"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
(HEBREWS 10:23)
I love Caleb's declaration in Numbers 13:30: "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." While Moses' other scouts reported discouraging words about Canaan, Joshua and Caleb told the people not to fear.
Israel would not face the strong people of Canaan alone. But if they ignored the power and victory God offered them, they would never defeat Canaan.
Forty-five years later, Caleb still knew and stated that God brought the victory. He and his descendants were blessed to possess the Promised Land. The wait may have been longer than they'd envisioned, but God's purposes for His people prevailed.
The long account of the Israelites' journey from Egypt and slavery into the Promised Land is more than just a good story. It is a picture for us not only of our own prolonged wanderings, but also of how the Lord continues faithfully with us, too. Year in and year out, whether our plans have come to be or not, our faithful God goes before us. Let's hold unswervingly to Him.
INSIGHT
"THE ONE WHO CALLS YOU
IS FAITHFUL AND HE
WILL DO IT."
(1 THESSALONIANS 5:24)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Genesis 8-9
Psalm 4
Matthew 6-7
Joshua 14:6-14
New International Version (NIV)
Allotment for Caleb
6 Now the people 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. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’[a]
10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.
Footnotes:
a. Joshua 14:9 Deut. 1:36
THE BIBLE IN 90 DAYS [PART 3]
with Kristin Schell
It fails to make the lists - like losing weight or saving money. Yet it's a longing in every Christian, to read the Bible - all the way through. It is possible and it's not as hard as you may think.
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