Just as They Had Been Told - Word Foundations

Psalm 119:160, which is addressed to God Himself, declares: “The entirety of Your word is truth.” The shepherds who were “staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock” on the night of Jesus’ birth would experience this reality firsthand. A heavenly messenger told them the good news of Jesus’ birth and even described the child in specific terms: “You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough” (Luke 2:12). This little boy was the “Savior, who is Messiah the Lord,…born for you in the city of David” (v. 11). The shepherds wasted no time in going to Bethlehem to see the child themselves. Afterward, they “returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told” (v. 20, emphasis added). We see this kind of validation of God’s words in many places in Scripture. Consider the following passages.

Exodus 8:15 states, “But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said” (see also 7:13,22; 8:19; 9:35). See Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 14:4,17 for God’s declarations that He would harden the hearts of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
In Joshua 1:3-5 God said to Joshua, “I have given you every place where the soul of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you.” See Deuteronomy 11:24-25 for God’s promise to Moses.
In Joshua 14:10, Caleb, now 85, declared, “As you see, the LORD has kept me alive these 45 years, as He promised, since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness.” See Numbers 14:30; 26:65; 32:10-12 for God’s promise.
In Matthew 28:6, an angel at Jesus’ tomb told the women who had come to pay their respects to Jesus, “He is not here! For he has been resurrected, just as He said.” See Matthew 16:21 (also Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22); Matthew 17:9 (also Mark 9:9); Matthew 17:22-23 (also Mark 9:30-31); Matthew 20:17-19 (also Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-33) for Jesus’ declarations that He would rise from the dead.
After Jesus’ resurrection, an angel told the women who were visiting Jesus’ tomb that Jesus had risen. He also commanded them, “Go! Tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there just as He told you’” (Mark 16:7; see also Luke 24:5-8). For Jesus’ promise to meet them in Galilee, see Mark 14:28.
Romans 4:18 indicates that despite the impossibility of all God had promised Abraham, Abraham “believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: ‘So will your descendants be.’” See Genesis 15:5 for God’s promise.
Revelation 10:7 declares that “God’s hidden plan will be completed, as He announced to His servants the prophets.” The prophecies involved are too numerous to mention specifically here, but suffice it to say that all of them will be fulfilled, just as God has said.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.