Introduction: Caleb. He’s truly one of the unsung heroes of the Bible. He and Joshua were the only two of the twelve spies who gave Israel a “we can take the land!” message when the other ten said, basically, “we’ll lose everything if we try to do it. (Numbers 13-14)”. As a result, every Israelite over 20 years of age was told—promised—he would die in the wilderness because of their unbelief (Numbers 14:26-35. Women were undoubtedly part of that number as well. But Caleb stayed faithful. He and Joshua were promised life and an inheritance in Canaan.
Now it’s Caleb’s birthday, and he’s about to make a request.
1 The Review
Text: Joshua 14:6-9, KJV: 6 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea. 7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. 8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
“Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal.” By now, Joshua had already blessed the two-and-a-half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and “East Manasseh” as some have called them) and given them their inheritance. They had chosen to live on the east side of the Jordan River and Joshua had honored the promise Moses had made years before (Numbers 32).
That, however, left the other tribes without a clear inheritance of their own. Judah was one of the larger tribes, in terms of population. Just before entering Canaan, the census of 20-years-and- older men, fit to go to war, was 76,500 (Numbers 26:22). Joshua may have been wondering just why this delegation (it’s hardly possible the whole tribe came at once) but Caleb was the only one to speak to Joshua.
One can only imagine the reunion between these two friends! Even though they were from different tribes in Israel, they both were faithful to Israel and the God of Israel. Both had endured the pain of suffering because of the disobedience of the rest. I mean, who could get excited about walking in circles, going here, there, and back to here, over a 40-year period? They had seen people they knew who died in the wilderness, they saw, probably, most of their own families leave this world, and all because of unbelief. The nation of Israel had to realize, sometimes painfully, that it’s better to obey the LORD than disobey Him.
But look at how Caleb approaches Joshua. It’s almost like he’s downplaying the relationship between himself and the general, the leader who was God’s human instrument to bring victory over the Canaanites. Caleb showed a great deal of respect to Joshua, simply reviewing a lot of history in what seemed to be a very short speech.
Caleb first said, paraphrasing, “You remember the word which the LORD said to Moses about us when we were back at Kadesh-Barnea (Numbers 13-14)? I was 40 years old when Moses sent me out to spy the land. You know the rest of the story, the others caused the hearts of the people to melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God. Moses swore to me that day that where my feet trod over, that would be my land, and my descendants’ land, forever.”
I’m still not certain why Caleb used this approach to Joshua, except, as mentioned, Caleb was approaching Joshua with the respect due any appointed leader. Too, none of the other tribes had received any inheritance at this point and it’s possible Caleb was simply reminding Joshua of a promise Moses had made. After all, Moses had promised the eastern side of Jordan to the 2-1/2 tribes; Caleb may have approached Joshua while this concept was still fresh in Joshua’s memory. We may never know the true reason down here, but that is something we can leave for Joshua and Caleb to handle!
2 The Request
Text, Joshua 14:10-13, KJV: 10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. 12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. 13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.
By now, Caleb has reminded Joshua of the promise which Moses had made. Now Caleb is reminding Joshua that a, I’m still alive; b, today is my 85th birthday; c, I’m still as strong now as I was 45 years ago! Joshua may have remembered Moses, being 120 years of age but still as strong as he ever was, even as Moses took that last walk up to Mount Nebo to see the Promised Land—even though he could never enter it in person (compare Numbers 27:12-14 and Deuteronomy 34:1-6).. The LORD had told Joshua back in chapter13, “You are old and stricken in years” but that didn’t seem to be the case for Caleb.
Now Caleb makes his birthday request, and it wasn’t for honor, riches, a military promotion, or anything that just about anybody would or could ask for. Caleb asked Joshua for a mountain, near Hebron, many miles to the south of Gilgal where Joshua was, perhaps, making his headquarters. There was still much to do, but Joshua did have time for Caleb and his request.
And Caleb showed not only a bit of modesty, in not asking for anything great or large; he asked for what might have been some of the most difficult terrain or land in all Canaan! Hebron is located over 3000 feet above sea level (https://bibleatlas.org/full/hebron.htm) and faces travel from all directions!
So then, I’ve sometimes wondered myself why Caleb would want this particular tract of land. Then, some ideas came to mind. One, Hebron was and is where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were all buried (see Gen. 23:3-20; 25:8-10; 49:31-32, 50:13). These people are all ancestors of Caleb, as he was from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:35).
There could be another reason. Caleb might well have remembered the Anakim, whatever they were (some think they were giants, like Goliath) and how they had lived near Hebron. Caleb, like few of the other Israelites, remembered that the LORD had told the Israelites to utterly destroy all the Canaanites—but some had not, and others did not, do so. The other 10 spies had said, “We looked like grasshoppers” but Caleb didn’t see it that way.
Dr. Vance Havner once wrote in one of his books that D. L Moody was preaching at a certain place and in the audience there were a number of intellectuals, for lack of a better term. After the service, Moody was asked what he thought when he saw all those learned people in the audience and he replied, “They looked like grasshoppers”!
What a fitting comparison!
And Caleb knew that with the LORD’s assistance, he could drive out the Anakim completely. He truly wanted to follow the LORD completely/ Joshua of course gave Caleb a blessing and Hebron as his own inheritance.
The story here closes with the next few verses, but there’s a little more to the story. Let’s go on!
3 The Results
Text, Joshua 14:14-15, KJV: 14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. 15 And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
These two verses conclude the story as told here. Joshua 15:13-17 describe briefly how Caleb did indeed drive out the three sons of Anak and took possession of his inheritance. Caleb had made a request for his birthday, and with God’s help, he made that request a reality!
You and I are not in the business of reclaiming literal, physical land for our inheritance. That was reserved for Israel, and one day Israel will once again take possession of the land. Ezekiel 47:13-23 give a description of what the borders will be. Having said that, may we always be reminded that the LORD always hears our requests. He may not give us material things, but He will always give us what He knows is best. And just as Caleb trusted Him, so too can we trust our Father in Heaven in anything and everything.
Glory to His Name!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
