DAILY DEVOTION No. 22

                                      OBTAINING OUR INHERITANCE

Joshua 14:6-14

6  Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: "You know the word which the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7  "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. 12  "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." 13  And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14  Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

i) Caleb Followed After God And Believed In Him

He knew God’s attributes - His faithfulness, His power over the enemy, Him as provider when sending manna and quail. Caleb trusted Him wholeheartedly. He had the confidence to believe God because of His workings in the past.

Listen to his words in Numbers 14:8-9. "If the LORD is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9  Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us." Do not be afraid of them." How do you see God? Do you trust Him no matter what? Do you believe Him to fulfil His plan for your life? We must get to know God and experience Him. The more we discover God, the more we discover our position in Christ. Caleb had seen the land God had promised and had tasted of the grapes – He also saw the giants, but God’s power was far greater than any of these giants.

ii) Caleb Constantly Held God’s Vision And Promise Before Him

Caleb didn’t for one minute lose sight of God’s promise to him through Moses –   9 ‘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.' 

Now listen to what he said forty five years later. 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.” 

Listen to Caleb’s words 45 years earlier in numbers 13:30. “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” When the dream or vision becomes primary in our thoughts, we don’t even consider the possible setbacks etc. Caleb recognised the value of the prize – he had seen it . Have you seen through the eyes of faith the value of what God has for you? Caleb had to wait over 45 years for the vision to be fulfilled. Though it tarry wait for it!  

iii) Caleb Overcame The Giants He Faced And Possessed The Land

14  Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

You and I will face giants that will seek to hinder us in obtaining our possession. These giants are: i) the giant of wrong thinking - thinking that I don't have any thing to offer God, that I'm not fit to receive God's blessing because of past sin, that I've made too many mistakes to be useful, or I'm too young or too old to do anything significant; ii) the giant of apathy - happy to remain where we are; iii) the giant of distraction - other things causing you to lose sight of the vision.

iv) Caleb Received God’s Blessing and Inheritance By Following Him Wholeheartedly

God gave him his mountain – he wholly followed the Lord . When we follow after God wholeheartedly, we come into God’s rich inheritance for us.

Challenge