Give Me the Hill Country
In the book of Joshua in the Bible, you'll find an interesting "rest-of-the-story" for a guy named Caleb. In case you need a reminder, he and Joshua were the only two out of the 12 spies who didn't freak out about the giants in the Promised Land. They said, "God is with us! The land is good! Let's go!" But unfortunately, the majority won, and they had to wait around with everybody else, wandering around in the wilderness. Talk about politics ruining your life! Anyway...because of their faithfulness, God promised that they would survive the wilderness and possess the Promised Land, unlike anybody else their age. They were forty when they were spies. They were 80 when they entered Canaan: Joshua was now the leader, after Moses died, and Caleb...well, he was just awesome.
In Joshua 14, Caleb and a delegation from the tribe of Judah, visit Joshua in Gilgal. This is an official visit, but I'm sure they had to be good friends. They were the oldest people in their nation, after all. So Caleb gives a little summary of his life-story, of spying, reporting, Israel being too afraid to enter because of the report of the others. And then he says THIS:
“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 give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak* living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”
I. Love. Caleb. What a dude! Not only did he show courage to face the giants when he was a 40 year-old spy, he goes back to take them down when he's 85! He says, "Give me the hill country. Bring on the giants ya'll were so scared of. This is my territory, because God said so." As the other tribes were starting to slow their pace, looking for short-cuts in conquering their lands, Caleb, the oldest guy around, asks for the giants. I'm guessing it might have been somewhat personal, since that seemed to be the biggest problem for the original 12 spies. But it was also personal in that, in gratitude to God giving him 45 more years and keeping him in good strength and health, Caleb wants to show that his faith isn't in retirement. He's not settling for little shorties. He wants God to help him take on those giants.
Maybe Joshua was too manly for tears, but I kind of think he might have had a good cry after he told Caleb he could have his giants and the hill country. Nothing like a happy ending. (Well, not so happy for the giants, but they did have 40 extra years to straighten up.) It's no wonder David took on Goliath. He was also from the tribe of Judah. His tribe had faith--and guts.
What are my giants? What is my hill country? What is that territory that God is calling me to conquer by faith for His glory? Forget the shorties and the short-cuts. I won't settle for the easy low-lands.
Give me the hill country! With God on my side, let me take on those giants!
*Descendents of Anak were referred to as giants. (Numbers 13:33)
In Joshua 14, Caleb and a delegation from the tribe of Judah, visit Joshua in Gilgal. This is an official visit, but I'm sure they had to be good friends. They were the oldest people in their nation, after all. So Caleb gives a little summary of his life-story, of spying, reporting, Israel being too afraid to enter because of the report of the others. And then he says THIS:
“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 give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak* living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”
I. Love. Caleb. What a dude! Not only did he show courage to face the giants when he was a 40 year-old spy, he goes back to take them down when he's 85! He says, "Give me the hill country. Bring on the giants ya'll were so scared of. This is my territory, because God said so." As the other tribes were starting to slow their pace, looking for short-cuts in conquering their lands, Caleb, the oldest guy around, asks for the giants. I'm guessing it might have been somewhat personal, since that seemed to be the biggest problem for the original 12 spies. But it was also personal in that, in gratitude to God giving him 45 more years and keeping him in good strength and health, Caleb wants to show that his faith isn't in retirement. He's not settling for little shorties. He wants God to help him take on those giants.
Maybe Joshua was too manly for tears, but I kind of think he might have had a good cry after he told Caleb he could have his giants and the hill country. Nothing like a happy ending. (Well, not so happy for the giants, but they did have 40 extra years to straighten up.) It's no wonder David took on Goliath. He was also from the tribe of Judah. His tribe had faith--and guts.
What are my giants? What is my hill country? What is that territory that God is calling me to conquer by faith for His glory? Forget the shorties and the short-cuts. I won't settle for the easy low-lands.
Give me the hill country! With God on my side, let me take on those giants!
*Descendents of Anak were referred to as giants. (Numbers 13:33)
I didn't remember that little snippet, and I'm glad I read your post. What a cool little story and good thoughts from yourself.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I never remember reading it before either. Amazing how you think you know the Bible until you read it again. :)
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