Caleb's Unaltering Confidence

INTRO

As we continue to move through the book of Joshua, we’ve seen a lot of killing and a lot of obedience. The Israelites were living out God’s instructions to Joshua to “be strong and courageous.” Moses prepared Joshua to take the land, and the people supported Joshua’s leadership. In all of these things, God continued to intervene so the Israelites would have the victory. Joshua 13 states that Joshua had become old and there were still lands that had not been claimed (vv. 1–7). In the rest of the chapter, the lands that had been conquered were handed out to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh as their inheritance. In chapter 14, the giving out of the land to the other tribes of Israel continues. Joshua is an image of the coming provision of salvation through Jesus.

TEACHING

Joshua 14:1–5: Eleazar the high priest, Joshua, and the heads of the families within each of the tribes handed out the land by lots as God had told Moses to do (vv. 1–2). This group provided the inheritances to nine-and-a-half tribes since Moses had already given inheritances to two-and-a-half tribes before they entered the Promised Land (v. 3). The Levites (the priestly tribe) received no land inheritance but were given cities and pasture lands for their cattle and livestock. The inheritance was received through the obedience of Joshua and the Israelites.

Joshua 14:6–9: In verse 6, the story seems to make a right turn. The descendants of Judah approached Joshua, and Caleb spoke to him. Remember that Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the original spies who were allowed to enter the Promised Land. Caleb is described as the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, a non-Israelite group descended from Esau through Kenaz (Genesis 15:19; 36:11, 15).1 Some scholars suggest there was a group that associated themselves with Judah at an early stage (Numbers 13:6), making Caleb a generation removed from a non-Israelite family.²Caleb reminded Joshua of all they had been through as they scouted the Promised Land (vv. 6–9).

Caleb pointed out he had brought back “an honest report,” unlike the other spies (v. 7). He also stated the other spies had come back with reports that caused the people to fear, but he had remained loyal to his God (v. 8) (Numbers 13:30). He reminded Joshua that because of his honest report, he and his tribe had been promised a special inheritance (v. 9). Numbers 14:24 says “But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me completely, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it.”

Joshua 14:10–12: Caleb was 40 years old when the Lord spoke this word to Moses, and now, 45 years later, Caleb was still waiting on this promise from God to be fulfilled (v. 10). At 85, Caleb was ready to receive that fulfillment. His strength for battle and for the work was as strong as it was at 40 (v. 11). Therefore, Caleb asked for the hill country God had promised him 45 years earlier (v. 12). The land Caleb asked for was the land of the Anakim—the giants. Caleb wanted to go in with God’s help. F. B. Meyer said, “Amid the marchings and the counter marchings, the innumerable deaths, the murmurings and rebellions of the people, [Caleb] retained a steadfast purpose to do only God’s will to please Him, to know no other leader and to heed no other voice. . . He would be no party to Miriam’s jealous spite. He would not be allured by the wiles of the girls of Moab. Always strong and true and pure and noble; like a rock in a changeful sea, like a snow-capped peak in a change of cloud and storm and sun. A man in whose strong nature weaker men could hide, and who must have been a tower of strength to that new and young generation which grew up to fill the vacant places in the van of Israel. The Nestor of the Hebrew camp, in him the words of the Psalmist were anticipated, that he bore fruit in old age, and to the last was fat and flourishing.”³

This is such an amazing image. Amidst life, Caleb held on. Amidst life, Caleb and Joshua didn’t waver in what they felt called to do. Caleb was ready to take the next step to fulfill God’s promise to him. Jacobson questioned why Caleb didn’t look for a “softer” or easy place to settle. His explanation states: “It would have been natural for Caleb to ask for a “soft spot”––a portion of land already conquered where he could settle down and spend the rest of his life raising a few vegetables or flowers. Instead, at 85, he asked for the very section that had struck terror into the hearts of the ten spies.” ⁴I wonder if Caleb had these moments while waiting for the blessing that he would receive—actually hanging on to the Word of God!

Joshua 14:13–15: Joshua’s response to Caleb’s request begins in verse 13. Joshua blessed Caleb and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. Hebron is one of the very few Jewish sites that is sacred today (Numbers 13:21–22). Jacob and Caleb had gone into this land as spies. This was the only piece of land Abraham had owned, and he and his wife Sarah were buried there, as well as Isaac, Rebecca, and Jacob. Eventually, even Joseph asked for his bones to be buried there. This is the closest thing to a Jewish sacred site at the time, and it was going to be given to Caleb because “he remained loyal to the Lord” (v. 14).

James Montgomery Boice explains that the Nephilim were giants (Genesis 6:4), and the Anakim were descendants of Nephilim. Three of Anak’s (Anakim) descendants lived in Hebron: Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai (Numbers 13:22), so there were still giants in the land. Even though the Israelites had conquered it, there was still work to do.⁵Yet there was also the promise of peace— “rest from war”⁶(v. 15).

Alan Redpath summarizes this transfer of land: “The majority measured the giants against their own strength; Caleb and Joshua measured the giants against God. The majority trembled; the two triumphed. The majority had great giants but a little God. Caleb had a great God and little giants.”⁷Caleb believed just as much as Joshua did. Because of Caleb’s radical faith, Caleb was not complicated.⁸He understood he had a role to fulfill and kept his eyes on God, not the giants.

CLOSING

John Cawood identified four leadership qualities in Caleb:

1. “Uncompromising convictions”—For 45 years, Caleb held to the promise God had given him.
2. “Unreserved commitment”—He was totally sold out to God.
3. “Unalterable courage”—He found courage through his complete dependence upon God.
4. “Unwavering confidence”—He never lost his confidence in God.

What if Caleb had never received the promise? Crazy as it is, most people in Scripture never saw the fulfillment of the promise (Hebrews 11:32–40), but their faith never wavered.

1 Donald K Campbell, “Joshua.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 357, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books), 1985; quoted in Thomas Constable, Dr. Constable’s Expository Bible Study Notes: Joshua, p. 75.