Joshua 14:12 "Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."
Just as God commanded Moses, this promised land was going to be divided by lot. Urim and Thummim maybe? I highly doubt this is gambling...since nothing is at stake for loss, but there are presumably those out there who would see this as such. Anyway. There is apparently a little housekeeping that needs to be taken care of first.
Caleb needs the land promised to him in Deuteronomy 1:36, the land that would become his property wherever he set foot, since he followed the LORD wholeheartedly, and gave such a resoundingly confident report on the promised land back in Numbers 13. 85 years young and spry as ever, Caleb is asking for Hebron, where the Anakites (Nephilim...big, scary, extra-terrestrial, evil, monster people?) dwell. This guy is so faithful that God will give him the victory, that he specifically requests this land. Caleb is not going to play bocce on the lawn in his retirement...he's ready to go lay out some giants and take down a huge fortified city.
Joshua is like, "bless you, have at it."
Showing posts with label Caleb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caleb. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Nu. 14: Israel Complains
Well, of course Israel wasn't thrilled to hear 10 of the 12 scouts' reports on the promised land. So they complained amongst themselves, which they were good at, against Moses and Aaron and against God. They wondered why God would take them this far and then let them fall by the sword. And I would wonder why He would do this too. They even wanted to choose a leader for themselves and head back to Egypt, to the comfort of slavery. They knew the promise. I'm sure they were well aware of the history with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was a mere two years out of the entire existence of the nation of Israel that they were wandering. And they were ready to give up.
They were not convinced by the faith of Caleb and Joshua. Why would they just roll over and accept what the majority of the 12 explorers said, without giving a lick of consideration to what Caleb and Joshua were saying? Caleb and Joshua didn't contradict what the other ten said, so it wasn't a case of mob rule. The community didn't buy their confidence in God's promise, and were to the point of stoning them. Crushing their skulls with big rocks. Talk about not wanting to hear the truth.
Then God shows up and talks to Moses. God threatens to destroy the lot of them with a plague, but again Moses reminds God of His patience, His power, His promise, and His love. What God had been doing was well known to the surrounding nations, and Moses, the PR Man, was concerned again about how this would look to them, as he was in Ex. 33.
God forgives the people, as Moses asked, but He also had to punish Israel. Just as Israel didn't want to enter the Promised Land, God banned them from ever setting foot in it. For forty years (a year for every day the Promised Land was explored) they would suffer outside the land, and only the kids, 20 and under, would be able to enter it. Even then at a relatively old age. The other thing I note here is that God apparently sets a date for them all to die, at forty years frooooooommm...rightnow. God struck the nay-saying scouts with a plague, while re recognized the faith of Caleb and Joshua, promising that their descendants would inherit that Promised Land.
The Israelites knew they screwed up bad. They said, "We sinned. Ok, we'll go up to the place the LORD has promised." Sorry. The punishment stands. Moses tries to warn them that God will not be with them, and that the Amalekites and the Canaanites will bust them up. Sure enough, because the ark wasn't with them, and because God punished them, they got their butts kicked. So God used the Amalekites and the Canaanites to accomplish his purpose. Without them even knowing it. They just did what came natural, defending their land.
They were not convinced by the faith of Caleb and Joshua. Why would they just roll over and accept what the majority of the 12 explorers said, without giving a lick of consideration to what Caleb and Joshua were saying? Caleb and Joshua didn't contradict what the other ten said, so it wasn't a case of mob rule. The community didn't buy their confidence in God's promise, and were to the point of stoning them. Crushing their skulls with big rocks. Talk about not wanting to hear the truth.
Then God shows up and talks to Moses. God threatens to destroy the lot of them with a plague, but again Moses reminds God of His patience, His power, His promise, and His love. What God had been doing was well known to the surrounding nations, and Moses, the PR Man, was concerned again about how this would look to them, as he was in Ex. 33.
God forgives the people, as Moses asked, but He also had to punish Israel. Just as Israel didn't want to enter the Promised Land, God banned them from ever setting foot in it. For forty years (a year for every day the Promised Land was explored) they would suffer outside the land, and only the kids, 20 and under, would be able to enter it. Even then at a relatively old age. The other thing I note here is that God apparently sets a date for them all to die, at forty years frooooooommm...rightnow. God struck the nay-saying scouts with a plague, while re recognized the faith of Caleb and Joshua, promising that their descendants would inherit that Promised Land.
The Israelites knew they screwed up bad. They said, "We sinned. Ok, we'll go up to the place the LORD has promised." Sorry. The punishment stands. Moses tries to warn them that God will not be with them, and that the Amalekites and the Canaanites will bust them up. Sure enough, because the ark wasn't with them, and because God punished them, they got their butts kicked. So God used the Amalekites and the Canaanites to accomplish his purpose. Without them even knowing it. They just did what came natural, defending their land.
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