God Rewards Faith (Joshua 14)

Are there great rewards on earth and in heaven for those who trust God in faith, no matter the outward circumstances? Let’s begin in Joshua 14.

Were the Levites a special case, where their great responsibilities did not allow them time to care for a normal inheritance in the land?

Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them. Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, as the Lord had commanded through Moses. Moses had granted the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest, for Joseph’s descendants had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds. So the Israelites divided the land, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. (Joshua 14:1-5 NIV)

Did Caleb receive a special inheritance because of his exceptional faithfulness to God?

Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 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 back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ (Joshua 14:6-9 NKJV)

Did Joshua bless Caleb and give him the hill country of Hebron?

“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. 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. 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.” So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. (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. (Joshua 14:10-15 NLT)

Did Jesus promise great eternal reward for those who are faithful even in persecution?

Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12 WEB)

What do the elders in heaven say about the reward for those who are faithful to God?

The time came to reward your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18b CEB)

Are there great rewards on earth and in heaven for those who trust God in faith, no matter the outward circumstances? You decide!