Based on Isaiah 11 (New King James Version)
“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. ‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. ‘And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.’ It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; together they shall plunder the people of the East; they shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; and the people of Ammon shall obey them. The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; with His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, and strike it in the seven streams, and make men cross over dry-shod. There will be a highway for the remnant of His people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.”
Promises can be incredible things; if they are kept. This is one of the things that makes this world a very difficult place to live in; too many broken promises. A lot of people do not keep their promises. This, of course, destroys trust in many people. And the difficult part is that each person on this planet needs to depend on promises (directly and indirectly), whether we want to or not. No matter how much people think they can be completely independent, you are still quite dependent on many people. I think the only way you could “try” to keep yourself from needing anyone is by living in some sort of cave (all by yourself) and growing/making your own food and clothing. And I think even then, there is still some sort of dependence on someone’s promise or promises.
Let’s assume you do decide to live your life as a hermit somewhere on the planet. You still depend on the promises made by other people so that you can live in that desolate place. For starters, there was a government that was established where they promised to keep a group of people safe, and have funded some sort of military power and body of law enforcement to help keep that promise of keeping its citizens safe (including you, if you choose to live there). That’s why taxes are not a bad thing (no matter how much people complain). Taxes pay for government functions; for military strength and protection; for citizen protection and services like police, fire department, etc. All of these were established and are there, full of people that have promised to do their job as best as possible to allow you the opportunity to live within their protection (assuming you are following their laws, of course). So, you would be benefitting and depending on all of those people that promised (or swore) to do their job which directly affects your daily life.
Having said that, we all need to make promises to many people around us. These promises revolve around employment, volunteer work, personal relationships, etc. One example where a promise is the supreme basis for the relationship to exist is marriage. It is the most intimate relationship any human being could have with another. And without one person promising the other person (and vice-versa) their love, care, respect, and loyalty, the relationship of marriage could not be possible. And when the promise is broken, a marriage falls apart.
Here is where it all should start coming together, and by continuing to use the example of marriage. The promise that is made as a part of marriage is unmerited. There is nothing that should force two people to get into or stay in such a deep relationship. It is a relationship founded on a promise made with free will. Nonetheless, a marriage can be broken when the promise is unfulfilled by one or both individuals. For example, neither person should take advantage of the promise of love made by the other. A marriage needs to be maintained daily, not as a chore, but as the love relationship that it is. That includes sharing the good times, and the bad times; when things are great, and when things are not great. It includes setting aside selfish desires, and putting the interests of the other person first. It can never be about what the other person “should” give me, or about expectations. Expectations is one of the things that kills most marriages today. Because love is about giving; not receiving. And a marriage should be about both people giving to each other; not about what I can or should get out of the other person. That’s wrong! We should not use people!
God makes many wonderful promises to us throughout His Word. However, and like marriage, a relationship with God should not be founded upon God fulfilling all of His promises, and we doing nothing. And what’s worse, taking advantage of His grace. Yes, it is all about God’s grace. But nonetheless, we are to learn to love God as a natural response to the great and unmerited goodness He has shown all mankind through His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah): the opportunity for eternal life. There are also many passages in the Scriptures that show conditional relationships to receiving the great things that God has for us. There is such a thing as abusing the grace of God; and God will judge evil. God is love, but He is also Holy. He is both! God does not break His promises to us; but we can cancel out His promises to us. Don’t try to use God!
So, are you living your life in a way that God will bestow on you all the wonderful promises He has in store for those that love and obey Him? Lord bless! John