Chapter 14
Eleazar and Joshua divide up the land on the west side of Jordan to the remaining 9 1/2 tribes. This is done by lot.
Caleb requests the land he walked through when he was among the 12 who spied out the land. God had promised him this, so he gets a share of his own. Hebron was the land that Caleb received.
2023 - This verse:
12 So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said." [Jos 14:12 ESV]. The sense here is that the land Caleb is requesting is still occupied territory. Caleb is again showing his great faith. He is asking for a place that still has fortified cities inhabited by giants who are likely to be quite annoyed by tiny men trying to drive them from their homes! God had promised Caleb a place to live, but Caleb does not assume that place will just fall into his lap. Caleb does not assume that he will get his inheritance without a fight, he assumes that God will do what he said He would, in ways that Caleb cannot even imagine. When we pray, do we ask God to help us conquer giants, or to give us all green lights on the morning commute? Do we ask God to help us knock down towering walls or to find a front row parking place at Walmart? Two points...first, the things we pray for tell us what limit we put on God's power. We ask small because we believe He is small. And second, what we ask for tells us what we are willing to tackle while believing that God is on our side. We ask small because our commitment is small. It occurs to me that if all I pray for is a good parking spot at Walmart, Satan might give me that spot just to make me feel proud of my "great faith" which has led to this answered prayer...and so convince me that this is as much as I can expect from God, and keep me from asking for anything more. I mean, why wouldn't Satan do that? Reading this verse about Caleb made me feel ashamed. You know what else? Caleb was 85 years old when he made this request! Caleb knew that with God, it ain't over 'til it's over!!! So let's just all stop whining about OUR limitations and remember that God doesn't have ANY, and let's set our sights on that impossible thing we want to pray for, and then do something that we cannot do without God's help to make it happen!
FB post for next Monday