Caleb

The Gift of the Land.

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1 The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. 2 And their south boundary ran from the end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. 3 It goes out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, 4 passes along to Azmon, goes out by the Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary. 5 And the east boundary is the Salt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. 6 And the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah and passes along north of Beth-arabah. And the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 7 And the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. And the boundary passes along to the waters of En-shemesh and ends at En-rogel. 8 Then the boundary goes up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem). And the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. 9 Then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary bends around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). 10 And the boundary circles west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and goes down to Beth-shemesh and passes along by Timnah. 11 The boundary goes out to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends around to Shikkeron and passes along to Mount Baalah and goes out to Jabneel. Then the boundary comes to an end at the sea. 12 And the west boundary was the Great Sea with its coastline. This is the boundary around the people of Judah according to their clans.

13 According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the people of Judah, Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). 14 And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. 15 And he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir. Now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. 16 And Caleb said, “Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.” 17 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 18 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 19 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. – Joshua 15:1-19 ESV

judahJudah was the largest of the 12 tribes and this may have been the reason its territory within the promised land was the first to be determined. As chapter 14 revealed, Caleb, a member of the tribe of Judah, was given the city of Hebron in recognition for his faithful service to and faith in God. He and Joshua had been the only two of the twelve spies who had believed that God could deliver the land to the people of Israel in spite of the presence of powerful enemies. The city of Hebron was located within the boundaries of what would be the tribe of Judah’s inheritance.

We are not told how the boundaries of the lands awarded to the various tribes was determined. But the passage provides detailed information regarding the specific geographic markers that would form the boundaries of Judah’s territory. The Dead Sea would form Judah’s eastern border. Verses 5-11 establish Judah’s northern boundary, with very specific details concerning where its territory begins and ends. This was important, because it would prevent future debates or disagreements from taking place between the tribes over their allotments and the cities found within them. The Mediterranean Sea would represent Judah’s western border.

Within these vast boundaries, the clans of Judah would be expected to complete the task of conquering and eliminating any and all of the current inhabitants. They were to capture the cities and make them their own. And Caleb, who had been awarded the city of Hebron, did his part.

And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. – Joshua 15:14 ESV

But Caleb didn’t stop there. He also attacked Debir and offered a special prize – the hand of his daughter in marriage – to anyone who captured the city. His own brother, Othniel, was the one who ended up garnering the reward. And Othniel would go on to become one of the judges of Israel (Judges 3:9). These two men appear to be highlighted in this passage because they provide examples of faithfulness and obedience to the will of God. They did what God had commanded all the people of Israel to do. They finished what the forces of Israel had begun, continuing the process of spiritual and moral cleansing of the land. The Canaanites were far from eradicated and it was going to take every single tribe and every member of those tribes to faithfully obey God and trust Him for the strength they would need to continue to possess the land by dispossessing its inhabitants.

Even Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, recognized that this land was a symbol of God’s promise made to Abraham, and she wanted her own part of it. While she had been given to Othniel as little more than a prize, she was not willing to go unrewarded herself. So, she requested that her father give her a portion of the land in the form of a spring.

“Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” – Joshua 15:19 ESV).

And Caleb honored her request. The land and everything in it was of great value to the people of Israel. It represented their inheritance. Property would become a primary sign of wealth and affluence among the people of Israel. But the land given to the tribes by God was to remain within their clans. It was not theirs to sell or trade. God had made it clear that they were little more than stewards of the land, because it belonged to Him.

“The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.” – Leviticus 25:23 ESV

Actually, God had provided a provision by which the land could be sold, but He had placed very stringent restrictions and conditions on such sales.

25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, 27 let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. 28 But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.” – Leviticus 25:25-28 ESV

God had established what was known as The Year of Jubilee. Every 50 years, the land would be restored to its original owners. This was God’s plan for maintaining the original boundaries established between the tribes.

8 “You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.” – Leviticus 25:8-12 ESV

God knew His people well. He realized that they would be prone to take what He had given them and use it to prosper themselves. They would take what was rightfully His and attempt to profit from it in ways He never intended. The land was a gift from God, intended to provide for the people of God. It was not to be a bartering chip used to line their own pockets or to pay off debts. So, every 50 years, God required the mandatory release of any and all liens, deeds of ownership, and records of sale. The land returned to its original owners and was kept within the allotment as prescribed by God.

And God assured the people of Israel that obedience to His laws concerning the land would bring with it a blessing. They were to faithfully adhere to His commands and, in doing so, He would faithfully ensure their future prosperity and peace.

17 You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God. 18 “Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. 19 The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely.” – Leviticus 25:17-19 ESV

The land was a symbol of God’s love and covenant faithfulness. It was through the land that God intended to bless His people, using it to provide for all their physical needs. The land would be their source of food, water, shelter, protection and identity. But they were not to worship the land. They were never supposed to place a higher priority and value on the land than they did on God. The gift was never to take precedence over the Giver.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)  Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

He Wholly Followed the Lord.

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1 These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit. 2 Their inheritance was by lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. 3 For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. 4 For the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance. 5 The people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land.

6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”

13 Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war. – Joshua 14:1-15 ESV

JudahMapThe tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had received their land on the eastern side of the Jordan, just as they had requested. Now, it was time to divide up the land that had been promised by God to Abraham. And God had provided Moses with a very precise plan to follow, which Moses had then passed on to Joshua. This was not going to be a free-for-all, where each tribe asserted itself and grabbed whatever land it wanted. God had dictated a very specific methodology for determining the dividing up of the land of Canaan between the tribes of Israel. There were now nine-and-a-half tribes left and the entire land of Canaan to parcel out and it was important that each received what God had ordained.

52 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 53 “Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. 54 To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. 55 But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. 56 Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.” – Numbers 26:52-56 ESV

God had commanded Moses to utilize the casting of lots to determine the exact location and size of each tribe’s allotment. The casting of lots was a common practice among the people of God and is mentioned some 70 times in the Old Testament. We are not exactly sure what the lots looked like or how they were used, and to our modern sensibilities, it would appear to be nothing short of a game of chance, like throwing dice. But the Jews had a different perspective. Yes, casting lots involved a degree of chance, but as the book of Proverbs makes clear, the sovereign will of God determined the outcome.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. – Proverbs 16:33 ESV

What might appear to us as nothing more than luck, was to the Hebrews a sign of God’s will. They believed that when the lots were cast, God was behind how they fell. They were a means of determining the will of God when it had not been made known. This means for determining the boundaries of each tribe’s inheritance provided a fair and reasonable outcome that prevented any show of favoritism on the part of Joshua. No one, but God, could know how the lots would fall. And the fact that all the tribes were willing to abide by the outcome determined by the lots, reveals that they firmly believed God was behind it all.

But before this process could be implemented, Joshua was approached by Caleb, a member of the tribe of Judah and one of the original 12 men who had spied out the land of Canaan 40 years earlier. Moses had sent Caleb and his 11 companions into the land in order to bring back a report concerning its natural resources and the military strength of its inhabitants.

17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, 18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” – Numbers 13:17-20 ESV

And when the 12 spies returned, they had brought good news and bad news. Yes, the land was abundant in fruit and rich in resources, but it was also filled with enemies who were too powerful for Israel to defeat. The spies painted a very bleak picture, causing the people of Israel to lose hope and to turn their backs on the promise of God.

32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” – Numbers 13:32-33 ESV

But Caleb had spoken up, presenting a very different outcome. He didn’t deny the presence of the enemy or attempted to underplay their strength. He simply encouraged the people to trust God. He believed that God had given them the land as an inheritance and, therefore, God would give them victory over their enemies.

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” – Numbers 13:30 ESV

But the people did not listen to Caleb. They went with the majority report and refused to enter the land. And God punished them for their lack of faith and their demonstration of unbelief in His promises.

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.” – Numbers 14:26-30 ESV

Here we learn that Joshua was also one of the 12 spies and had sided with Caleb in his positive report and recommendation to enter the land. These two men were the only two to survive God’s purging of the people. And 40 years later, when the Israelites had finally entered the land, Joshua and Caleb were the only two from that previous generation who were still alive. Both were in their 80s and now Caleb was asking for his portion of the land he had waited so long and patiently to receive. And it is interesting to note that Caleb requested the very land that his fellow spies had said was occupied by giants. Caleb wanted to live in the very land where the Anakim lived. He was asking for the most difficult tract of land occupied by the most formidable enemy, because he was sure that God would give him victory over them.

“So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” – Joshua 14:12 ESV

And Joshua gladly honored Caleb’s request, allotting to him and his people the land of Hebron, “because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel” (Joshua 14:14 ESV). And the author provides us with an important side note that states, “the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim)” (Joshua 14:15 ESV). Caleb was given the city that belonged to the mightiest of all the descendants of Anak. Caleb would have to conquer the city of Hebron to make it his own. He would have to eliminate the Anakim in order to possess the land given to him by Joshua. And the text clearly indicates that he did. “Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day” (Joshua 14:14 ESV). And the chapter ends with the a statement that Caleb kept his promise to drive out the Anakim from the land: “And the land had rest from war” (Joshua 14:15 ESV).

Caleb provides us with an illustration of faithfulness in the face of overwhelming odds. Not only did he stand opposed to the words of his fellow spies, encouraging obedience to God when everyone else was recommending rebellion, he waited decades to receive the promise of God. He had endured 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and then seven years of battle before he got the chance to enjoy his long-awaited inheritance. And even then, he had to fight to make it his own. But he did. God gave him victory, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)  Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Joshua 13-14, Acts 12

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Faith in the Midst of the Storm.

Joshua 13-14, Acts 12

So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said. ­– Joshua 14:12 ESV

Caleb had waited a long time for this day. More than 40 years ago, he and Joshua had been two of the 12 men sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan before the Israelites were to begin their conquest. But 10 of the spies returned with a bad report. They had admitted that the land was bountiful and everything God had advertised it to be, but it was also full of powerful armies and formidable walled cities. Their words created doubt and fear among the people. Yet Caleb had encouraged the people to trust God. “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30 ESV). He had not glossed over or ignored the reality that there were enemies in the land, but had encouraged the people to trust God. In the end, the people listened to the words of the majority and chose not to trust God and do as He had commanded. They refused to enter into the land and, as a result, God banished them to wander in the wilderness until that generation died off. Now four decades later, at the age of 85, Caleb stepped forward to claim his reward. God had promised him, “Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord” (Deuteronomy 1:35-36 ESV). For 40 long years, Caleb had faithfully waited to see the promise of God fulfilled. He had watched the other 10 spies die by a plague at the hand of God. He had been witness to the slow die off of his peers as they wandered aimlessly in the wilderness. But now he was ready to enjoy the promise for which he had long waited and eagerly anticipated.

There is always a temptation to do things our own way. Doing things God’s way doesn’t always make sense or seem logical. It isn’t always easy. But Joshua learned that God’s way is always best and produces the preferred outcome.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God had not forgotten about Caleb. And Caleb had not forgotten the promise of God. It is interesting that Caleb is the one who had to remind Joshua, his fellow spy, that there was a promise yet to be fulfilled. God didn’t bring it up. It seems He waited for Caleb to claim it. God’s promise stood. It was up to Caleb to stand on that promise and take what was rightfully his. He had waited a long time for this day to arrive. He had probably had his doubts along the way that he would live long enough to see it happen. But he had trusted God because he knew God to be trustworthy. In the face of adversity, he faithfully waited on God. Forty years is a long time to wait. It would give anyone a lot of time to think, doubt, fear, and question whether God was ever going to come through. But Caleb kept waiting and trusting. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). Caleb’s hope was in the promise of God. His assurance was in the faithfulness of God. He was not going to let time or adversity stand in his way or prevent him from believing.

It is interesting to note that when the church was launched by God on the day of Pentecost, it was characterized by amazing growth as well as intense persecution. It took off like a rocket, but its meteoric rise also attracted a lot of unwanted attention and resulted in strong opposition. Stephen was stoned. James was killed by Herod. Peter was imprisoned. And the believers were forced to pray and wait. As they sat behind closed doors calling on God, they had to have doubts and fears. The had to have wondered why all of this was happening. How could the deaths of James and Stephen be the will of God? How could anything good come of Peter’s imprisonment? What if he ended up the same way? What would they do? “But earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church” (Acts 12:5 ESV). They prayed and waited. And God moved. He moved miraculously, releasing Peter from prison and sending him to tell the news of his release to those who had been earnestly praying for him.

What does this passage reveal about man?

When Peter showed up at the door of the home where the others were praying on his behalf, they refused to believe it was him. While they had been praying earnestly, they had evidently been doubting as well. Their expectations didn’t seem to include Peter’s miraculous release by God. We are not told what they prayed. Perhaps they had simply prayed that Peter’s life would be spared by Herod. Maybe they had prayed that Peter would simply be imprisoned but not executed. But we do know that when Peter showed up, they had a hard time accepting the fact that he had been released. They were amazed. It was not what they had been expecting. Unlike Caleb, these people had not received a specific promise from God regarding the future. They had not been told by God that Peter would be spared and released from captivity by an angel of the Lord. They simply had to pray and wait. But it still required faith – the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. They had to wait on God, not knowing exactly what it was they were waiting for. They had seen the growth of the church after the stoning of Stephen. They had witnessed the miraculous conversion of Saul, the greatest threat to the church in those early days. They knew that God worked in mysterious ways and that what He did didn’t always make sense. But He could be trusted.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Caleb stood for more than 40 years on a promise made to him by God. The friends of Peter stood on the faithfulness and sovereignty of God. Caleb knew exactly what he was waiting for and had spent four decades with his hope set on its arrival. The men and women gathered in that home praying for Peter had no idea what to expect or how God was going to work, but they placed their faith in God. Caleb had to wait a long time. The friends of Peter didn’t. But in both cases, they had to deal with doubt, fear, and the unknown. They had to face apparent adversity with a faithful tenacity to trust in God. He would come through. And in both cases, He did. There are certain promises made by God for which I am assured and for which I am simply going to have to wait. There are other times when the only promise I have is that God is with me and for me. He has assured me of His presence and the availability of His power in my life. But He has not given me the details of how all things are going to work out. It is in those times that I must faithfully wait on Him, trusting in His character and standing on His promise to never leave me or forsake me. God came through for Caleb. He came through for Peter. He will come through for me. How? I may not always know. When? He doesn’t always tell me? But He can be trusted. I can have an assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen – because my God is faithful.

Father, I want to learn to trust You more. I want to stand on Your promises and wait on Your power to be revealed in my life. Forgive me for my doubts and fears. Forgive me when I am shocked and surprised when You do come through, as if it is something I never expected. May I never be taken back by Your activity in and around my life.  Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org