As we turn our attention to this passage today we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the center section of the book of Joshua. For the most part this section (Ch. 13 – 22) is a slightly boring and hard to read section of scripture.
I’ve often said that anyone who loves to sit around on the back patio with their cup of coffee early in the morning studying the deed to their property probably has a few screws loose in his head.
Nevertheless, this is God’s Word. It’s not just a legal property document. It is a legal property document (that probably would have been very exciting for the Jews to read throughout the centuries) but it’s not human in origin. A human wrote it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That’s what makes this section of Scripture so fascinating (unlike the deed to my home). Take a look at the text…
Joshua 14:6 – 15:19…
6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kennizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me to 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 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.
15:1 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.
This text is fascinating because God chose to include this in his Word to us. And the self evidence of the Scriptures alone teaches us that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 4:16 – 17). But what does this mean for us? What does it mean that this property deed is God’s inspired Word? This means that God uses property deeds in his Word to reveal his heart to us and to help us mature as we follow Jesus.
So what significant things can we find in this text that will help us draw closer to God’s heart and grow a little bit as we follow Jesus? There are basically three chunks of text in this passage. First, Caleb comes to Joshua and reminds him of the good old days when they were spies with their spyglasses (14:6 – 15). Second, we have a description of the land that has been allotted to the tribe of Judah; the tribe that Caleb’s clan (the Kennizzite’s) was part of (15:1 – 12). Third, Caleb drives the remaining giants out of his land and then gives his daughter away with some loot to boot (15:13 – 19).
So what is the significance of these three chunks of the text in front of us? What do these three chunks of text teach us about God? What kind of instruction can we receive from them in regards to our lives? Where does the gospel (the message of the cross, the empty tomb and the promise of Heaven) intersect with what we read here?
#1: THE PORTRAIT OF A LEADER (VSS. 6 – 15)
In verses 6 – 15, Caleb comes to Joshua and he reminds him of the good old days when they were spies with their spyglasses. The episode that Caleb is referring to can be found in Numbers 13 – 14. It was 45 years ago before God banished the Israelites to wandering around in the wilderness because of their sin, their unbelief and their rebellion. But what was Israel’s sin that got them banished to the wilderness in the first place? I’m glad you asked!
Caleb summarizes what happened with Israel in verses 7 – 8 really well. Back in Numbers 13 – 14 Caleb and Joshua were chosen to be secret agents, secret operatives, spies. Israel was standing on the edge of the Promised Land after being delivered from years of slavery in Egypt. I can imagine the palpable anticipation and excitement as Israel stood there on the edge of the Promised Land watching as Caleb and Joshua along with 10 other secret agent spies set out on their 40 day mission to spy on the Promised Land. It had to have been an exciting day.
Israel has just spent roughly a year making their journey towards the Promised Land after being set free from Egypt. They’ve experienced God’s miraculous hand of deliverance. They’ve crossed over the miraculously parted Red Sea with their enemies breathing down their necks. They’ve watched, as God took out their enemies in one fell swoop. And then they made their journey to the edge of the Promised Land and sent out 12 spies on their 40-day secret mission.
I can imagine the anticipation as Israel waited for the spies to return from their mission. But when the spies came back Caleb and Joshua were the only ones with a good report. The other 10 spies were full of fear because they saw giants in the land and they turned the hearts of the people against Caleb and Joshua. Caleb and Joshua basically said, “let’s go God is with us.” But the other cowardly spies couldn’t get their eyes off the physical barriers (namely the giants that made them feel as small as grasshoppers).
How often have you experienced this very same thing? God has called you to move forward with some seemingly impossible thing and everyone around you can’t get their eyes off the giants. This is the sin of Israel that caused the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
And now in Joshua 14, Caleb, the man whose heart is set on “wholly following the Lord” (vss. 8, 9, 14) wants the inheritance that was promised to him 45 years ago. He’s an 85 year old dude and he’s got more energy, more faith and more vision for the future than just about anyone I know. He’s even ready to go chase down the remaining giants in the land (at 85 years of age) to take what has been promised to him (vss. 9 – 12). So Joshua gives him what he asks for because he’s proven himself to be a man of courage, integrity and vision (vss. 13 – 15). Caleb is a vigorous, humble, visionary leader; I would follow Caleb to the edge of hell (Jackman 2014: 143 – 151).
#2: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LAND (VSS. 1 – 12)
In verses 1 – 12, we have a description of the land that has been allotted to the tribe of Judah; the tribe that Caleb’s clan (the Kennizzite’s) was part of. For the most part, these 12 verses are full of completely unfamiliar names and places. Although we could do a study on the importance of some of the locations mentioned here I think it’s sufficient enough to just say that the tribe of Judah itself is significant not to mention the significance of the land. But why is the tribe of Judah so significant?
The tribe of Judah is significant for various reasons. Judah is one of Jacob’s 12 sons (hence the twelve tribes [Gen. 48]). Judah was the brother who interceded on behalf of Joseph when the other brothers wanted to kill him (Gen. 37). Later on, Judah interceded on behalf of his other brother Benjamin in front of Joseph (Gen. 44). Then, Judah had a weird episode with his daughter-in-law Tamar (Gen. 38), which we won’t go into today, for the sake of time. And later on down the road, the house of David comes out of the tribe of Judah after it’s established in the Promised Land with Jerusalem as its capital in Hebron (the land that was just given to Caleb [2 Sam. 2]).
And finally the most important point in regards to the significance of the tribe of Judah is that the Messiah (Jesus), was predicted to come from the tribe of Judah (Isa. 11:1; Mic. 5:2). This is why Jesus is referred to as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah! So the significance of the tribe of Judah is that despite all of its human ups and downs, the Lord sovereignly chose to use the tribe of Judah for the salvation of mankind.
#3: A MAN OF INTEGRITY AND GENEROSITY (VSS. 13 – 19)
In verses 13 – 19, Caleb drives some remaining giants out of his land and then gives his daughter away with some loot to boot. It’s interesting that there were still giants in the land (the three sons of Anak [vs. 14]). Way back in Joshua 11:21 – 22 we see that Joshua chased the giants out of this area and they all fled to some of the surrounding cities for refuge. So it appears that some of those giants made their way back into the land. So Caleb had to chase them out again (similar to us when we get one sin beaten only to find out a few days later that its back again).
Now after chasing the giants out of Hebron, Caleb turns his attention to the city of Debir and he offers to give his daughter Achsah away to any man who conquers that city (vss. 15 – 16). And who steps in with the courage to take the city down and win the hand of Caleb’s daughter? Turns out, Caleb’s very own nephew Othniel (the first Judge out of Judah in the book of Judges) is the one who jumps at the challenge (vs. 17).
Seems to me that courageous leadership runs in Caleb’s family. The younger men in his family are taking their cues from this 85-year-old dude who’s not afraid of the giants. And to top it all off, Caleb gives Othniel and his daughter Achsah some loot to boot; they get a bunch of land and some springs of water to keep the land fertile for future growth (vss. 18 – 19). In summary here, Caleb can call others to courageous action because he’s a man of courageous action. And he’s generous because he’s experienced the generosity of God. Caleb is a man who is full of integrity and generosity.
APPLICATION…
We’ve learned here that Caleb was a vigorous, humble, visionary leader. He was a man that most of us would have no problems following straight into the pits of hell to do battle with the enemy. We’ve also learned that the tribe of Judah was very significant because despite all of its human ups and downs, the Lord sovereignly chose to use the tribe of Judah for the salvation of mankind as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Messiah, Jesus, eventually came from this family. We’ve also learned that Caleb was a man of integrity and generosity. So the summary is leadership, land and the man.
The question as always is: Why does this matter? How is this information helpful to us? We read about Caleb and we see a leader of great faith, courage, character and spiritual vitality and we wonder if we have any chance of becoming like him. We think about the tribe of Judah like a family living in the land and we wonder if our own efforts with our families will ever produce the same results. We certainly disconnect when we hear that Jesus came from this family. Our families aren’t going to produce a Messiah! And then we see Caleb again; a man of integrity and generosity and we can easily idolize him.
So how do we make some meaningful and helpful connection to this information? I admit that when I study this passage I feel like a grasshopper in comparison to the likes of men like Joshua and Caleb. They seem like spiritual giants to me. I am also very protective over how I might apply this passage inappropriately to my heart.
It’s far too easy to take the moralistic highway and just say that if I strive to be like these men then I’ll be a better man. Alternatively I could take the legalistic gravel road and say that if I work to be like these men then God will bless me. Or I could throw my hands up in the air and take the alleyway of licentiousness where I give up and give in to all sorts of cowardly living. But I don’t want to take these roads. These roads lead to fruitlessness. I want to be on a road that leads to transformation.
I am a man who struggles with tremendous bouts of fear and unfaithfulness. Sometimes the pressures of my job leave me wanting to throw in the towel. Other times the brokenness in my family absolutely infuriates me. The lack of physical resources in my family and in our church makes me feel like a grasshopper staring at giants. I imagine many of you can relate with these feelings of desperation and desire for something better in some area of your life. How will you get on a road that leads to transformation?
You see the problem with the roads I listed above is that those roads do not lead to transformation. Moralism, legalism and licentiousness are highways to hell driven by insatiable thirsts for information. The information intersection is useless if it doesn’t lead to life transformation. I want to get on the road of the cross, the empty tomb and the promise of Heaven. This is the road that has holiness set for a destination. It’s the gospel-centered road of Christ-likeness. But how do we get on this gospel-centered road?
I think the best way to get on this gospel-centered road is to interpret this passage through the high points of the gospel. The high points of the gospel are: Creation, Fall, Redemption and Glorification. We were created to be like Joshua, Caleb and the family of Judea when they were at their best in all of their faithfulness, courage, integrity and generosity. But like Joshua, Caleb and the family of Judah we fail to be the best we were created to be when we behave unfaithfully, cowardly, inconsistently and selfishly. Every one of us has fallen short of the standard of perfection in these areas. So we were created to be perfect in these character traits but we fail to be perfect so therefore we are separated from God. This is the bad news of the gospel.
The good news of the gospel is that God has provided a way to be in relationship with him where we can be redeemed and restored. Redemption is available to us through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Jesus lived the perfect life that we cannot live. Jesus is the perfect Joshua, Caleb and Judah. He is perfectly faithful, courageous, true and generous. And yet he went to the cross to pay the penalty for our shortcoming and sin. His death not only covers our sin but it removes our sin. And not only do we find redemption in Christ but we find the promise of glorification/perfection in Christ. Because he left the tomb empty we can trust that we will experience the glorification or perfection of Heaven after his return in glory. So in Christ we have the redemption from our sin and the promise of glorification/perfection in Heaven. This is the good news of the gospel.
CONCLUSION…
Caleb, Joshua and Judah may be some awesome examples of courage, faith, integrity and generosity. Through them we learn what these character traits look like. But at the end of the day these leaders, these men, this family… they are only imperfect prototypes of the one and only true hero of the Bible. His name is Jesus. He was fearless when he walked toward the cross. He was faithful when he bore those stripes on his back. His complete integrity was proven the day he left the grave empty. His promise of heaven is the most generous thing every sin-orphaned person could hear of.
The real message of this story of Joshua, Caleb and Judah is not the men themselves or the families they were part of. The real message of this story is the God they believed in who held onto them. So if you’re hearing this and you’re facing some giants of despair, depression, fear, lust, boredom or selfishness then this is an invitation to come and rest from your work and your anxiety. If you haven’t trusted in Christ yet then this invitation is the same. Come and trust in him for the first time as a broken and helpless sinner and experience the overwhelming love and peace that his Spirit gives without measure.
This is the essence of faith my friends! Sometimes the temptation for us is to try to hold on to God tighter when we come face-to-face with our sins, doubts, failures and fears. But another author reminded me this week that, “Faith is the antidote to fear. And spiritual energy is the fruit of an undivided heart. But faith is not about how hard I hold onto my Papa’s hand. It’s about how hard my Papa’s hand holds onto me.” (Jackman 2014: 147; 148 – 149).
When you trust in Jesus, our Heavenly Father (the best leader ever) grabs your hand and he guides you towards the Promised Land; a place where the family of God gathers together and there is no more sin, suffering, sickness, pain or tears. When you trust in Jesus (the man of perfect faithfulness, courage, integrity and generosity), he gives you an undivided heart (like Caleb had) and he fills your worn out soul with the hope of Heaven that’ll make you slay giants!