We are looking at seven lessons we can learn from the
Joshua 13-21 as we are claiming our inheritance that God has promised us in
Christ. The first lesson we learned from the twelve tribes receiving their
inheritance, is from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
They chose their inheritance on the border on the east side of the Jordan
River. We don’t want to become borderline believers. In Joshua 14:6-14 we
notice our second lesson which is, we should be encouraged in our pilgrim journey
because no matter how long we must wait our inheritance is still available!
Today, we will discover our third lesson from Caleb and his
request for the mountain and the city of Hebron where the giants still lived.
Caleb said that he was now eighty-five years old but was as strong as he was on
the day that Moses sent him to spy out the Promise Land forty-five years
earlier (vv. 10-11). The lesson for us is that we are never too old to
accomplish God’s will for our lives and fulfill the vision, the calling, and
purpose He has given us.
The key to Caleb’s success and strength is easy to find in
this passage. First when you read through these nine verses you will find that
the LORD is mentioned ten times. Caleb wasn’t thinking about problems, about
mountains, about giants, and about obstacles! Caleb was thinking about the
LORD. His mind was fixed on Jehovah, the Great I Am!
The Book of Hebrews was written to encourage Jewish
believers who were about to quit their spiritual journey because of the
problems they were facing. The writer said in Hebrew 2:9, “But we see
Jesus….”. In Hebrews 12:2, he went on to tell them, “Looking unto Jesus
the author and finisher of our faith…”. He was reminding them to get their
eyes fixed on Jesus rather than their problems.
Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:1-4, “If then you were
raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting
at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the
earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who
is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Again,
no matter how tired we are, or how old we feel, or how big the problems are, we
need to focus on our great Redeemer and LORD who will never leave us or forsake
us.
Secondly, Caleb followed the LORD with his whole heart! This
is mentioned three times in the above passage, and at least six times in the
Scriptures. I like how Oswald Chambers in the devotional, “My Utmost for His
Highest”, puts it: “The moment that we by faith obey the Word of God to do the
will of God, we are energized and by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the
impossible.” Today I would also encourage you to read the entire chapter of
Psalm 27 and you will see the same principles at work in David’s life and
success.
David ends the chapter with these words, “I would have
lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In
the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall
strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! (Psalm 27:13-14).
We are never too old to accomplish God’s purpose and will
for our lives!
God bless!
