When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered. Half the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their grants of land on the east side of the Jordan, for Moses, the servant of the Lord , had previously assigned this land to them.
Joshua 13:1, 8 NLT
I myself will drive these people out of the land ahead of the Israelites. So be sure to give this land to Israel as a special possession, just as I have commanded you.
Joshua 13:6 NLT
Having faith and being faithful are not the same, though they are linked. Having faith means that you believe that something will happen. Being faithful implies that you are dependable – people can rely on you and trust what you say.
God listed the land which had still not been captured and cleared for the Israelites, but he told Joshua to include it in the land that would be shared out to the tribes as if it had already been overcome. He said that he would clear the people out of these lands. It took faith on Joshua’s part to include these lands in the share-out.
But it took more than faith to see it actually happen. God said he would clear out the land ahead of the Israelites – they had to do their bit: to follow God. They had to be faithful and serve him. In the end, they weren’t and it took 400 years of struggles to get the land.
I can have all the faith in the world but unless I follow God when he goes ahead, I’m not going to see what I have faith for.
I need to have faith and be faithful at the same time.