“I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”

—Joshua 24:13

A light breeze blew through our tent as my husband and I sat at my book table. We were at a Saturday market at a local church. The weather was lovely. It was cloudy enough to keep it from getting too hot while bright enough to keep the day from feeling dreary. It was around lunchtime, so the traffic had died down, and we had a few moments to ourselves.

My husband pulled out his phone and swiped through his apps until he found the app for our bank. Saturday is normally his pay-the-bills day, so he tapped the square to see if any bills needed his attention.

“Well, that’s not good.” His voice was low, and frustration simmered in his tone. The balance was much lower than either of us had anticipated. We’d been hit with some unexpected expenses as we prepared for our sweet baby to arrive this summer, and the impact was a bit bigger than we expected.

It wasn’t enough to cause serious problems. But it was enough to mean we would have to tighten our belts a good bit for the rest of the month. And it was a reminder of how challenging it’s been to figure out the financial side of having a baby. Childcare, diapers, furniture for the baby’s room, doctor visits. It’s been a lot to navigate. So reading the end of Joshua yesterday was exactly what I needed.

What Joshua 24:13 Teaches About God’s Faithfulness

In chapters 23 and 24, Joshua knows he’s at the end of his life. So he calls all of Israel together to deliver a message. And that message is this: “Don’t forget what God has done.” His language doesn’t just reference remembering something on a whim but includes intention. The people are to intentionally cling to the memory of what God has done. It’s another example in a long line of biblical remembrance that began in Exodus.

In the first half of chapter 24, God Himself reviews all that He has done for Israel. And He closes with today’s verse: “I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”

I was immediately struck by verse 13. Because of God, the homeless sojourners now had cities they didn’t have to build. Because of God, the hungry people who had complained about manna had plentiful food and wine that they didn’t have to plant. It’s an amazing picture of God’s provision.

I want to be careful here. I am not part of the nation of Israel, and I was not living in that land in the time of Joshua. It may be tempting to look at a verse like this and interpret it as being meant for my comfort in the sense that God will provide in a similar way for us in the future. But this verse wasn’t even a promise when it was written. Much less should we interpret it as a promise for us now.

Trusting God to Provide When You Can’t See the Way

Instead, we should view it in the same light that the original audience received it—a reminder. To me, as I sat under my carport yesterday and read this passage, it was still a comfort. But the comfort comes from this truth: I don’t have to see where the provision is going to come from. God will still provide.

Throughout the book of Joshua, Israel was constantly fighting battles that were only won because God was fighting with and for them, even if they couldn’t see His work. And then He brought them into the land and gave them a home that had already been established. That is so far beyond anything this generation, which was born while wandering in the wilderness, had ever known. But God wasn’t limited by what they had known.

Waiting on God’s Provision with Expectancy

That’s the comfort this passage has to offer anyone who is struggling to figure out how to pay the light bill this month or how much they’ll have to spend on gas to get back and forth to work this week. We can trust God when money is tight, and there is no limit to the ways that God can and will provide for His people.

It may be something big and grand, like cities we didn’t have to build. Or it may be small and subtle, like giving us the wisdom to find a way to scrape by. But He will provide, and I think we can find some joy in the difficult times if we lead our hearts to be expectant and embrace the adventure of waiting to see how He’ll choose to provide next.