God is Faithful to the Unfaithful

After reading Deuteronomy 31, I was impacted by how faithful God is. Moses relates to the Israelites what the Lord has told him. Moses told them how he was not going any further and that the Lord had appointed Joshua to take them from here. He describes how the Lord will go before them, destroy the nations and give them possession of the land. He tells them not to be afraid because God will never leave them or forsake them. This is a perfect picture of God’s faithfulness. Right?

God had made a covenant with His people and He was intent on keeping it. This seems fair. He made a promise. Have you ever made a promise to someone and you are happy to keep it? I know I have. Especially when they are so appreciative- at least, I’m anticipating how they will be appreciative.

However, God knows the future. He knows that the Israelites will enter the land, take possession and live in the land of milk and honey. He also knows that they will get fat, complacent and turn their hearts and minds towards other gods. God knew that they would be adulterous people and He still kept His promise and gave them the best of the best for that time. They lived in the land of plenty.

When I was a new believer I would read the stories of the Israelites and wonder what was wrong with them. How could they forget God who had delivered them from slavery and brought them into prosperity? As I continue on in my journey I realized how easy it is. Often we are the same. Living in our lands of milk and honey while worshiping other gods. They may not be carved images. John Calvin said that “our hearts are idol factories”. We can make idols out of anything God gave us. We worship marriages, children, our careers and/or our material wealth, among other things.

Have you ever made a promise to someone, were happy to keep it and the other person treated it like nothing. They did not even consider you and what you have done for them? How did you respond? Were you angry? Bitter? Resentful? More often than not, we are the ones who take what God gives us for granted. We forget the God who supplies all our needs. God knew ahead of time that the Israelites would forget Him and worship other gods, yet He continued to keep His covenant with them. We are no different. We don’t keep our end of the bargain. He knows we couldn’t if we tried and still He is faithful in keeping His promises. What a faithful God we have!