Today's passage is spent dividing up the land amongst the tribes of Israel. And smack dab in the middle of the account is the continuing story of Caleb.
What an incredible man of faith he was! The first time the Israelites were set to enter the promised land he was one of the spies sent out to spy on Canaan. And he saw Hebron, the city of the Anakites. But he saw them through eyes of faith in God's promises.
From this sermon....
But in the midst of this fear and unbelief two men stood firm in faith and hope -- Caleb and Joshua. When the 10 spies were sharing their tale of terror, the scripture reports, "Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, 'We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it" (13:30). The next day, too, Caleb and Joshua try to sway the gathered Israelite crowds with their faith:
"The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them'" (14:7-9).
Notice the positive attitude. Notice the explicit mention of the LORD in their words. The 10 spies don't even mention the LORD, only what they have seen that terrifies them. Joshua and Caleb have seen the same giants and the same heavily fortified cities, but they are looking through lenses of faith. They see the LORD enabling them to conquer these people.
But that day fear prevailed. Without a people united in faith behind Moses, any enterprise would be doomed to failure. The unbelief which had spread throughout the camp resulted in disunity and rebellion -- as fear and unbelief always do. The LORD was angry with the people and vowed that none of their generation would enter the Promised Land, only Caleb and Joshua. (emphasis mine)
Will we be like the vast majority of the people of Israel and allow fear to cheat us out of God's promises? Or will be like Joshua and Caleb, looking at our problems and trials through lenses of faith?
A great passage for me personally right now, with my nephew lying at the brink of death in ICU. It's so easy to allow the fear to take root. And though we have no guarantee of healing, we choose to look through eyes of faith to the One who, if He can stop the sun, He can heal Baret's brain.
And so Caleb comes to Joshua to claim his inheritance - and on the surface, it sounds like he's bragging a bit. But if you look closely you'll see that he's not bragging about himself, he's bragging on his God! "The Lord promised.... the Lord promised.... the Lord is helping me" (see 14:10-12)
Here is a man who has learned to trust in the promises of God and stake his whole future on them. He knows what it is like to have the LORD help him, and he is trusting that the LORD will continue to do so. This is exultant, powerful faith prior to the event. It sounds like bragging, but it is faith bragging on the power of God to keep his promises. I like that kind of faith!
And so Caleb receives as his inheritance the city of Hebron (and the hill country around it) - the exact same city that struck fear into the hearts of the Israelites. The city filled with the famous giants Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. They were named specifically and were obviously legendary. But they were no match for Caleb's God and he knew it! I LOVE it that he received that very city as his inheritance!
And he passed on a legacy of faith - his younger brother (who became his son-in-law) and his daughter both lived faith-filled lives - likely inspired by watching this hero of the faith as he lived out his faith consistently day after day, year after year.
Our NT passage contains two of the most famous stories - the Good Samaritan and the story of Mary and Martha.
The Mary & Martha story shows us though, that it's not just about deeds. We can get carried away with our acts of service so much that we miss the mark. The deeds themselves are not necessarily wrong - but sometimes we focus too much on our service for Jesus, that we miss out on Jesus Himself.
Tomorrow's passage: Joshua 16-18, Luke 11:1-28
3 comments:
Love is doing the right thing even when it's not convenient - so true! Thanks Tammy!
Great post, Tammy. I particularly loved the part about Caleb where it says "The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God WHOLEHEARTEDLY." And then in Luke we have the "expert in the law" asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life... and the answer? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"... in other words, wholeheartedly.
I don't remember ever hearing the 2nd half of Caleb's story until last year, but what a story!
Great post. I think it is amazingly perfect that Caleb got such a perfect inheritance. The Mary and Martha story hit home for me because I know that I am like Martha-busy with being busy- and often too preoccupied to see what is really important.
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