“G OD WILL NEVER leave you. God will never forsake you.” This is a popular saying in the Old Testament. Let’s look at some examples in the order they are found.
From Deuteronomy (31:5–8): Moses is an old man. For 40 years he has led the people — led them from slavery, across the desert, through faithful and faithless times, to the edge of the Promised Land. But life is coming to an end. He has trouble walking. He will not travel with them across the Jordan River. A new leader must be named.
Moses speaks “to all of Israel”: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of [the people living in the Promised Land], for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Moses then turns to Joshua, the newly appointed leader of Israel and promises to — I suspect — a frightened Joshua. Who wants to be the leader to follow Moses? Who wants to be responsible for safely getting all these people over the river and settled into a new homeland? Moses affirms to Joshua what he spoke earlier to all the gathered, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
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I GUESS GOD WANTS to make sure Joshua is confident, strong, courageous in his new role as successor to Moses. A short time later, God speaks to Joshua, “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous ….” (Joshua 1:5–6a)
One more from 1 Chronicles (28:20): Many years have passed. David the giant-slayer is king. He is getting old. He really wanted to build a temple — a place for the people of Israel to worship God — but was never able to do that. It is time to pass that dream to someone else. King David assembles all the residents of Jerusalem. David announces that his son, Solomon, will be the one to build the great temple in Jerusalem.
He says to Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.
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THEN WE HAVE our short reading from Hebrews. The author addresses people’s concerns about financial security. Keep your lives free from the love of money. Be content with what you have. For God has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In that statement, the historic promise and testimony is brought to their attention.
Just as God was with Joshua in frightening times; just as God was with Solomon in taking on a monumental task; just as God promised them — and fulfilled that promise — God promises you and us: “Do not be afraid. I will not leave you. I will not forsake you.”
His promise: “I will never leave you…”— not for any reason. Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life but the drudgery of it that makes us think God will forsake us. When there is no major difficulty to overcome, no vision from God, nothing wonderful or beautiful — just the everyday activities of life. When routine rules the day. When the ordinariness of life seems to put us in a rut. Do you hear God’s assurance then?
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WHEN WE HAVE God’s assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, to glorify God even in the ordinary days and ways of life.
“I will never … forsake you.” Forsake means to abandon, desert, disown, forget or leave. It’s a repetition of the promise. A double oath. God will not abandon us because of our sin, our selfishness, our stubbornness, or our waywardness. God will never leave us because he’s too busy doing something else; because he’s lost interest; because he doesn’t care. Have you truly heard this assurance of God?
Listen again: “I will never leave you.”
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