Joshua 14:1 – 15 “Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel. Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites.
The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion of the land was given to the Levites, except for cities in which to live, along with pasturelands for their flocks and herds. So, the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.
Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. 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 back to him an honest report.
Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God. On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’
Now behold, as the LORD promised, He has kept me alive these forty-five years since He spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old, still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. As my strength was then, so it is now for war, for going out, and for coming in. Now therefore give me this hill country that the LORD promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with the LORD’s help I will drive them out, as the LORD has spoken.”
Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. Therefore, Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.”
When I get to heaven, I want to meet Caleb! Of all the people in the Bible, Caleb is one of my favorites. As a young man, Moses chose Caleb to represent the Tribe of Judah when he sent spies from each tribe to investigate the Promised Land. Only Caleb and Joshua brought back good reports; the other ten spies dragged their feet. Despite the fact that the spies brought back a cluster of grapes so big that it took two men to carry it, all they could talk about were the GIANTS that they saw and how they were certain that they appeared as grasshoppers to these giants. (How did they know that God hadn’t made them look LOTS bigger???) The ten cowardly spies managed to terrify many of the Israelites, even while Joshua and Caleb were loudly trying to correct them. You find the story in Numbers 13:25 – 33 “After forty days the men returned from spying out the land, and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit! Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!” But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!” So, they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature. We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
God promised that none of the generation that had refused to believe Him would enter the Promised Land; however, God singled out Caleb for approval. “But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it.” Numbers 14:24 Now Caleb is coming to claim his inheritance at the age of 85!
APPLICATION: AGING WITH ATTITUDE! That’s Caleb! Once God promised Caleb the city of Kiriath – arba and the land around it, Caleb spent the next 45 years looking forward to the day when he would return and take the city, killing any giants who were left. Sometimes at night, Caleb might have sat thanking God for His promises, remembering city lay – out, and asking God for advice on a plan of attack. By the time Caleb approached Joshua, he already knew how he was going to conquer Kiriath – arba and change it into Hebron. There was no “quit” in Caleb!
Caleb waited 45 years for God to fulfill His promises, but during that time, Caleb continued to remind himself of God’s words. So many times, we ask God for something and when our requests aren’t granted instantly, we lose heart. We need to be a whole lot more like Caleb!
One of the sad things about aging is that sometimes people lose their vision or youthful enthusiasm. It’s easy to become disillusioned when you are waiting for God to fulfill His promises. Some of us are unwilling to wait more than a few months, let alone 45 years as Caleb did. Think about it! Caleb was already 40 when he spied out the Promised Land. At that point, Caleb was probably hoping for a quick entry into the Promised Land with lots of subsequent victories; after all, only a few weeks ago God had delivered the Israelites and had wiped out the Egyptian army while bringing two million people through an arm of the Red Sea on dry land. Caleb had no doubts that if God could do all that, God could certainly handle a few giants. And Caleb refused to believe the grasshopper theory. Why, if the giants viewed the Israelite spies as grasshoppers, didn’t they simply squash them like bugs? Caleb had enough faith to realize that if the giants left the Israelite spies alone, God might have made them appear to be even bigger giants. Perhaps God sent angels with flaming swords to silently accompany the spies so that anyone who saw them was terrified. No matter what God had done, the giants left the spies strictly alone So what might have happened?
Several years ago, when we were living in mid – town Memphis, we found ourselves having to rescue a young man who had run afoul of a gang that was tracking him. This fellow had taken refuge in a local convenience store but he could not venture out for fear of his life. We called a neighbor, who immediately came to our aid. Now our neighbor was tall but skinny and under normal circumstances would never have qualified as a macho man. But that night, when our neighbor entered the store, suddenly he looked like a huge hulk of a man, definitely not someone to attack! The gang members took one look at our neighbor and left the store and the area immediately!
What was Caleb doing during those 45 years? In addition to supporting Moses and then Joshua, Caleb was probably remembering what he had seen at Kiriath – arba and planning how he was going to take the town. As Caleb considered the possibilities, he was also thinking about the lay of the land, considering how best he would launch an attack. As a man of faith, Caleb was undoubtedly praying, asking God to reveal His strategies for taking that land. By the time Caleb stepped forward to claim his promised allotment, he already had plans for conquering that city and eliminating the giants. Caleb was more than ready!
Have you been asking God for something and the answer is still delaying? If God has assured you that He is going to act, then you need to follow Caleb’s example. Begin planning how you will tackle the giants once God gives you the go – ahead. Proverbs 16:3 tells us, “Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be achieved.” Don’t worry about the size of the giants; instead, begin planning what you will do once they are gone!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You that You are bigger than any giants we might face. Thank You that You always keep Your promises and if You call us to fight against huge odds, You will be with us in the battle. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
March 1, 2022 at 5:34 pm
This was timely and I too have waited a long time for a promise from God. Thanks for the reminder to be patient and wait.