Now then, give me this hill country

Joshua 14 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Caleb’s Request

Now these are the territories which the sons of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned to them for an inheritance, ² by the lot of their inheritance, as the Lord commanded through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. ³ For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but he did not give an inheritance to the Levites among them. ⁴ For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and they did not give a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property. ⁵ Thus the sons of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

⁶ Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea. 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 word back to him as it was in my heart. ⁸ Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the Lord my God fully. ⁹ So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’ ¹⁰ Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. ¹¹ I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. ¹² Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken.”

¹³ So Joshua blessed him and 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 until this day, because he followed the Lord God of Israel fully. ¹⁵ Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.

In Matthew 19:28-30 Jesus says:  “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me…  everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”  Sometimes it is difficult to understand or apply the meaning of what Jesus is saying here. It may seem even more difficult to justify the truth and reality of what He says. Why should it be that the first would be last?  In today’s text, we see an example from the Old Testament account of the Israelites possessing the Promised Land which gives us an example of what Jesus statement says and means, and perhaps how it might apply in our lives as well.  The text says:  Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea. 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 word back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the Lord my God fully. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’ Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken.” So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite until this day, because he followed the Lord God of Israel fully.   Long before Caleb finally possesed his inheritance; the last of the Israelites to be given their portion, Caleb, along with Joshua, was one of the first to enter the Promised Land. They entered as two of the orignal twelve spies sent to check out the land. The other ten gave a bad report and caused the Israelites to rebel and to wonder in the wilderness for forty years. Of the twelve, only Joshua and Caleb, the two who wanted to be obedient and possess the land, remained to actually go in. Still when the time came for the Israelites to go in, Caleb, who was first to go in originally, was not first to take possession. Rather he was last. Just as in the wilderness for those forty years he did not grumble and complain, but faithfully served God and helped to teach the new generation of His ways and reminded them of the great things God had done and would do, when they entered the land, Caleb fought along side as the others who were last became first to possess their inheritance.

Like Caleb, we may have been promised our inheritance in God many years ago. Others may have caused us to not be able to walk in all that we were promised those years ago. Was our response like Caleb's? Did we serve God faithfully without complaint? Did we do all that we could to raise up others who came after us? Have we been willing to walk with them and fight for them, even as many who were last received their blessings and promises before us? For myself, I cannot say as Caleb did that my body is as strong as it was forty years ago and I have more than a few years till I am eighty five. But I am encouraged by the account of Caleb and while my physical body may not be as strong, I am stronger now in Spirit and in faith than I was forty years ago. So like Caleb, I will continue to walk and fight for those who come after me. I will, like Caleb say:   I am still as strong today as I was…  as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day.  I will gladly be last. My true inheritance is not a portion of ground. It is not anything in this world. My true inheritance, is to at last hear God say: 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'  

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You for the example of Caleb. May I be blessed with a spirit like his. May I faithfully walk with You, helping others who have come behind to attain their inheritance first. To the end of my days may I have the strength, the resolve and the spirit of Caleb. May I willingly be last so that others may be first.  Amen.