The Warrior: Caleb (23 page)

What do you learn about the people at this point?

What consequences befell the twelve scouts? What exceptions were made?

What consequences were exacted on the entire camp without exceptions?

What warnings did Moses give to the people? How did they react?

What did this reveal about the Israelites’ relationship with Moses and with God?

Discuss a time you had to live with the consequences of what someone else did. How did you feel?

Share a time when you were spared consequences you deserved. How did that feel?

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

HEBREWS 12:11

What do we learn about discipline from this verse? What are the conditions for “harvest”?

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

ROMANS 12:1-2

After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Now that my servant Moses is dead, you must lead my people across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Everywhere you go, you will be on land I have given you—from the Negev Desert in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River on the east to the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand their ground against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.

JOSHUA 1:1-5

Who succeeded Moses as camp leader? What is significant about this?

When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered. The people still need to occupy the land of the Philistines and the Geshurites—territory that belongs to the Canaanites.

“I will drive these people out of the land for the Israelites. So be sure to give this land to Israel as a special possession, just as I have commanded you. Include all this territory as Israel’s inheritance when you divide the land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave from my heart a good report, but my brothers who went with me frightened the people and discouraged them from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I followed the Lord my God completely. So that day Moses promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your special possession and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’

“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 I’m asking you to give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the Anakites living there in great, walled cities. 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 an inheritance. 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 Anakites.)

And the land had rest from war.

JOSHUA 13:1-3, 6-7; 14:6-15

How did Caleb approach Joshua about Moses’ promise?

As Caleb laid out his case, what did he offer as past, present, and future evidence?

How did Joshua respond to Caleb’s request?

What proclamation about God does Caleb make that is like Moses?

What reason is given for Caleb’s inheritance? What does this tell you about his relationship with God?

How do you approach people when reminding them of a promise? How has it worked out?

How have you responded when someone has approached you about a promise you made?

If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.

JAMES 1:5

What advice does this verse offer?

God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

JAMES 1:12

After Joshua died, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Which tribe should attack the Canaanites first?”

The Lord answered, “Judah, for I have given them victory over the land.”

Judah marched against the Canaanites in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath-arba), defeating the forces of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. From there they marched against the people living in the town of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher).

Then Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.” Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz, was the one who conquered it, so Acsah became Othniel’s wife.

When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for an additional field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What is it? What can I do for you?”

She said, “Give me a further blessing. You have been kind enough to give me land in the Negev; please give me springs as well.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

JUDGES 1:1-2, 10-15

After Joshua died, the tribe of Judah was selected to lead the taking of the Caananite land. Who was the tribal leader? What significance do you find in this?

What incentive does Caleb offer the man who will secure the area of Kiriath-sepher?

Who accomplishes this feat? How does Caleb keep his word?

How would you describe Caleb’s relationship with his daughter? What similarities do you see between the two of them?

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and worshiped the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They chased after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.

Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their enemies.

The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. They
forgot about the Lord their God, and they worshiped the images of Baal and the Asherah poles. Then the Lord burned with anger against Israel, and he handed them over to King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim. And the Israelites were subject to Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

But when Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord raised up a man to rescue them. His name was Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge. He went to war against King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram, and the Lord gave Othniel victory over him. So there was peace in the land for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

JUDGES 2:10-13, 16; 3:7-11

What happened after Joshua and Caleb’s generation died? What did God do to help the people?

Who was Israel’s first judge and how did he become a judge? What, if any, similarities to Caleb do you find in him?

What is Caleb’s most outstanding trait? Why do you think so?

In what ways do you identify with Caleb? What have you learned about yourself from this study?

What have you learned about God from Caleb’s experiences?

Dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.

PHILIPPIANS 4:8-9

Caleb often despaired because of his inability to follow the law that God had given to His people. Hundreds of years later, the apostle Paul would speak of this same struggle:

“I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

ROMANS 7:22-25

Interestingly, there are parallels between the lives of Caleb and Jesus:

• Questionable birthright
  
• Of the tribe of Judah
  
• Endured unfair consequences as a result of others’ actions
  
• War hero of Judah
  
• Committed to completing his mission—clearing the land of enemies so God’s people might live in it
  
• Commander of Israel’s army, fighting for God and for his family
  
• Believed and relied on the Word of God
  
• A prayer warrior armed for battle
  

• Questionable birthright
  
• Of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
  
• Endured unfair execution as a result of our actions (2 Cor. 5:21)
  
• Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
  
• Committed to completing His mission—clearing our lives of sin so God Himself might live in us (John 6:56)
  
• Commander of the armies of heaven, fighting our spiritual battles (Rev. 19:11-16)
  
• Is the Word of God (John 1:1)
  
• Is our armor and intercedes for us (Eph. 6:10-18; Heb. 7:24-25)
  

The same armor that covered Caleb spiritually is available to us today. In his letter to the Christians at Ephesus, the apostle Paul wrote:

A final word: Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.

EPHESIANS 6:10-18

New York Times
best-selling author Francine Rivers began her literary career at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English and journalism. From 1976 to 1985, she had a successful writing career in the general market, and her books were highly acclaimed by readers and reviewers. Although raised in a religious home, Francine did not truly encounter Christ until later in life, when she was already a wife, a mother of three, and an established romance novelist.

Shortly after becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Francine wrote
Redeeming Love
as her statement of faith. First published by Bantam Books, and then rereleased by Multnomah Publishers in the mid-1990s, this retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea, set during the time of the California Gold Rush, is now considered by many to be a classic work of Christian fiction.
Redeeming Love
continues to be one of the Christian Booksellers Association’s top-selling titles, and it has held a spot on the Christian best-seller list for nearly a decade.

Since
Redeeming Love
, Francine has published numerous novels with Christian themes—all best sellers—and she has continued to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her Christian novels have been awarded or nominated for numerous honors, including the RITA Award, the Christy Award, the ECPA Gold Medallion, and the Holt Medallion in Honor of Outstanding Literary Talent. In 1997, after winning her third RITA Award for inspirational fiction, Francine was inducted into the Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame. Francine’s novels have been translated into more than twenty different languages, and she enjoys best-seller status in many foreign countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and South Africa.

Francine and her husband, Rick, live in northern California and enjoy time spent with their three grown children and taking every opportunity to spoil their grandchildren. Francine uses her writing to draw closer to the Lord, and she desires that through her work she might worship and praise Jesus for all He has done and is doing in her life.

Visit her Web site at
www.francinerivers.com
.