Joshua 14
McGeeCHAPTER 14THEME: Caleb given HebronThe nine tribes and the half tribe are to have their inheritance by lot. Caleb, by privilege, obtains Hebron. Caleb, who was born a slave, was a spy with Joshua and brought back a favorable report the first time Israel came to Kadesh-barnea. According to Jos_14:11 Caleb had found the fountain of youth. He had: (1) Faith to forget the past; (2) Faith to face facts; and (3) Faith to face the future.
Joshua 14:1
As you will see by the map, all the way from Dan to Beersheba the land is divided into tribes. Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh are on the east bank of the Jordan River. Then starting in the south and going north we have the tribes of Simeon, Judah, Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Asher, and Dan.
Joshua 14:5
Caleb was a man who “wholly followed the LORD.” If you want a recipe for a long life and a good life, here it is.
Joshua 14:10
Caleb is now eighty-five years old, and yet he can say that he is as strong as the day Moses sent him into Canaan as a spy! During the wilderness journey all of the first generation that came out of Egypt died except Caleb and Joshua. These men, along with ten other spies, brought back reports concerning the land of Canaan. The question was, “Could Israel conquer the land?” Joshua and Caleb were certain that with God’s help Israel would be victorious in taking the land. The other ten spies saw giants in the land and wanted to return to Egypt. They wanted to go back to slavery, brickyards, the lash of the taskmasters, chains, shackles, and groaning under burdens.
The Lord Jesus said, “…No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luk_9:62). God had called Israel to go into the land of Canaan, and Caleb believed it could be done. During those forty years I suppose that often someone would say to Caleb, “Oh, brother Caleb, isn’t it terrible out here in this wilderness! It is so hotit’s 118°today!” Caleb would say, “I really hadn’t noticed. I guess it is pretty warm, but I was thinking about those grapes of Eschol that I saw. And I was thinking about the city of Hebron. Our father Abraham liked that place, and I like it. That’s where I am going.” Caleb, even in the wilderness, could think of the future.
He had a great hope. It kept him young. Those forty years in the wilderness killed off the rest of the crowd, but they didn’t do a thing to him but make him healthy. They grew old, and he grew young. The giants in the Promised Land made the others tremblethey thought of themselves as grasshoppers. But Caleb thought of God.
There was freedom from fear in the heart of this man. As Martin Luther said, “One with God is a majority.” God was bigger than the giants. Caleb reminds me of Adoniram Judson, the missionary who spent twelve years in Burma without a convert. The board that sent him out didn’t sense the situation nor what a tremendous missionary they had in Judson; so they wrote him a very diplomatic letter, suggesting that he should come home. They asked him what the prospects in Burma were for the future. His reply was, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” His confidence in God was the reason he could stay in the wilderness of Burma all those years. Although he suffered a great deal and it took a long time for revival to break out, it finally did. His time was well spent. Are you enjoying all the spiritual blessings that God has for you today? You say, “I have lots of trouble.” I know that Christians have many troubles in the course of their lives. My heart goes out to them. But I always think of the testimony of a Negro man who said his favorite Bible verse was, “It came to pass.” When puzzled people asked him what he meant by that, he replied, “When I get into trouble and problems pile up, I turn to my verse and know my troubles have not come to stay; they have come to pass.” There are a lot of things you can complain about, friend, and I do my share also, but what about your hope? What about the future? Caleb for forty years in that wilderness was enjoying all the spiritual blessings that were his. Because Caleb believed God and was a man of faith, he said:
Joshua 14:12
You will recall in Genesis that Abraham went to Hebron which means “communion.” It was a place of fellowship. Caleb had fellowship with God and now he wants to reside at Hebron.
Joshua 14:13
Friend, someday we will be rewarded. We will not be rewarded according to the great amount of work done for God, nor according to our prominence and popularity. The important thing will bedid you wholly follow the Lord? Oh, that God’s people would learn today that the most important thing in this life is to wholly follow the Lord! Caleb, man of God that he was, took Hebron. There were giants there, but he said, “That’s the place I want. That’s the very best spot!” Oh, that you and I might press toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.