As the LORD Has Said

"Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said."

Joshua 14:12

When I read Joshua 14 this morning I was reminded of the importance of hearing, believing, and remembering what God has said.  We often "have not because we ask not," and we may not ask because we have forgotten.  It had been 45 years since Caleb walked through Canaan as a spy sent by Moses, but he had not forgotten the promise God made to him through Moses.  Verse 12 begins with "now therefore" because Caleb's request was based upon the premise provided in the prior verses.

Caleb said in Joshua 14:7-11, "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. ⁸ Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God. ⁹ 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.' ¹⁰ And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. ¹¹ As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in."

At eighty-five Caleb asked for the inheritance of land where his feet had walked decades before:  it was a mountainous land inhabited by giants who dwelt in fortified strongholds.  Though his natural strength and ability to fight remained as a man in his prime of life, it was not his own strength Caleb relied upon.  He knew if God went with him he would be able to drive out the inhabitants "as the LORD said."  Is there found in us a heart of humility, faith, and recall as in Caleb concerning God's Word?  Is there in us a boldness to lay claim of our inheritance God has offered by His grace?  The God who kept Caleb alive enabled him to be victorious and dwell peacefully in land others would have been fearful to enter as a tourist.

For me Caleb's request and God's fulfilment illustrates the power of faith in the life of a believer.  When Caleb reported back to Moses and the people concerning the land, it was not like the area he explored was an idyllic paradise of quiet streams and fruit trees without mountains, giants, and fortified cities.  Caleb had boldly walked up the mountain and saw their strongholds with his own eyes.  Perhaps he even walked right up to the fortress and placed his hand on it thinking, "One day God is going to throw this down and I will be there to see it according to His Word."  Instead of being intimidated by the apparent strength of the inhabitants of the land, Caleb and Joshua said in Numbers 14:8-9, "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' ⁹ Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them."

Have you ever been intimidated by a piece of bread?  Probably not!  Yet we likely have all been afraid of circumstances or future threats and by our unbelief denied the One who has promised to defend and fight for us.  Whilst those who did not believe God wept at the prospect of facing giants, Caleb saw the inhabitants of the land as bread easily consumed because the LORD was with him.  May we also demonstrate such conviction and boldness to believe and remember all God has said, laying claim to what He has freely offered us of His goodness.