God Is Faithful

Numbers 23
¹⁹ God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
²⁰ I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

²¹ "No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery observed in Israel. ^[1]
The LORD their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them.
²² God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
²³ There is no sorcery against Jacob,
no divination against Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'

Promises, promises.  People make them and then--too often--people break them.  Promises for time together.  Promises of fidelity, of enduring presence or love.  And in the wake of broken promises, disappointment and disbelief churn.

How are we to read the promises of the Bible? With an eye to the One who makes them.

God is faithful.  He keeps His promises.  Numbers 23: 19 tells us "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change His mind.  Does he speak and not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?"

People will break promises.  Rather than measuring the Word of God by the example of the fallen, measure it by the character of its Author.  It is impossible for God to lie.  He can be taken at His word because His perfect truthfulness stands behind it.