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Joshua Chapter 14 (ESV)

Caleb’s Request and Inheritance

⁶ Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 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 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 just 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.

REFLECTION:

• Caleb was one of the 12 spies who had scouted Canaan some 45 years earlier (cf. Num 13-14). Only he and Joshua had urged Israel to trust God and invade Canaan then. Now, at 85, Caleb still actively trusted God. He asked for a parcel of land still occupied by an especially warlike people, the Anakites, and confidently said, “If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said.” (v12, MSG)
• One of the gifts God gives to Christians today is the privilege of being in a church where the older folks were models of the kind of faith Caleb had. Too often we tend to segregate older believers from the young. Yet the young people in our church need to be exposed to godly older men and women.
• Caleb was still going strong at age 85. Will you be like him? What quality of his life do you want for yourself and your family? Are you or will you be a model for the younger Christians?

PRAYER:

Merciful Heavenly Father, I thank You for the special revelation You have given me today, helping me understand the honor of elderly believers in the church. They are precious gifts You have bestowed upon the church, possessing abundant life experiences and profound wisdom. Regardless of the length of time they have been Your people, they are recipients of Your great grace. Their lives resemble autumn flowers that bloom late or plum blossoms that bravely endure frost and snow, emitting a serene fragrance. Today, I specifically intercede on behalf of the elderly brothers and sisters in the church, asking for Your blessings upon each and every one of them. May they become strong and vibrant spiritual examples for the younger brothers and sisters. I also pray for greater wisdom to be granted to the church leaders, enabling them to create more opportunities and conditions within the church for the elderly brothers and sisters to fully exercise their gifts and talents, influencing the lives of more young individuals. Heavenly Father, I also thank You for allowing me to learn from the example of Caleb on how to grow old gracefully. Though my outward appearance and physical body may weaken, may my determination grow stronger each day. I am willing, like Caleb, to fight the good fight for You, even in old age. May You strengthen my body and spirit, and may you use me throughout my entire life. Amen!

HYMN:

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