have excerpted portions of this post from chapter 38 of my book, Possessing the Promise. For more information about the book, click here.

(1) James 1:17

(2) Joshua 24:1-14

(3) Joshua 24:14 (NLT)

Photo by Bas van den Eijkhof on Lightstock

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Goodness of God

I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I've been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

And all my life, You have been faithful
And all my life, You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In the darkest night
You are close like no other
I've known You as a Father
I've known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God (yeah)

And all my life You have been faithful (oh)
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God (yeah)

'Cause Your goodness is running after
It's running after me
Your goodness is running after
It's running after me
With my life laid down
I'm surrendered now
I give You everything
'Cause Your goodness is running after
It's running after me (oh-oh)

(Repeat 1x)

And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God
(I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna sing)

'Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God
Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God

Songwriters: Jason Ingram / Brian Johnson / Ed Cash / Ben Fielding / Jenn Johnson

Shout! Music Publishing Australia

Goodness of God (Official Lyric Video) – Bethel Music & Jenn Johnson

The Goodness of God

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