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PROMISES. After God caused Jericho's walls to fall down and then used Joshua and Israel to defeat the city, Joshua prophesied, 'Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates' (Josh. 6:26). What's interesting, though, is that 500 years later, an obscure verse appears in 1 Kings 16:34—'In his (Ahab's) days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram, his firstborn, and with his youngest son, Segub, he set up its gates according to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua, the son of Nun.' It appears God judged Hiel, the one who dared to rebuild Jericho, by killing both of his sons. The point is obvious— God keeps His promises. Always. And God wants us to know that He keeps His promises—no matter how obscure. In fact, God is so protective of His Word and promises, that He says, 'the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak…that prophet shall die' (Deut. 18:20). If God committed Himself to keep such an obscure, seemingly insignificant promise, what does that say about His eternally significant promises? Jesus promised, 'All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out' (John 6:37). In John 6:47, Jesus promised, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.' And in John 14:3, Jesus promised, 'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself.' Even Peter understood that God keeps His promises, saying, 'according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells' (2 Pet. 3:13). And John stated, 'And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life' (1 John 2:25). We might not always keep our promises, but God always keeps
