http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%2012-15&version=NIV
JOSHUA 12 - 15
The most compelling story in today’s passage is that of Caleb, who stakes his claim on the promise that God gave him forty years before. It was then, when Caleb and eleven others were instructed to survey the land promised them and report on the prospects of conquering its inhabitants. Of the twelve who went, only Joshua and Caleb returned with a faithful confidence that God would assure their success, saying:
"The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." Numbers 14:7-9
Unfortunately, fear and doubt prevailed that day, and as a consequence, the Lord forbade the Hebrews from claiming their promised homeland for forty years. However, the Lord, recognizing the faithfulness exhibited by Caleb, said:
“24But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.” Numbers 14:24
With a promise like that, Caleb knew he had a good thing coming, and he was willing to wait for it. In the forty years that ensued he faithfully committed himself to the will of God and led the fight in claiming the land promised his people. Now at the age of 85, Caleb petitioned Joshua to honor the promised bestowed by God:
"You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 7I 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. 8But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9And 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.' 10And 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 andfor going and coming. 12So 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 14:6-12
What an amazing testament of faith! And notice how he credits the Lord at every turn! We should all strive for a wholehearted faith like Caleb’s – a faith that sees beyond our immediate circumstances and remains focused on the prize God promises to us. Let’s pray this week that God will teach us to have a faith as bold as Caleb’s.
Rock on.
Chad Searcy
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Lord, I pray to have a faith as bold as Caleb's and I praise you for the blessings of faith that You have already given to me!
ReplyDeleteMany times throughout the last two years, I would pray claiming Your promise that You would never put me through any battle that You would not give me the strength to fight or endure. I have claimed and beleived that God would never leave me or forsake me no matter my current circumstance.
I praise God that in the last two weeks I have seen God fighting my battle. I did not have the strength to fight the battle. God blessed me with so many Christian friends who have taken up the battle for me! I have watched God put the right people in my life to fight this battle. I have friends that have worked through the night on my battle, gotten up in the middle of the night to protect me, use their own vacation time from their jobs to ensure my safety....God has used people to bless me in more details than I can write here!!
God, I praise you for the blessings and skills of others you have put in my path to be used in the battle! I thank You for the strength you give through my Christian friends! I praise you for the ultimate victory in this battle that will be used to glorify You! Help my faith to be as bold as Caleb's.
Yes, what a lesson from Caleb which applies to us today. We are well able to overcome any obstacle before us. God is with us, God is in us and God is well able to give us the power to bring down any obstacles of faith we are facing today. The same Spirit that was working in Caleb is alive in us. Caleb understood God’s ability to perform in our circumstances. Sure Caleb saw the fierce giants dwelling on this mountain many years before yet he proclaimed God is well able to give me this mountain while the spies trembled in unbelief. But remember, to conquer a mountain, we must get to the top or pinnacle. We must not stop half way up. Did you know the word mediocrity comes from two words; half way up and mountain? Other words, mediocrity means going 1/2 way up the mountain. We must have a resolve to believe and obey God until we see the victory. Don’t stop ½ way up the mountain and give up. Let’s all be just like Caleb no matter what we might see with our natural eys
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