JOSHUA 14 LIVING THE LIFE God had determined the precise area each tribe should occupy. Each tribe then, was responsible to apply the principles the tribes had learned in united warfare. Each of the tribes was to take the possession God had given it and deal with those who had possessed it before in the way God intended. In like manner, when we refuse to accept our lot in life, we don’t possess what God has for us.
There are many people who are discontented with their lot. Some are lonely because they are disillusioned. Their early hopes have been shattered. Ill health follows them and they seem incapable of doing what they wanted to do. Others have had a marriage they hoped would last for life, and now are stunned in a wrecked home with difficulties that are beyond their power to remove. Then some have lost their partner and are left with children and are crushed and totally alone. In any of these cases the temptation for resentment against God is real.
Deuteronomy10:8-9 linked with Joshua 13:33 lets us know we do have a unique inheritance. “The Lord is his (Levi’s) inheritance.” Great honor was given to the Levites, for they were called to a life of worship. They had all the resources that belonged to the Lord. His power, His blessings – the Lord Himself was their inheritance. When we are called to serve the Lord, we share our life with Him. No relationship of secondary importance was allowed to hinder their communion with their God. Their interests were centered entirely in Him, and His service was to be undertaken without any distraction whatsoever. Levites were dedicated to serving God. They needed more mobility than a landowner could possibly have. Giving them land would mean saddling them with responsibilities and loyalties that would hinder their service to God instead. God arranged for the other tribes to meet the Levities needs through donations. Numbers 35:2-4 tells how the Levities were to receive cities within each tribal territory.
Levites were called to a life of work. They were to “stand before the Lord to minister unto Him.” Their work was in the sanctuary. They were intercessors – the greatest service in the world. They were called to a life of witness. They were to “bless His name.” They were channels for others to come to God and for God to come to men. The Levites were given forty-eight cities in which to live. They would come from the sanctuary of God filled with the joy of serving Him and the glory of His presence with the influence of the Lord upon them. In the sanctuary they brought men to where they could give to God that which was good and proper in worship and responsibility. In the cities in which they lived and in the cities of refuge they brought God to men. The honor allotted to the Levites was a life of worship, a life of work, and a life of witness.
God calls His people today to do the same. The call is for us to go for Himself and serve in all the world; to go into the sanctuary for men and go out into the city for God. The epistle of Ephesians is the New Testament commentary on the book of Joshua. “We have obtained an inheritance,” a lot, a portion obtained by God’s own plan. We are planned according to His purpose, planned according to His will that “we should be to the praise of His glory.” Our inheritance in Christ is matched by Christ’s inheritance in His people. Our possession of Him is to be matched by His possession of us. The land was divided exactly as God had instructed Moses years before. Joshua did not change a word. He followed God’s plans precisely. Often, we believe that almost is close enough, and this idea can carry over into our spiritual lives. We may follow God’s word as long as we agree with it, but ignore it when the demands seem harsh. But God is looking for leaders who follow His instructions thoroughly.
The voice of the minority is not often given a hearing. Nevertheless, truth cannot be measured by numbers. Often truth stands against the majority opinion. Truth remains unchanged because it is guaranteed by the character of God. At times, a person must even stand alone on the side of truth. God has the right to expect us to follow what he says in His Word because He says it, not because it suits me.
Caleb was a man of faith in a great God. His boldness rested on his understanding of God, not on his confidence in Israel’s abilities to conquer the land. If he had agreed with the majority, he would have disagreed with God. Often, we base our decisions on whatever everyone else is doing. We are not first- order cowards but get a second-hand cowardice like Israel. The questions like “What do my friends say?” or “What does everyone else think?” are not the right questions but we should ask rather, “What does God say?”
Caleb was a spiritually deep, simple, uncomplicated man who believed in his God. Those character traits are the secrets of his greatness. He believed in a great God. He was one of the spies sent by Moses to survey the land of Canaan for six weeks forty years before. He was one of the two adults who left Egypt and entered the promised land. He was willing to voice the minority opinion in favor of conquering the land and openly expressed his faith in God’s promises, in spite of apparent obstacles. For 45 years the promise of God was in his heart in the wanderings, toil, conflicts and dashed hopes of an unbelieving nation. The faith he had in his youth was undiminished in old age. We don’t want to be content to merely survey the past, but be ready and eager for fresh battles with the enemy so we can enjoy what God has promised and live in fellowship with Him.
Caleb was never found among the grumblers, skeptics and unbelieving people who were swayed by the pressures of opposition or faithless brethren. He was never one who had a hankering for the leeks and garlic of Egypt. He was never found among those who disobeyed God or among those who turned to idolatry. He was eighty-five years old when he went after the three giants that were in the portion of land allotted to him. Caleb wholly followed the Lord, and he completely drove out the enemy. The blessing he received was never wasted. He had a portion to give to his daughter and her husband in the dry southern part of his inheritance. He gave them the upper and nether springs to make their crops flourish in spite of the hot climate. The blessings of his life overflowed to other people, and he opened it to spiritual blessings for others.
In old age, we have the ability to pass on to others the blessings we have received. The grace of God experienced in life, may often be seen in the radiance of a life lived for God. Caleb’s secret was simply a love that never waned. Caleb’s heart wasn’t captured by the valleys full of plenty. The place he wanted was Hebron. Abraham had pitched his tent here. God had spoken face to face to Abraham here. God promised the land to Abraham here. “Hebron" conveys the thought of fellowship, love and communion. It is the place all of us must seek and find. In Hebron Caleb had caught a glimpse of the reward of discipleship. He saw the place of communion, of fellowship, of God’s infinite blessings, and regardless of the cost and hardship, he pressed on until Hebron was his.