Old Testament Promises & What Should Do with Them
Some time ago my wife and I visited a church we’d never been to before and heard a message about Old Testament promises, specifically from one paragraph in Joshua 1. Take particular note of the promises because the preacher did: 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 good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (v. 8) A stirring passage. And the preacher, who was a gifted speaker, skillfully weaved its themes into a unified sermon. We profited from it. We love to hear God’s word preached with care and feeling. But there was one implicit rhetorical move underlying the entire message that I felt uncomfortable with, and it was explicitly stated at the end when the preacher sa