Last week from Joshua Chapter 14, we noted a hero who had the right godly attitude. We are to follow his example of being confident with the promises of God, being thankful, being committed to God wholeheartedly, and praying for God’s will. These are things we all need to emulate from Caleb!
Now, was Caleb perfect??
Our Scripture of the Week answers the question, doesn’t it?
What happened? Let’s simply read Joshua 15….
v1: the land was given for the tribe of Judah, with Caleb as its leader
v2-12: describes the land and the cities
Now, look again at v13….. We can recall that God actually told Moses what would happen and the instructions were passed from Moses to Joshua. Those instructions from God were actually about 100 years prior to the reality of the command! What’s significant about this??
v13: tells us, no matter how long it may be, God’s commands are to be kept until accomplished.
v14: Caleb took action based on God’s will.
Now v16-19 may not mean much to us but God placed it there for a reason. Anyone know what happens to Othniel??
In the chapter after Joshua, we read in Judges 1, Othniel becomes the first Judge for Israel, a great leader for a generation!
So, why do you think v16-19 is there in the middle of a chapter talking about the land for the tribe of Judah??
v16-19: simply tells us, God prepared the future! Othniel was a courageous godly man with a wise wife, prepared by God to be a leader!
Under God’s care, everything look great for Caleb, Judah, and Israel doesn’t it? But I started the message with Romans 3:23. What’s wrong in this story of Caleb and the Tribe of Judah??
v63: Judah, with Caleb as leader, disobeyed God by not destroying the Jebusites! And we can note that within v63: the consequence to their sin was The Jebusites became like parasites to Israel!
Now, because of the sin of Caleb and his tribe, did they lose the promise from God??
But because God is a God of promise and mercy, even though Caleb and his tribe sinned against God, they did not lose the promised land for them!
Caleb was a godly man who still sinned and needed God’s Grace!
We are just like Caleb and the Israelites aren’t we?
ALL have sinned against God from Adam and Eve to us! Is this really true? God’s 1st Commandment is simply: “You shall have no other gods before me.” Let’s all ponder about this, “Do I always, every moment of the day, put God first? Do I even think about God everyday?” Let’s take a moment to quietly think about this……
If we are truly honest with ourselves and God knows, we all sin against God everyday! And God states in the first part of Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death! All of us deserve death, the consequence of sin!
But is God still a merciful God? What does the second part of Romans 6:23 state? Romans 6:23 - … but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. What do we do with a gift to give it actual meaning??
I know many of you have received the Gift of God of forgiveness for our sins by believing in Jesus Christ. If you have never truly received Jesus Christ as your Only Savior for your sins, right now is the time to do it. Remember God tells us in Hebrews 9:27 - Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. Because we are all sinners, all of us can face death at anytime, then face the judgment of God; there is no purgatory, there are no second chances! Eternal life with God is only available for those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord while still alive. Non-Believers of Christ, when they die, will face eternal judgment along with all the demons completely separated from God.
As Believers of Christ, we are to obey Him and He said we are to remember often what He did for us by taking Communion…..
