The following is a lesson on the Biblical book of Joshua submitted as course work for the class BIBL 311 - Joshua/Judges taken at Liberty University during the Spring 2001 semester. My professor was Dr. Harvey Hartman. I have corrected some slight grammatical errors, made a few changes that were suggested by Dr. Hartman, altered the alignment and formatting, and added the Biblical text, but otherwise the paper is the same as when it was submitted.

THE FIRST PROMISE KEEPER

(Joshua 14:6-15)

6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: "You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 

7 "I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 

8 "Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. 

9 "So Moses swore on that day, saying, `Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.' 

10 "And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 

11 "As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 

12 "Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said." 

13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 

14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. 

15 And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim). Then the land had rest from war.

STATEMENT OF INTENT:

I want the listener to understand what it truly means to claim one of God’s promises for his life. I want him to realize by examining the life of Caleb that one must often struggle in order to see God’s will accomplished in his life.

INTRODUCTION: 

Today we are going to study a time when God made a promise to a man based on his faithfulness and kept it. Although the promise was not fulfilled right away, it was fulfilled in God’s timing. Open your Bibles to Joshua 14:6.

Israel was gathered at a place called Gilgal. This was a very important place for the young nation. Gilgal had been Israel’s base of operations for the past seven years. It was from here that they launched most previous military campaigns, and it was here they always returned. Gilgal would even be the place where Israel would officially recognize its first king. But that was still centuries in the future. Today something exciting was about to happen. Today, the land west of Jordan would begin to be divided between the 9 ½ tribes still without land. Each tribe’s leaders would pass before Joshua, and receive by lot claim to the land God would give to them.

Imagine yourself there as a tribal leader anxiously awaiting the ceremonies to begin. A fellow leader nudges you in the ribs and points forward. “Look,” he whispers excitedly, “it’s starting! The leaders of Judah are approaching Joshua!” You look up and find your fellow leader was telling the truth. Judah’s leaders are approaching. One of them steps forward. It’s hard to tell from this distance, but you think you recognize him. You squint your eyes to get a better look. You see a strong man. He appears to be quite a bit older than the other leaders, but something about the way he looks convinces you that he was as capable a warrior as any of them. “Ah, of course,” you say, as recognition pierces your mind. “It’s Caleb. I wonder what he has to talk to Joshua about.” Then you almost frown. You know that Caleb and Joshua are old friends, but you hardly think this is the time or place to discuss old war stories. If you could only get close enough to hear, you would wipe that frown off your face and realize you were about to witness a great testimony to the faithfulness of God.

    I.    CALEB’S REWARD IS REVEALED (Josh. 14:6-9, 12)

            A.    Reasons for the Reward (Josh. 14:7-8)

                    1.    Caleb’s actions

                    2.    Caleb’s attitude

                    3.    Caleb’s uniqueness

            B.    Revelation of the Reward (Josh. 14:9)

                    1.    Its identification

                    2.    Its endurance

Summary Paragraphs: On that day in Gilgal Caleb approached Joshua with a simple request. He wanted what was due him. He begins his appeal on the basis of Joshua’s knowledge of a shared event, the events surrounding the reconnaissance mission into Canaan. Twelve men had been selected to gather information about the land and people of Canaan. Of these twelve only two believed that God could give them the land. One was Caleb. The other was Joshua.

Caleb then emphasizes his own involvement in this incident. He stresses that his actions were totally in keeping with what both Moses and God expected from him. He brought a report back to Moses as “it was in [his] heart.” The Hebrew term heart closely corresponds to the English term “mind.” Thus, Caleb brought a report, not based on what he felt Israel could accomplish, but rather, on what he perceived to be the truth of what he observed. Caleb followed the LORD God fully. He took the attitude that God could deliver the land into their hands. This is in great contrast to how the ten spies reported. They had agreed with Caleb that the land was beautiful and very productive, but they let their fears get the better of them. They reported that Israel could not defeat the Canaanites, particularly those from the Hebron area, and their fear spread throughout the entire camp.

It is interesting to note that the very land whose inhabitants had most frightened the spies was the very land that had been promised Caleb. This was the land in the vicinity of the city Hebron. Hebron was not an insignificant city. The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had all lived in this place at one time, and now they and their wives were buried here. In fact, rabbinic tradition states that while on the spy mission, Caleb prayed at the tombs of the patriarchs located therein (See Cohen, notes on Josh. 14:8). Caleb was promised that not only would he possess this land, but so would his descendants.

    II.    CALEB’S REWARD IS REQUESTED (Josh. 14:9-12)

            A.    Bases of the Request (Josh 14:6, 9-11)

                    1.    God’s promise

                            a.    It came from the mouth of Moses.

                            b.    It entered the ears of Joshua.

                    2.    God’s provision

                            a.    God provided extended life.

                            b.    God provided enhanced vitality.

            B.    Benefits of the Request (Josh. 14:10, 12)

                    1.    Caleb gains land.

                    2.    Israel loses an enemy.

                    3.    God gains glory

Summary Paragraphs: Thus Caleb’s request is laid before Joshua. It is based on God’s promise and his provision. Moses, on behalf of God, promised him the land that his foot had tread upon. Because it came from the mouth of Moses, a prophet of God, he has no reason to disbelieve it. Also, he had faith in Joshua. Until this point Joshua had obeyed Moses’ instructions to the letter (cf. Josh. 11:15). Since Moses had issued this promise, and Joshua had become its arbiter, there was no reason to doubt its outcome. In addition, Caleb was quick to remind Joshua [of] God’s special provisions for Caleb—long life and enhanced vitality. After Israel had chosen to heed the ten spies’ report, rather than Caleb’s, and refused to enter the Promised Land, God had promised that every man in Israel over twenty except Caleb and Joshua would die in the wilderness (cf. Numb. 14:26-30). That’s exactly what happened. Thus Caleb and Joshua were the oldest men in Israel.

However, just in case Joshua still needed convincing, Caleb had another argument. Caleb explained to Joshua that giving Hebron to his was a win-win situation for everyone. Caleb would benefit by receiving the land promised him. Israel, he argued, would benefit by having an enemy they dreaded driven out. Commentator William Blaikie writes,

“The place he asked for was not one that all Israel wanted. It was a place ‘still so harassed by the Anakim that there would be no peace till that formidable body of giants were driven out…He was a true gentleman—treating what would be of great service to others…as a personal favor (p. 271).”

Finally, even God would benefit, by receiving all the glory if he were to grant Caleb victory.

    III.    CALEB’S REWARD IS RENDERED (Josh. 14:13-15)

            A.    Caleb receives a blessing. (Josh. 14:13-15)

            B.    Caleb receives his land. (Josh. 14:13-15)

                    1.    The significance of Caleb receiving this land

                    2.    The outcome of Caleb receiving this land

Summary Paragraphs: Joshua gladly grants Caleb [’s] request. But before he sends Caleb out to conquer, he first takes the opportunity to bless his old friend, likely wishing him the same good success he had experienced during his time as leader of Israel.

Joshua then formally gives Hebron to Caleb because “he followed the LORD God of Israel fully.” It is interesting to note the full title given to Caleb in verse 14—Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. This title may be quite significant. We know from various passages that Caleb was considered a part of the tribe of Judah, i.e., He was Judah’s representative on the spy mission into Canaan (Numb. 13:6). However, it may be that Caleb was of mixed ancestry. Edom had a son named Kenaz. Perhaps, as Cohen suggests, a descendant of Kenaz had, in the past, married into the tribe of Judah, “from which union Caleb issued” (Cohen, notes on Josh. 14:6). If this is the case, then one could point to Caleb as an example of the fact that God is more concerned with a person’s faith, than He is his ancestry.

Whether Caleb was part Edomite or not, his faith was rewarded. Our passage states that Hebron became Caleb’s inheritance “until this day.” Caleb did not back down from the challenge of the Anakim. He fought them and beat them and “[drove] them out as the LORD had spoken.”

CONCLUSION:

Caleb was a man not afraid to claim a promise God had made him. Therefore, he was able to experience the faithfulness of God in a way that a man of lesser faith might not have been able. But it was not a promise gained without struggle. Caleb had to work in order to see God bringing His promise to pass. But Caleb followed God fully, even though it meant he had to struggle.

What about us? Often we are eager to claim Biblical promises, but are we willing to struggle in order to see God work out those promises? Are we willing to follow God fully? If we want to experience His promises at work in our lives we had better be.

Do you want God to direct your paths? Then you must trust Him completely and rely less on your own understanding. Do you want to avoid sinning when you ate tempted? Then you will have to take the way of escape God provides no matter how embarrassing it may seem. Do you want to have the privilege of claiming God’s promises? Then you must experience the pain required to exercise them.

WORKS CITED

Blaikie, William Garden. (1908). The Book of Joshua. Minneapolis, MN: Klock and Klock Christian Publishers.

Butler, Trent C. (1983). World Biblical Commentary (Vol. 7). Waco, TX: World Books.

Cohen, A. (1973).  Joshua and Judges. London: Soncino Press.

Davis, John J. and John C. Whitcomb. (1989). Israel: From Conquest to Exile. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Goslinga, C. J. (1986). Joshua, Judges, Ruth. (Ray Togtman, trans.) Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Pfeiffer, Charles F. (1979). Baker’s Bible Atlas. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Schaeffer, Francis A. (1975). Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"The First Promise Keeper" Copyright © 2001 Joseph Short. All rights reserved.
Revised: July 31, 2001.

Placed on site July 5, 2001