Caleb, example and a side of contentment (Joshua 14)

 Living in the Promised Land: A study in the book of Joshua

To view this online as a video:  https://youtu.be/z6oYNCTpIuY

Lesson Fourteen: Caleb as an example with a side of contentment

A.   Introduction

1.   Greetings

2.   Overview. [For those online, see this book overview from The Bible Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqJlFF_eU  )

B.            Today’s lesson: Chapter 14: Caleb, for example

Patty and I watched a movie four years ago about the billionaire oil tycoon, J. Paul Getty. It starred Christopher Plummer (who died a couple of months ago) and Mark Wahlberg and a few other Hollywood notables. The storyline involved the kidnapping of Getty’s grandson, then a 16-year-old John Paul Getty III, and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his grandfather played by Plummer, to pay the ransom.

Wahlberg plays Getty’s assistant who is charged to get this settled. Wahlberg’s character asks old man Getty: “What would it take for you to feel secure?” The answer: “More.”

I think this Hollywood answer by Plummer/ Getty is a myth, borrowed from a true story with John D. Rockefeller who was asked something similar. This is reported in the Shreveport (Louisiana) Times newspaper in that same year, 2017, written on his blog by Byron Moore:

“Question: How much money is enough? And can you ever have too much? I know people who have more money than they’ll ever spend and yet they are still not happy. So what is the right amount? How much money is enough money?

For John D. Rockefeller the answer was “just a little bit more.” At the peak of his wealth, Rockefeller had a net worth of about 1% of the entire US economy. He owned 90% of all the oil and gas industry of his time. Compared to today’s rich guys, Rockefeller makes Bill Gates and Warren Buffett look like middle class.

And yet he still wanted “just a little bit more.” Before you can know how much is enough, you’ve got to define “enough.” “Enough” isn’t just an amount. It is also an attitude.

Money is wonderful as a tool, but it’s terrible as a tyrant. And therein lies the difference. What is it that you want out of money?”

Those thoughts by Byron Moore made me pause this week and especially as I read this chapter starring an old hero from Torah, Caleb the son of Yephuneh.  He’s an 85-year-old man and one who is seeking his inheritance. He and Joshua go way back, and Caleb appeals to their long history of relationship to give himself footing. Let’s look through this chapter section by section. Oh, Plummer was 91 when he died in February, which is about the same age as our biblical hero Caleb. Fitting that the lesson about ‘enough’ and ‘more’ will play a role today. Although in the Bible those terms relate to the more usual terms of coveting and contentment. More on that later.

Look at verse one of chapter 14 of Joshua. The word ‘territories’ is not in the Hebrew text. It says, “These are the inheritances which Elazar and Joshua and the heads inherited to the children of Israel.” The verb is used twice which causes one to be the noun in the matter, and I think emphasizes the gift. No one really deserves what God gives. These are inheritances, not earned settlements. This is a reality that Solomon would later call to mind. Proverbs 25 says, “Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.” (25.14)

 Apostle Paul emphasizes in his letter to the believers in Corinth

“For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4.7)

Thus inheritance or the gifting of stuff, be it land or money or cattle is not yours until it’s given you. That makes a man thankful, you know? Or at least it should make us thankful. 

Let’s observe several other points in chapter 14, including traits in Caleb, as the example of a man of faith. 

Verse one also lists the overseers of the generation. Elazar the third son of Aaron, has taken over the priestly role in the family and in the children of Israel. He represents true religion. Joshua, the general, represents the military and the continuing deployment of the conquerors who are about the taking and settling of the land, and then the unnamed heads of the children of Israel representing the government, the ongoing day-by-day situational politic of the people of God. Each is part of the parceling or apportionment of the land. The word “nachal” translated inheritance or portion is going to be seen frequently going forward. It’s governmental distribution. 

So into that setting comes Caleb. We saw him before in the spies roster, that is, those who were sent over 40 years before by Moses into the Land of Promise. He, along with our leader Joshua who was then a candidate for Moses’ job, spied the land and came back with full assurance that even though Canaan was a tough place, still it was ours for the taking, because God would be with us. They never promised the people ease; they promised victory. That’s 10 times better! Joshua and Caleb’s minority report was dismissed by the people and as a result the Jews had to wander in the wilderness for 38 more years before they could enter Canaan. What a waste!

Caleb takes a back seat in the narrative, but he only grows in faith. 

What defined Caleb? And you can investigate what God says about him in Torah before now. It’s that he had a full heart and trusted God completely. 

“Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed the LORD fully.’ (Deut. 1.36)

Now, on the basis of God’s promises in Numbers and reiterated in Deuteronomy, Caleb approaches his old mate Joshua. He asks for provision. He specifically asks for land. Who has done that before? The 2 and a half tribes did that east of the Jordan. Who else did that? Lot did that with his uncle Abraham in the place of Sodom and Gomorrah. Choosing land then is not right or wrong in itself. It’s what motivates us to choose and the purposes of God in our choice that matters.

I don’t want you to miss the character of Caleb. Two things to note. First is his name itself. Caleb is a compound, that is, a combination name. Cal lev. All heart. Remember when the curse would come on Israel according to Moses? 

“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;” (Deut. 28.47)

If you want to avoid the curse, if you want to live in blessedness, if you want what Caleb has, then note the heart. It’s your passion. It’s your desires. It’s the fullness of heart; it’s the attitude of gratitude. It’s the glad heart that is full of joy and assurance that God has our back, and dear friends, he has our days in his hand, he has our front, he has the whole world, even our world in his hands. Do you believe that?

Not only is his name significant, but the second thing to notice about Caleb is his faith. From our meeting him as the representative spy from Kadesh-Barnea to this encounter, Caleb is a man who trusts that what God says is true. He believes that what God said will be accomplished. He speaks faith. He lives faith. His heart is not a quiet undisclosed location. He believes and he speaks what he believes. What is in your heart does come out your mouth. 

“For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” (Matthew 12.34)

But the author of Joshua reminds us of this again and again in this chapter as well. Verse 2 “as the Lord commanded Moses” and again in verse 5 “as the Lord commanded Moses.” 

So in verse 6, Caleb approaches the leadership and reminds them “The Lord spoke to Moses” and cites the earlier ruling. We note that later with the daughters of Zelophehad. IF God spoke, then his word remains the authority to which we all must give heed. 

Look at verse 8, it’s the word in or out of the heart. And if the word is a ‘bad’ report, then it causes people to melt, that is, faint with fear. If the word is God’s word, and thus a ‘good’ report, then it causes people to follow God ‘fully.’ Ma-leh. Full. It implies more than full like a cup. It implies overflowing and ordained. It implies God’s satisfaction.

Dear friends, if you want to make God happy, then have a full heart. Have listening ears to God’s commands and those words will fill you with faith in the one who spoke them to you. I seriously don’t understand people who call themselves “Torah observant.” By the way, most of them are Gentiles who either have conducted a DNA test to find out that they have 2% Jewish in themselves from some generations ago or who think they can make God happier by observing diets and days. My friends, if you are interested in Jewish things to earn more points with a God who is ever demanding, who is never completely satisfied with you or your wrong diet, then you don’t understand him and his love at all. If you want to make God happy, listen to him, take his words into you, love him personally. He doesn’t want obedient slaves; he wants personal friends who take him and his love seriously. Seriously. That’s his desire. Please don’t get distracted with stuff. It’s him you want. Full heart. With joy. Amen?

Verse 10, Caleb says the Lord let me live, AS HE SAID. You just cannot miss the continual devotion Caleb has to the word of God. Not to a Bible. Not to a book, but to the Living God who speaks and shares his own heart with us. 

Verse 11, the strength I have is for going out and coming in. That expression is used over and over in the Tenach (Num. 27.17-21, Deut. 28.6, 1 Sam. 18.13, 29.6, 2 King 19.27, Ps. 121.8, Is. 37.28) and in a way Yeshua used that idea as well in his Good Shepherd talk. It has to do with daily normal activity. It’s not a religious term; it’s a pedestrian term (literally) and implies ‘our daily matters.’ God wants us to mark our going out and coming in, not only with a mezuzah, and obedience, but honestly, he wants us to have strength to remember him in our human ordinary circumstances of life. He is Lord of our religion and Lord of our ordinary stuff. 

Verse 12, Caleb, the full of joy, faithful, all-heart follower of the Living God, in his ordinary and in his religious life, now asks for some hill country ABOUT WHICH GOD SPOKE, and he mention the giants, that is, the Anakim. If you were like Lot, you might choose the better portion. If you were to cite Robert Frost about two roads diverged in a yellow wood, you might choose one less travelled by, but in this case, Caleb, the man of faith, chooses the more dangerous area. He has already spied out this land some 45 years before. Even so, if he kept good travelog notes, or reviewed his Trip Advisor ratings, he might remember. But I get the impression that Caleb chooses the harder position, the tougher place, the rougher place. He wants to broadcast in his life and in his works, in his residence and in his words that God is able to overcome. He is able to accomplish what no one else would even consider—the beating of the giants in the land and the taking of their land. He wants to live in GiantVille and as a result broadcast the power of God. God is over all. God is worth noting. God is worth celebrating. And in his life and in his residence this is to be true.

23 years ago I was presented with the opportunity to move to Australia, and looked at the two major cities for Jewish people, Melbourne and Sydney. What you all may not know is that there was trouble in the land of Sydney. Two messianic gatherings had fallen into failure. One from sin and theology, and one from lack of attendance. Some significant messianic folks had died and there was what I called a spirit of death and I thought, why would I move and set up our ministry in such a location? I should probably be like Lot and choose the good place, but instead I chose like Caleb, to go where angels fear to tread. I went where life could be clearly seen. And I am still glad to be here in Sydney. Where the Anakim of the enemy lived. We are taking the land, one day at a time, one portion at a time, one congregation at a time, one Jewish person at a time.

I’m grateful for the faith God gave us and continues to give us.

I mentioned ‘inheritance’ and this city (Kiryat Arba) is Caleb’s inheritance. This is ‘an example’ because over the next few weeks, we will look at the Jewish people’s choices of land and their inheritances. Caleb then is a microcosm of the other 9.5 tribes, he’s an example.

That said, I want you to consider with what he was content. He didn’t need ‘more’ like J Paul Getty needed or like John D. Rockefeller. He was content with what God gave him.  I play much sport, and as I age, physical exercise matters more and more. The Apostle Paul said that physical exercise profits a little. Since the 1960s when John Kennedy, president of the US, instituted a physical fitness program, and now there are what seems to be dozens of gyms in each neighbourhood here in Australia, we must keep in mind that it profits a little. Thus in 1 Timothy, “bodily discipline is only of little profit,… but godliness with contentment is great gain,… since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Tim. 4.8, 6.6)

The opposite of contentment is not physical exercise, but coveting. The 10^thCommandment is “Thou shalt not covet.” If you are content, you don’t covet. You are satisfied with what you have and your lot in life.  The flip side of coveting is contentment. 

Think then in this way. The 10^th commandment is ‘don’t covet’ and the 1^stcommandment is ‘I am the Lord.’ If you want to know the opposite of coveting, it’s not merely the negation “not not coveting.” It’s rather something positive; it’s knowing God. Being personal with God who wants to extend his life and love to you.

 

Invitation

Dear friends, do you have such a sense of contentment and God’s presence today? Have you met the one who was cursed on the Roman tree for you in Jerusalem? if you have never asked Yeshua to be your Saviour, today as we keep learning from Joshua, would you choose to believe the Lord of life?   Would you be willing to take a stand for him who took a stand and died on a Roman cross for you? We love Yeshua because in his death he accomplished salvation for all people. He took the curse we deserved to give us his righteousness which he deserved. Forgiveness is available because of the death of our messiah. 

If you’d like to receive him today, just now, join me as we pray.

Say something like this: “Father in Yeshua’s name, forgive me my sin, I was wrong to dismiss you and to disbelieve in you. I need your mercy. I deserve punishment but you are kind and merciful and I receive your grace. I repent. I receive Yeshua as my saviour and Lord. I will live because of my faith in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.

If you prayed that, please let us know of your profession by writing straightaway, won’t you? Bob@JewsforJesus.org.au We’d love to hear from you.

 

Conclusion

We are delighted you have joined us today. Please join us next week and learn with the others how you can stay on track in 2021 and beyond.   I hope to see you next week as we continue our studies in Joshua.  You will certainly see yourself in the readings and in the lessons. Next week we will look at chapter 15, in what I call “A geography lesson” and see what lessons we can draw for ourselves from the scenes there!

Hope to see you then… until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

 

 

Bibliography

Butler, Trent C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 7. Joshua. Word, Waco, 1983.

Davis, Dale Ralph, Joshua: No Falling Words, Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland, 2019.

Hess, Richard. Tyndale Commentary Complete. 

Meyer, F.B., Joshua and the Land of Promise, Christian Literature Crusade, Ft Washington PA, 1977.

Pritchard, James, “The Bible reports on Gibeon.” Penn Museum, Expedition, 1961. Volume 3, Issue 4.

Sanders, J. Oswald, Promised-Land Living, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984.

Toms, Paul, This land is your land. Gospel Light Publishing, Glendale CA, 1977.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Strong: Putting God's Power to Work in Your Life. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs, 2010.

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D-Groups for this week

1)            Monday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse

2)            Monday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White

(Contact our office for zoom details)

If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?

 

The Book of Joshua:   Outline.

 

C.   Entering the Land (Chapters 1-4)

a.   Chapter 1: A funeral and a promise (Leadership Lesson 1)

b.   Chapter 2: A harlot saves the day 

c.    Chapter 3: Go against the flow (Part 1)

d.   Chapter 4: Go against the flow (Part 2)

 

D.  Taking the Land (5-12)

a.   Chapter 5: Roll away iniquity: a study in sacraments 

b.   Chapter 6: Joshua fit d’battle ob Jericho

c.    Chapter 7: Getting it very wrong: Achan and his mistakes

d.   Chapter 8: Combat and Covenant

e.   Chapter 9: Common sense is not so common

f.     Chapter 10: Southern dominance

g.   Chapter 11: How not to win

h.   Chapter 12: God is faithful

 

E.   Possessing the Land (13-21)

a.   Chapter 13: Inheritance lessons

b.   Chapter 14:  Caleb as an example with a side of contentment

c.    Chapter 15: Geography lesson

d.   Chapter 16: Trends of note (Part 1)

e.   Chapter 17: Trends of note (Part 2)

f.     Chapter 18: Apportionment (Part 1)

g.   Chapter 19: Apportionment (Part 2)

h.   Chapter 20: Provisions (Part 1)

i.     Chapter 21: Provisions (Part 2)

 

F.    Retaining the Land (22-24)

a.   Chapter 22: Can an altar alter anything?

b.   Chapter 23: Staying on edge

c.    Chapter 24: Three funerals and Renewing the covenant

 

The Seven Nations

 

1.   Amorite

2.   Canaanite

3.   Girgashite

4.   Hittite

5.   Hivite

6.   Jebusite 

7.   Perizzite 

 

 

Josh. 14:1   Now these are the territories which the sons of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned to them for an inheritance, ² by the lot of their inheritance, as the LORD commanded through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. ³ For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but he did not give an inheritance to the Levites among them. ⁴ For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and they did not give a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property. ⁵ Thus the sons of Israel did just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

 

Josh. 14:6   Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the LORD spoke 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 word back to him as it was in my heart. ⁸“Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God fully. ⁹ “So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God fully.’ ¹⁰ “Now behold, the LORD has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. ¹¹ “I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. ¹² “Now then, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out as the LORD has spoken.”

 

Josh. 14:13   So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. ¹⁴ Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite until this day, because he followed the LORD God of Israel fully. ¹⁵ Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.

Created to proclaim by Avi Snyder (Part 1)

 CREATED TO PROCLAIM

By Avi Snyder

 

Dedicated to Three of the Chosen

 

© Jews for Jesus 2007

 

 

Chosen

 

Mordecai and I had agreed to meet in order to “exchange our points of view.”  But both of us knew what we really meant by that phrase.  I wanted to tell him about my faith in Yeshua, and I hoped that he might come to believe in Him as well.  Mordecai wanted to tell me about the joys of living an orthodox Jewish life, and he hoped that I might come back “into the fold” of rabbinic Judaism.    So there we were.  Two young men in their early thirties (this was some time ago, mind you); each one intent on changing the other one’s mind.  Now, it was Mordecai’s turn to speak.

            “Avi, Avi, Avi,” he moaned.  His voice carried a sorrow that you’d expect to hear from a patriarch three times his actual age.  “I look at you, and I see such a tragedy.  You’re like a man who went searching for treasure.  But instead of looking in your own backyard, you decided to dig in the gentiles’ yards.  Whatever you think you’ve found, it can’t compare with the beauty of what you’ve left behind.”  He drew in a mournful breath, then let out a sigh.  “Come back, Avi.  You’re one of God’s chosen.  Come back.”

            Now it was my turn.  “Mordecai,” I began without trying to match his gravity.  “You’re right.  We’re chosen.  By why are we chosen?”

            It seemed like Mordecai’s profound sorrow suddenly evaporated into indifference, tinged perhaps with a little bit of annoyance at what I’d asked.  “Who knows why we’re chosen,” he shrugged.  “That’s Ha-Shem’s business.  It’s enough to know we’re chosen.  So come back.”

            I leaned a bit closer.  “Mordecai,” I said, grinning like a conspirator, “I know why we’re chosen…”

 

            There’s a good deal of talk these days, especially among Christians in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, about blessing Israel, and praying for Israel, and acknowledging that we Jews are still God’s chosen people.  The only problem is, too many believers have no real understanding of how to bless Israel, how to pray for Israel, and what it means when the Hebrew Scriptures call us chosen.

            When the scriptures speak of the nation of Israel as “chosen,” the word “chosen” does not mean that we Jews are individually and automatically “saved” from our sins.*  When God in the Hebrew Scriptures refers to us Jews as chosen, He’s referring to the fact that He selected us to serve a specific purpose and to carry out a particular task.  Throughout our history, our track record for fulfilling that task has been less than stellar.  But because of God’s grace and mercy, He has neither rejected the people He chose, nor has He reassigned the national task to somebody else.  We’re still chosen, and God is still waiting for us to do what He called us to do.  But what’s the task?  Why did God choose us?  What’s the call – in fact, the only call – that the people of Israel has ever received?  To put it a little more mundanely, what’s the job that God is waiting for us to do?  And how can the church – God’s “people” of individually saved persons from every nation, both Jews and gentiles – how can the church bless the chosen nation and pray so that the task is picked up and performed?

            Let me begin to answer these questions by taking you back to one of the most important moments in our national history as Jews – the moment when God clearly stated our call and revealed in a single phrase our entire reason for existing as a people.  Let me take you back to Sinai.

 

The Summation of our history in a single phrase

 

            You may know the context already, but let me “set the stage” a little bit, all the same.  In Exodus 19, we find my ancestors gathered at Mount Sinai, about to receive the Law. A few weeks before, God had brought us out of our bondage to Pharaoh with “a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”  He had poured out His plagues upon Egypt.  He had brought us through the Red Sea on dry ground while burying our pursuers in the waves.  Now, we camped before Mt. Sinai while Moses ascended the mountain to receive further instructions from the Lord.  It was there that God told Moses...

 

 “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:  ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.  Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” (Exodus 19:4-6)

 

            With the phrase, “kingdom of priests,” God communicated nothing less than the specific reason for our national existence.  But in order to understand what God was telling us, we need to understand what that central phrase means.  So, who were the priests, and what did they do?

In the ancient world, priests essentially performed two types of tasks.  They instructed people about God, and they interceded for people before God.  To put it another way, the priests talked to the people about God, and they talked to God about the people.  Now, if the entire nation of Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests, then we have to ask ourselves a question:  What other people were we supposed to instruct, and for what other people were we supposed to intercede?  Well, who’s left?  The rest of the nations of the earth.  Simply put, the call to be a kingdom of priests amounted to nothing less than a call to missionary service.  God so loved the world, that He called a particular people to inform the nations about the Lord, and to intercede before the Lord on the nations’ behalf.  At Sinai, we received more than the Law of Moses; we received a missionary mandate, rooted in God’s passion for the nations and grounded in His desire to see His revelation go out to all the families of the earth.

            God planned to establish a kingdom of priests -- a nation of instructors and intercessors, messengers and mediators -- so that the rest of the nations might learn Who He is and come to worship at His feet.  He created us to proclaim His love to the nations.  He called us to be witnesses to the world.  This mandate to be a community of witnesses runs through our entire history, beginning as far back as the call of Abram.  For…

(stay tuned....MUCH more to come tomorrow)

Inheritance Lessons: Joshua 13

  Living in the Promised Land: A study in the book of Joshua

A 24-week series given in 2021

To view this online as a video:  https://youtu.be/9QcA0IRy-2Y

Lesson Thirteen: Inheritance lessons

A.     Introduction

1.     Greetings

2.     Overview. [For those online, see this book overview from The Bible Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqJlFF_eU )

B.     Today’s lesson: Chapter 13: Inheritance lessons

Today we start the third section of the book of Joshua, this time entitled “Possessing the Land.” We have already entered the land and last week concluded the second section labelled “Taking the land.” Now we start section 3. And today I want to share with you three lessons from the inheritance reading of chapter 13. It may seem like a history lesson, one with Joshua, the hero, turning about 90 years old as the Jewish people finish taking possession of the land, but seriously, have you watched the news the last fortnight? Israel/ Palestine/ war/ rumours of cease fire. The subject of territory and possession, of military conquests and rights and wrongs… it’s very much in the news. By saying that, I’m telling you that I believe the lessons we see unfolding in the Bible are still valid for us and the principles are useful for us in living our lives in 2021 and beyond.

This chapter divides into two sections. First the setting. 

Joshua is old and advanced in years. 

זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים

When I read this last week, I thought of my Bar Mitzvah portion.  Chaye Sarah was my parsha. Yes, my haftorah was from 1 Kings chapter 1, where we read King David was old, advanced in years. The idiom is fascinating, by the way. 

בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים

Literally, it says, “Coming (or going) in days.” It’s a great phrase that reminds those Aussies in the 1B category of covid vaccination that they are working on days rather than years remaining. That puts every day into real perspective. I like that. My days are running out. What will I do with what I have left? 

I spoke with some Jewish friends in the US on Monday and Tuesday. The reason was that I turned 50 that day. Yes, I’m actually 69, but I was celebrating 50 years of walking with Yeshua. 5 decades of being born again. It’s a great ride, to be sure. My sister was among those on the zoom call. Then a day later, she was driving her car along, minding her own business, when the car in front of her suddenly changed course, and in fact, performed a U-turn. The reasons were personal and reasonable, but the accident that followed caused great grief to those on the scene. My sister suffered a concussion and has been in hospital since. Our days, our times, our moments are in God’s hands. 

Some of you know I lost a dear friend in the US state of Iowa last Saturday. He was unwell from Covid for only the last fortnight, and just as suddenly as he began his diminishing, he succumbed to the disease and died Saturday night. We just don’t know how long we have, so we have to make the most of our days, while we have days. 

I know ‘advanced in years' is the English idiomatic equivalent of Ba bayamim, but it’s days, not years that matter at this point in Joshua’s life, and in my life. And maybe in yours. Don’t boast about tomorrow as both Proverbs (27.1) and James (4.13-17) remind us. I’m not trying to be morbid; I’m very convinced of the reality of our own terminus. 

My wife read me a story yesterday of a cyclist in the US state of Colorado. A woman and her husband were both national champions in cycling in their age brackets. She was 47. She was killed on a very familiar stretch of road outside Denver two days ago. (https://www.bicycling.com/news/a36463435/gwen-inglis-killed-by-colorado-driver/)  Her husband was with her. This could appear random and perhaps you see it that way, but honestly, the truth is none of us is guaranteed tomorrow. Let’s make the most of today. Not in reveling and debauchery, but in generosity to our neighbor, in support of our congregations and mission agencies, in prayer for our pastor and those near us, and in speaking truth in love. Don’t waste a day. Don’t imagine you have years. Days are coming.

Lesson one in inheritance then is “Don’t put off to tomorrow; follow God today.”

Now as Davis says, “the mortality of God’s servants never handicaps the everlasting God.” (page 115). Even though Joshua is aging, and his responsibility is not set aside, his lack of ridding the land from the Canaanite peoples is evident. Yes, he won a lot of victories over many years. Yes, he and the people of Israel took a significant area of what we call Israel today. Even so, they didn’t take it all. I like to say their victories were comprehensive, but not complete. The reality of leftover folks showed in these main three geographic areas: 1) Gaza along with their southern ‘allies.’ (verses 2-3), 2) The Phoenician coast (verse 4), and 3) the mountain country of Lebanon (verse 5). Realistically, those areas are really on the edges of Israel, so Joshua could feel good about his taking care of business in the interior, but again that was comprehensive, but not complete. 

The long listing of names may be something you have previously skipped over, but listen to Matthew Henry on this section:

“We are not to pass over these chapters of hard names as useless. Where God has a mouth to speak, and a hand to write, we should find an ear to hear, and an eye to read; and may God give us a heart to profit!”

I like that. Uselessness is not in my Bible. Today may not be the day when it all comes to the light for you, but one day it will. Keep your ear to the Lord and your eye to what he is doing and saying. Does that make sense?

Look at verse 6. It’s hard to get away from the chorus of God’s promises. He made these promises of land to Abraham some 500-800 years earlier. He reiterated the promise of land to Isaac, to Jacob, and then of course both to Moses and to all Israel. As the book of Joshua began, God gave great assurance to Joshua that the land would be his. “Every place your foot trods” (Joshua 1.3) is God’s assurance of conquest and victory.  To this day, Jewish people reflect on the land of Israel in daily prayers and in conversation. It’s a centrepiece in Jewish literature and even this Sunday there will be parades and rallies across our region and probably around the world. (For more on Israel, see Jewish Virtual Library: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-bible-on-jewish-links-to-the-holy-land )

If God will do it, then Joshua, you had better listen up. Verse 7 says ‘get to the apportionment’ and divvy up the land. In the same way we read in Genesis 15.18 so it should be noted here.

“It is interesting to note that the Hebrew verb used in the Scriptures is natati, meaning "I have given" (past tense). This passage implies that God had already given the land to the Jews at some earlier time, though this is the first record of such a promise. Rabbinic commentators suggest, however, that God had set aside the land of Israel for His people already at the time of Creation.” (from the aforementioned Jewish Virtual Library) 

Natati, therefore implies already done, but like we commented on last week, now and not yet are two very different time frames. What I mean is that God’s timing is not our timing, and what he sees as done and dusted, we often have to endure or accomplish. One day we will live in heaven in perpetual and eternal life, and our Fitbit watches will be removed once for all. 

Inheritance lesson two then for today is If God promised it, he will bring it to pass. (Isa. 14.27)

The second section of our chapter begins in verse 8. 

As the first section is for old people, the 2^nd section is designed to remind all Israel of our failure. Look at verse 13.  “But the sons of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites and the …so they…dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.” That punishing sentence will haunt Israel then, ‘to that day’, and in the First Century, and to this day. Our failure in eradicating the enemies of the Jews is ever present in 2021.  I am NOT recommending that Israel now moves to comply with the historic and previous biblical mandate in our lifetime. I am NOT saying that Israel ought to remove all the foreign peoples of the Land today. What I am saying is that when God issues commands, we ought to follow through and make it happen. 

Otherwise, the remnant of the failure will linger longer than the stench of a three-day old durian. Add to the failure the guilt and shame. Add to the guilt the remorse, and the inability to shake it. Add to the remorse the never-ending self-loathing. This is a spiral that only ruins a person’s life. Failure breeds more failure. So the question has to be asked, ‘Why does God keep bringing this up?’ Is he trying to make us feel like failures?

Not even close. He reminds us of our failure AND OF HIS PROMISE together, so that we will trust him the next time. We all fall short; we all sin; we all need to repent. Then we can actually hear these words from the youngest of Yeshua’s disciples, John, who said, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1. 6-7)

What confidence we can have. Not because we are so righteous. Not because we are so biblically obedient and never fail. The reason we have confidence is that God initiated a buy-back system and redemption is available to all people. Even me. Even you. 

So when you fail, and you repent, and then you keep listening, you can actually hear the Almighty say to you, “You are not a failure. You simply failed that time. I still love you. I want you to win. And I will come alongside you to make that happen. Do you trust me? Will you trust me on this one occasion?”

Lesson three about inheritance today is “God has your back; don’t turn your back on him.”

Finally today we revisit the Levites. Remember that’s the family of Moses and Aaron. They were selected from the children of Israel who would be the clergy if you will. They were to function as priests among a people who were called to be a kingdom of priests. They were to be available to the whole people, and they were not to have their own inheritance like all the other tribes. 

Moses, we read, distributed the land east of the Jordan to the 2 and a half tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Menasheh. Then we are (re)told that the Levites would receive no territory. (verse 33)

In a way, the Levites were to lead by example that God would be everyone’s portion.  (Psalm 142.5, Psalm 73.26, Lam. 3.24) so that if we don’t have the land, or if we do, we still have our eyes fixed on him, and not on the benefits of him. 

Invitation

Dear friends, do you have such a sense of God’s presence today? Have you met the one who was cursed on the Roman tree for you in Jerusalem? if you have never asked Yeshua to be your Saviour, today as we keep learning from Joshua, would you choose to believe the Lord of life?   Would you be willing to take a stand for him who took a stand and died on a Roman cross for you? We love Yeshua because in his death he accomplished salvation for all people. He took the curse we deserved to give us his righteousness which he deserved. Forgiveness is available because of the death of our messiah.  

If you’d like to receive him today, just now, join me as we pray.

Say something like this: “Father in Yeshua’s name, forgive me my sin, I was wrong to dismiss you and to disbelieve in you. I need your mercy. I deserve punishment but you are kind and merciful and I receive your grace. I repent. I receive Yeshua as my saviour and Lord. I will live because of my faith in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.

If you prayed that, please let us know of your profession by writing straightaway, won’t you? Bob@JewsforJesus.org.au We’d love to hear from you.

 

Conclusion

We are delighted you have joined us today. Please join us next week and learn with the others how you can stay on track in 2021 and beyond.   I hope to see you next week as we continue our studies in Joshua.  You will certainly see yourself in the readings and in the lessons. Next week we will look at chapter 14, in what I call “For example” and see what lessons we can draw for ourselves from the events there!

Hope to see you then… until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

 

 

Bibliography

Butler, Trent C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 7. Joshua. Word, Waco, 1983.

Davis, Dale Ralph, Joshua: No Falling Words, Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland, 2019.

Hess, Richard. Tyndale Commentary Complete. 

Meyer, F.B., Joshua and the Land of Promise, Christian Literature Crusade, Ft Washington PA, 1977.

Pritchard, James, “The Bible reports on Gibeon.” Penn Museum, Expedition, 1961. Volume 3, Issue 4.

Sanders, J. Oswald, Promised-Land Living, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984.

Toms, Paul, This land is your land. Gospel Light Publishing, Glendale CA, 1977.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Strong: Putting God's Power to Work in Your Life. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs, 2010.

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D-Groups for this week

1)  Monday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse

2)  Monday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White

(Contact our office for zoom details)

If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?

 

The Book of Joshua:   Outline.

 

C.     Entering the Land (Chapters 1-4)

a.     Chapter 1: A funeral and a promise (Leadership Lesson 1)

b.     Chapter 2: A harlot saves the day 

c.      Chapter 3: Go against the flow (Part 1)

d.     Chapter 4: Go against the flow (Part 2)

 

D.    Taking the Land (5-12)

a.     Chapter 5: Roll away iniquity: a study in sacraments 

b.     Chapter 6: Joshua fit d’battle ob Jericho

c.      Chapter 7: Getting it very wrong: Achan and his mistakes

d.     Chapter 8: Combat and Covenant

e.     Chapter 9: Common sense is not so common

f.      Chapter 10: Southern dominance

g.     Chapter 11: How not to win

h.     Chapter 12: God is faithful

 

E.     Possessing the Land (13-21)

a.     Chapter 13: Inheritance lessons

b.     Chapter 14:  For example

c.      Chapter 15: Geography lesson

d.     Chapter 16: Trends of note (Part 1)

e.     Chapter 17: Trends of note (Part 2)

f.      Chapter 18: Apportionment (Part 1)

g.     Chapter 19: Apportionment (Part 2)

h.     Chapter 20: Provisions (Part 1)

i.       Chapter 21: Provisions (Part 2)

 

F.     Retaining the Land (22-24)

a.     Chapter 22: Can an altar alter anything?

b.     Chapter 23: Staying on edge

c.      Chapter 24: Three funerals and Renewing the covenant

 

The Seven Nations

 

1.     Amorite

2.     Canaanite

3.     Girgashite

4.     Hittite

5.     Hivite

6.     Jebusite 

7.     Perizzite 

 

 

 

Josh. 13:1   Now ^aJoshua was old and advanced in years when the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed. ² “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the ^aGeshurites; ³ from the Shihor which is ¹east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north (it is counted as Canaanite); the ^afive lords of the Philistines: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite; and the Avvite ^4 1to the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as ^aAphek, to the border of the ^bAmorite; ⁵ and the land of the ^aGebalite, and all of Lebanon, toward the ¹east, ^bfrom Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as ²Lebo-hamath. ⁶ “All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as ^aMisrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will ¹drive them out from before the sons of Israel; ^bonly allot it to Israel for an inheritance as I have commanded you. ⁷ “Now therefore, apportion this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

 

Josh. 13:8   With ¹the other half-tribe, the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them ^abeyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD gave to them; ⁹ from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba, as far as Dibon; ¹⁰ and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the sons of Ammon; ¹¹ and ^aGilead, and the ¹territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah; ¹² all the kingdom of ^aOg in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses ^bstruck them and dispossessed them. ¹³ But the sons of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites or the Maacathites; for Geshur and Maacath live among Israel until this day. ^14 aOnly to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are ¹their inheritance, as He spoke to him.

 

Josh. 13:15   So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families. ¹⁶ Their ¹territory was ^afrom Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba; ¹⁷ Heshbon, and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon and Bamoth-baal and Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸ and ^aJahaz and Kedemoth and Mephaath, ¹⁹ and ^aKiriathaim and Sibmah and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, ²⁰ and Beth-peor and the slopes of Pisgah and Beth-jeshimoth, ²¹ even all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the chiefs of Midian, ^aEvi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. ²² The sons of Israel also killed ^aBalaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their slain. ²³ The border of the sons of Reuben was the ¹Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.

 

Josh. 13:24   Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad, according to their families. ²⁵Their territory was ^aJazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer which is before Rabbah; ²⁶ and from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the border of ¹Debir; ²⁷ and in the valley, Beth-haram and Beth-nimrah and Succoth and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan ¹as a border, as far as the lower end of the Sea of ^2aChinnereth beyond the Jordan to the east. ²⁸ This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages.

 

Josh. 13:29   Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families. ³⁰ Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all ^athe ¹towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities; ³¹ also half of Gilead, with ^aAshtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families.

 

Josh. 13:32   These are the territories which Moses apportioned for an inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho to the east. ³³ But ^ato the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had ¹promised to them.