These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit. 2 Their inheritance was by lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. 3 For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. 4 For the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance. 5 The people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land. 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.
Before getting to this account in the life of Caleb let me give you 3 reasons why the bible’s doctrine of perseverance is not well understood and in some cases is unpopular.
First, the bible is very clear that not all who begin in the Christian faith will last and this is very distressing to be sure, but it is a fact that almost every Christian congregation has had to face in her own experience. People we thought Christians, we counted as Christians; people who worshipped with you while you were growing up, people who worked with you, finally deserted the church and the way of the Lord and embraced the way of the world. As painful as that is to experience, it is not as if the Bible has not prepared us for it. Judas was an advanced Christian if you will; a preacher of the gospel, a member of the Lord’s inner circle; a witness to the most breathtaking miracles; yet, at the last he left the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. As Paul concludes his letter to the Colossians, he adds the greetings of his co-workers among whom is Demas. But only a few years later, the great Apostle must tell Timothy, 2 Timothy 4, ‘Demas has deserted me, having loved this present world.’ And more than a few times Christ and the apostles warn the church that ‘the love of many will grow cold.’ Again, this is disturbing to us, but undeniably the teaching of the Bible.
Second, the Bible says that it is quite possible and quite common for people who are not, in fact, objects of God’s saving work, to appear at least for a while as if they were. Jesus makes this point in his great parables of the kingdom, which we find in Matthew 13. In his parable of the sower he teaches us that the seed when it is sown in shallow ground, or stony ground, or ground infested with thorns, can spring up quickly only to be withered by the sun or choked by thorns. This is a picture, Jesus says, of people who respond to the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, even respond with great joy, but, lacking roots, they last just a short time, when trouble comes or when the worries of life return or when the deceitfulness of wealth tempts that soul, he or she falls back into the old ways and no longer cares for Christ and his church. He says the same thing in other parables as well, the parable of the wheat and the weeds, the parable of the net as well as others make the same point.
Third, God uses means and the means he uses for his true children to arrive at the end He has set for them, is the means of a continuing and active faith. “Real” Christians, he says, continue to practice their faith, which I remind you includes repentance and restoration. They continue to walk the straight and narrow way that leads to life, continue to take their place in the church of God, continue to trust the Lord Jesus and follow him as their Lord and Savior. God does not simply guarantee that all of those who go to church will be saved, no matter what. No, what he guarantees is that He will see to the continued faithfulness of those who truly belong to Him. He will see to their growth in his grace, and to their walking in his ways. And by this continuance in faith they will be kept safely in salvation. That is, God determines not only their safe arrival in heaven, but also the way by which they will get their–the way of persevering faith in Christ and obedience to him.
Three times in this chapter we are told that Caleb had a different spirit and loved the Lord with his whole heart, or wholly followed the Lord. Moses says it, Caleb says it about himself and the narrator says it at the end of the chapter. The repetition is purposed, this is what the Lord wants us to take notice of. The psalmist prays that the Lord will keep him from having a divided heart…David, like Caleb desires a heart fully given over to the Lord and His purposes.
This is where faith begins. Think of it this way: Could you say this morning to the Lord, “Lord, bless me as you have promised, because I have an undivided heart…I am not wavering in seeking what you have promised”? Is your heart divided? Caleb’s heart was not. But we must ask, what is it that we see in Caleb that reveals this whole-heartedly following of the Lord? Many things we might point to, but chiefly what we see, what Caleb illustrates is his perseverance in faith.
Remember he was 40 when the spies brought back their report about the land that sent all of Israel into a period of doubt and unbelief. Caleb had the courage to stand virtually, alone, to go against the grain and this led to an isolation of faith. There is often an isolation that accompanies the man or woman whose heart is undivided. Caleb was not only faithful in the face of the giants who dwelt in the land, he was also faithful when facing the doubt and the rebellion of the church and it is the latter that is the most difficult! And notice, that he did not divide from the church because they were wrong, sinful even, he did not act as though they were not the people of God and start his own church, or find a different group of people to belong to. But he did stand for the truth of God’s Word in the midst of the church, and that, even in the face of their jeers and frustration with him.
If we are to truly serve the Lord in faith with an undivided heart, we might find, at times, things to be a bit lonely. And it seems that very few in our day are willing for faith to cost them this way. This commitment may at times put you in a minority, and I don’t mean with unbelievers. Your commitment to the Lord, to the Lord’s people, to the church, to worship, to leading your family might cause other Christians to see your commitment and to see that you will not compromise that commitment…And then for them to conclude that you are odd, overly zealous…and if that doesn’t work, it will be that you are a legalist and unloving, which is the ultimate Christian curse word…it is the Christian kiss of death to be called, unloving…gasp!
Do you remember in Prince Caspian when Aslan appeared to Lucy and told her which way the children were to go on their journey? But He didn’t appear to the others, only to Lucy. And of course, the way Aslan said they must go was much more difficult of a journey than the way the children wanted to go. Lucy told the others, but she could not convince them, they didn’t see Aslan as Lucy did and voted to go the easier route. And Lucy went with them…she didn’t want to be isolated…she didn’t want to be alone, even though she knew what her King had said.
Later Lucy and the Lion meet again:
“If you go back to the others now, and wake them up and tell them you have seen me again; and that you must all get up at once and follow me, what will happen? There is only one way to find out.”
Do you mean that is what you want me to do? Gasped Lucy.
Yes little one, said Aslan.
Will the others then be able to see you, asked Lucy?
Certainly not at first, said Aslan. Later on, it depends.
But they won’t believe me, said Lucy.
It doesn’t matter, said Aslan.
Sometimes our faith means finding obedience and joy without a lot of fanfare and without a lot of company…and even if others will not come along, will not believe you…it doesn’t matter. The land is being divided up between the tribes, but the Lord takes Caleb and singles him out. He is to be an example to every Israelite, every Christian to immolate.
Joshua will get his land at the end of this section. So, Caleb and Joshua are the bookends because they are showing us how it is that those who trust the Lord, live life and respond to life. They remained faithful to the Lord’s word, year after year after year, this is instruction in the life of faith, a lesson in perseverance.
Caleb was ready to fight then and take the land because he took the Lord at his word. True faith always pleads God’s promises. It anchors itself on the word of God. He is 85 now…45 years later and he is ready to take on the enemy still. That is perseverance. When you seek to put sin to death, when you will not allow defeats and set-backs in your Christian life to unnerve you or cause you to stop your pilgrimage, you are persevering. When you take aim at building the kind of formative practices that bring you nearer to the Lord, practices that you may have been ignoring…and then you persevere in those formative practices even when you don’t feel like it…then you are beginning to understand what Caleb is illustrating.
Prayer: Father, by the strength of Your Spirit, may I continue in the faith that You have given. May I not grow weary or turn back, even for a moment. Give me gospel courage that I may not be ashamed or tantalized by the things of this world; Then I would persevere and press on toward the high calling of Jesus Christ. Help me Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.
Hymn: All Hail the Power of Jesus Name (Give a listen…this is really good)
