Joshua 14

Following The Lord Is Worth It All

Text: Joshua 14

Introduction

Read 14:1-5

BIG PICTURE RECAP:

God Gives And We Manage

A. There was great faith in God’s promises (v1-2, 7)

This situation was not ideal. God told them to divide even the land they had yet to conquer.

When it comes to God, He knew the future. God knew all about the victories that was ahead of them.

a) We are always able to claim all that God has promised us through Jesus Christ.

b) We must continue on to face trials and fight battles of that yet conquered land.

Examples: Mission related projects, ethic problems at work, unconfessed sin in your life, family problems to work through, etc...

B. There must be a great stewardship of God’s distribution

Q — How many of you believe that if we have anything, it comes from God?

Q — If so, does He know best on how it should be used?

The land was divided by “lot” (v6).

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 6: Joshua God Gives and Holds Accountable

Enemies may be conquered and their cities captured, but the land is not seized but rather received as a gift from God. The land belongs to God, and His people have it in trust as their inheritance.

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 6: Joshua God Gives and Holds Accountable

It reminds us of the biblical theme of stewardship. What God has shared with us, we have a responsibility to use for His glory. Since God is the One who has given us the land, we are responsible to use it as good stewards. We do not have the right to exploit the land in a way that minimizes its usefulness for others.

a) (v14) The Levites were given no inheritance in the land

Also mentioned (v33; 14:3-4; 18:7)

The Lord was their inheritance!

Deuteronomy 10:8–9 “8 At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. 9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy God promised him.”

They shared in the tithes and offering they people would bring.

C. There was a better society through God’s distribution

a) Keep in mind that God would set up a new society in contrast to the previous Canaanite society.

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 6: Joshua God Gives and Holds Accountable

God was seen as the ultimate landowner, giving the whole land not to a king but to all the people. Tribe by tribe, family by family, God treated the people impartially. There was no privileged class. Even Joshua received a small grant. This is one reason God was so resistant to having the Hebrews appoint a king, as kings tend to assume arbitrary power.

b) Kinship was a focal point when it came to possessing land

The old society placed a heavy burden on the poor through “debt slavery.”

In the old society, the poor would become marginalized.

In the New society, God placed a heavy emphasis on family relationships. The land would be used by all for the benefit of all.

In the new society, strong respect for living boundaries was established

D. There was a great regret

This conclusion is based on a very simple observation of what the Christian life is described to be and what historically happened to the two-and-one-half tribes.

Q — Have you ever noticed God “permitting” things that would not be considered His perfect will?

Examples: Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers, Samson marrying a Philistine woman, and the Israelites asking for a king, which God permitted despite it not being His perfect plan — 1 Samuel 8:19–20 “19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”

God does not force us to carry out His commands (His preceptive will). Rather, in His permissive will, God allows us to make decisions—even sinful decisions that are not God’s best for our lives. At the same time, not following God’s preceptive will comes with consequences.

We experience God’s permissive will every day. God allows us to make decisions: what we eat, how we spend our time, where we work, whom we marry, and much more. Some of our choices will have lifelong consequences, but some won’t. Some choices other people make affect us negatively, and sometimes unpleasant circumstances come our way. We should remember that whatever is happening is part of God’s permissive will. God is still on the throne. He has not lost control.

Job — Satan was free to do certain harm, but God but boundaries on him!

a) A desired lesser blessing led to future problems

It is very obvious that the two-and-a-half tribes were not in God’s perfect will.

As you follow them through history:

Partial obedience similar to that of Kadesh Barnea.

It would create long term issues and made them vulnerable to attack.

Their society would go into steep decline over time.

They would be the first to go into Assyrian exile.

Nowhere in the Bible does the image of complacency fit within God’s perfect will for a Believer's life!

Our focus for our study tonight will begin in verse 6…

1) Caleb Was Different

A. He was one of the original 12 spies

What do you remember about the report from the spies Moses sent to spy out the land?

10 out of 12 were overwhelmed with the beauty and magnificence of the land. However, they were also overwhelmed with fear regarding the military force, the fortified cites, and the giants who lived in the land.

Who were the two guys who came back with a favorable report? Joshua and Caleb.

Turn with me to: (focuses on verses 7-9)

Numbers 13:30 “30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”

Numbers 32:11–12 “11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the Lord.”

Numbers 14:30 “30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.”

B. Caleb had strong confidence in the Lord (v8)

His confidence in the Lord left him outnumbered by the doubters.

Numbers 13:31 “31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”

Notice verse 8!

I have never seen a giant before, however, I can’t imagine stripping the courage right out of someone’s heart!

APP — Sadly, people can strip the courage right out of a church by shooting down every vision about moving forward just because it didn’t fit their paradigm.

God shook everyone’s paradigm during the Exodus!

Caleb might have been outnumbered, but God’s blessings on him exceeded that of the other 10.

Notice verse 9

“but I wholly followed the Lord my God”

Numbers 14:24 “24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”

Illustration: One of the most gifted speakers in church history was John Chrysostom—the name comes from a Greek word meaning “golden tongued.” John was sent from Antioch to what was then Constantinople where he preached fearlessly in the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. His denunciation of the lavish extravagance of the rich and ruling class and his condemnation of excess infuriated many, including Empress Eudoxia who arranged for him to be exiled.

When he was told of his fate, Chrysostom responded: “What can I fear? Will it be death? But you know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all its fullness is the Lord’s. Will it be the loss of wealth? But we brought nothing into the world, and can carry nothing out. Thus all the terrors of the world are contemptible in my eyes, and I smile at all its good things. Poverty I do not fear. Riches I do not sigh for. Death I do not shrink from.”

Far too many today are more worried about what people think than about what God thinks. The desire not to offend others (which is not a bad thing in itself) is often elevated to be the most important thing. As a result, many shrink from speaking the truth.

“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25

As Caleb stood out from among the rest, so should we stand out from among the world!

2) Caleb Was Courageous

A. Caleb’s courage was rooted in God’s promises

Now some forty-five years later, Caleb lives to see the covenant fulfilled. The very land most peopled with the giants is the land that Caleb wants. Jr. Huffman John A. and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Joshua, vol. 6, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 195.

Notice verse 10!

Caleb says, “behold”

APP — Isn’t that exactly the kind of people we are to be? Look what God has done in and with my life!!!

He is now 85 years old!

His physical strength has not changed. He is as strong now than he was 45 years ago!

B. Caleb’s courage was rooted in God’s presence

Q — Where did all of the courage come from? What source created in him this kind of courage?

Caleb would claim God’s promise just like he has all the way up to this time! he would claim God’s power to defeat the Anakim giants!

There is a timeless principal repeated twice in this chapter:

Verse 8 & 14

(v15) “Then the land had rest from war”

When God’s promises and presence direct your life, you will enjoy a restful life!

Application

What a strong lesson describing God’s faithfulness to His covenant and His yearning for us to stay faithful to our commitments to Him. So, at age eighty-five, Caleb received that for which he had trusted God all those years. Jr. Huffman John A. and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Joshua, vol. 6, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 195.

We need to remind ourselves and those for whom we bear communicative responsibility that God will keep His end of the covenant and will reward our faithfulness. Jr. Huffman John A. and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Joshua, vol. 6, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 195.

We need to remind ourselves and others that He doesn’t promise immediate results. Caleb was forty years old when God made His promise. Over half a lifetime later, at age eighty-five, Caleb received tangibly that which he had trusted God for all those years. Jr. Huffman John A. and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Joshua, vol. 6, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 195.

Romans 8:31 “31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”