‘(Previously Hebron had been called Kiriath-arba. It had been named after Arba, a great hero of the descendants of Anak.) And the land had rest from war. Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord , the God of Israel. So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.” I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’ but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord , sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. ‘
Joshua 14:6-15 NLT
Caleb had served God well. When given a chance to rebel against faith in God personally, he chose to lean into faith. In doing so, he escaped judgment and avoided an unforeseen consequence. If Caleb had predicted the destruction of Israel by Anak, he would’ve also been guilty of leading people away from their faith. It was more than a personal conviction. It had consequences. What is funny about Caleb is that his response in his old age to reflecting upon these things is not to simply ask for his due in faithfulness. Instead, he asks for the ability to fulfill his call to take the land he first scouted. This is particularly interesting because he was now an octogenerian. This is a good pattern of faith for us to follow. In his old age, Caleb wished to do even more work for God. He wished to fulfill the things that he couldn’t focus on when he was young and yet still knew needed to be accomplished. His idea for himself was not to rest, but to focus further.
JOSH McGARY. COM 