Joshua Bible Study Lesson 9

1.Read Joshua chapter 14 about Caleb. What did he ask Joshua for?
Joshua is divvying up the land and according to verse 12 Caleb asks for the toughtest territory to conquer
2.Read Numbers chapter 13-14. What do they say about Caleb?
Thus they told him and said, 'We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly flows with milk and honey..." (Numbers 13:27). It was from the burning bush that God had called Moses to lead His people to Canaan. It was then that the Lord described to Moses the land as "flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8). The first affirmation that these words were true was the report of the spies who said that it was so.

It is important to know what God has promised to those who live by faith. Sometimes people accuse God foolishly because some tragedy strikes them and they think that God has failed them. But the fact is that God has never promised that tragedy in this life will not afflict the faithful. The promise is that when tragedy strikes, we will be better equipped to deal with it (Philippians 4:4-14).

Also, we need not fear that heaven will be any less than what the Scriptures of God promise us that it is. It is then that God promises to wipe away every tear. It is then, as we enter heaven's gates, that we will echo the words of the spies, "It certainly flows with milk and honey." "...they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land" (Numbers 13:26). It was not as if the people only had the spies' testimony about the richness of the land. The spies had brought back with them examples of the fruit grown in Canaan. The examples brought back served to confirm that everything was indeed just as the spies had said and as the Lord had promised.

Again, we see a parallel to our own journeys as Christians. We have not yet seen heaven, yet we have tasted of its goodness. It is by personal experience that those who truly live by faith are able to confirm "peace which passes understanding."

On the other hand, the things the Bible says about the consequences of sin is also confirmed. Sin has not made the world a better place. Hatred, pride, envy, scorn and cruelty abound among those who know not God (and this includes religious people as well as the irreligious). All this is evidence that God's word is true. Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, 'We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it." (Numbers 13:30). The spies gave their opinions about the matter. Ten of the twelve were convinced that if they went in to take the land God had promised them that they would fail. They advised doing nothing in that regard, and to search for an alternate course of action. Caleb (and Joshua) insisted that the time to act was now. There ought not to be any reason to doubt. God was with them. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes..." (Numbers 14:6). The people had determined to appoint another leader in Moses' place and return to Egypt. The tearing of one's garment signaled deep distress and sorrow. Joshua and Caleb knew that to rebel against God would bring disaster. Had these people forgotten so quickly the Lord's mighty deliverance at the Red Sea? Could they not remember how the Lord had sustained them and provided for them in the wilderness with food to eat and water to drink?

Likewise, today, it is a shameful thing when the people of God fail to believe. If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us - a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord... the Lord is with us, do not fear them." (Numbers 14:8,9). Faith does not deny that there are difficulties to face. Rather, it expresses confidence in victory through the power of God in spite of the difficulties. It holds that there is nothing too difficult for God.

The problem with many today is that they often leave God out of the picture. Impossible things will always remain impossible apart from God. Overcoming is possible only "through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). "But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it." (Numbers 14:24). Though most of that generation failed to enter the land, Caleb (and Joshua) survived the wilderness and accomplished the crossing of the Jordan River to inherit the land along with the children of the present generation. The reason the Lord allowed this was because of the fullness of Caleb's faith.
3.Some translations speak of Caleb having a different spirit within. What New Testament doctrine does this refer?
We too must possess a “different” spirit in order to be pleasing to God(Romans 15:4). Caleb waited forty-five years. When the twelve spies had returned from their trip into Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb had encouraged the people to obey God and enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:6-9). But the report of the other ten spies had prompted the people to rebel against God (Numbers 14:1-4). Therefore, God disciplined the Israelites by making them live in the desert another forty years.

In Numbers 14:24, God had spoken to Caleb through Moses and said, “I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” Caleb held on to that promise for the next four decades. He and Joshua witnessed the deaths of the rebellious generation. Then they led the new generation into Canaan and claimed the inheritance that God had promised to give them before they left Egypt.

When the Canaanites had been defeated, Caleb came to Joshua and reminded him of God’s words:  "Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day” (Joshua 14:12). The land Caleb claimed was occupied by the fierce Anakites—the  giants who had terrified the ten other spies so many years earlier.  But Caleb was no more afraid of them at age 85 than he had been at age 40. He declared, “the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said’ (v. 12). And that’s exactly what happened (Joshua 15:13-15).

Waiting for God to fulfill His promises is difficult. And yet that is what He calls us to do. Three times the Bible states that Caleb followed the Lord “wholeheartedly.

Caleb’s courage was first displayed after his return from his spy mission into the Promised Land. He was willing to take a stand with God when the crowd was more than willing to oppose God’s will. As we recall, ten of the spies returned with “bad news”. They stated that taking the land was beyond their ability (Numbers 13:31). Joshua and Caleb reported just the opposite. In fact Caleb, “quieted the people before Moses”, and said, “Let us go up at once, and occupy it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30 – ESV). He also said, “If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us” (Numbers 14:8). Caleb was simply trying to motivate the people to go up and possess the land which God had promised (Genesis 17:8). They in turn desired to kill him (Numbers 14:10). Think about it! These people would rather have killed Caleb than listen to his words of exhortation. Like Caleb, we as faithful followers of God must be prepared to face adversity when we stand for the truth of God’s word. There are those who will oppose us with every fiber of their being before they will submit to God’s will. Caleb inherited what God had promised because his faith never wavered (Joshua 14:14). While his world changed dramatically following the people’s refusal to go into the land, Caleb never faltered in his confidence in God’s ability to fulfill what He had promised (Numbers 14:24,30; Joshua 14:6-12). Because of his great faith, Caleb was blessed (Joshua 14:13-14)!

Because of Caleb’s great example of courage and his display of a “different spirit” before God, may we as God’s children take courage and become stronger in doing the Lord’s will in our own lives (Matthew 7:21).

4.What does Caleb say about himself and to whom does he give the credit?
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it." Caleb and Joshua try to sway the gathered Israelite crowds with their faith:

"The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 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. 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'" (14:7-9).They see the LORD enabling them to conquer these people.

5. Has God been faithful to Caleb? Has Caleb been faithful to God?

 Faithfulness is a display of ones faith. Caleb inherited what God had promised because his faith never wavered (Joshua 14:14). While his world changed dramatically following the people’s refusal to go into the land, Caleb never faltered in his confidence in God’s ability to fulfill what He had promised (Numbers 14:24,30; Joshua 14:6-12). Because of his great faith, Caleb was blessed (Joshua 14:13-14). Because of Caleb’s great example of courage and his display of a “different spirit” before God, may we as God’s children take courage and become stronger in doing the Lord’s will in our own lives (Matthew 7:21). Caleb never blamed God but simply trusted God and waited for the day when he would be allowed to cross over to the Promised Land.

6.What is the relationship of faithfulness and faith? How has Caleb shown his faith?
 Both faith and faithfulness spring from the same Hebrew root, aman.  It is the same root from which
we get our word "amen." Even the word "amen" expresses the idea of God's faithfulness, since it means, "verily," "it is steadfast," or "so be it.". Since God is a faithful God and we are his children, we are expected also to be faithful. Faithfulness is said to be a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Only a faithful person is capable of absolute faith.

JOSHUA 14:6-12: The Faith and Hope that Caleb had.

Forty-five years is a long time to wait for a promised reward. Some folk Caleb's age would have given up long before, and made a graceful exit into a rocking chair, but not Caleb. He still followed the Lord in triumphant faith. He still stood on God's Word and Faith in God's Promise. Finally, his opportunity came to claim the promise when Joshua subdued the Canaanites and peace came.

Caleb's Inheritance Came Before The Inheritance Was Given To Each Tribe.

Because the Lord wants us to know that His blessings are individual as well as corporate. God wanted every single individual to share personally in the blessings of the land "flowing with milk and honey".

Each tribe was now being given an opportunity to "mop up" what was left of the Canaanites, who were hiding in corners of the land. Some had even slipped back into cities conquered by Joshua.

After seven years of war - the zeal of many was beginning to slacken, and there was a danger of losing some of the fruits of victory.

Then the 85-year-old Caleb came forward and roused the people to action by his example. For 45 years the Word of the Lord had been his inspiration and hope. He knew what it meant to stand on God's Word, and now he reaffirmed his stand.

"MOST REVIVAL MOVEMENTS ARE YOUNG PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS, BUT THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A SUCCESSFUL REVIVAL WITHOUT ITS FATHERS AND MOTHERS IN ISRAEL, WHO SEEK NEW VISION, NEW BLESSING, AND WHO GIVE THE REVIVAL DIRECTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT."

If anything is needed in our churches today, it is for those who have known what revival fires are like, to begin to seek God once more.

Let the mature leaders get:

A new Vision of the Cross,

A new Dedication to God,

A new Hunger for the Manifestation of the Supernatural, and...

A new Courage to stand on the WORD OF GOD.

And then the Young People will soon stir to follow their example, as is being evidenced today, right across our land.

It was Faith that Believed God could overcome every difficulty or barrier - giants, or walled cities did not frighten him; Faith that expected God to keep His promises; Faith that showed he was active in his relationship to God (verse 8). Caleb's testimony in verses 10 and 11 shows that at 40, Caleb had expressed his faith by declaring that he believed God could and would do something. Now at 85, he adds his testimony and thanks God for the fact that the Lord had kept him alive. His generation was now all dead, except he and Joshua, who had survived the "wilderness wanderings" and deaths on the battlefields of Canaan. He could now claim the inheritance as one who had lived through it all.

He did not take LIFE for granted, because life is a God-given privilege. Caleb was still as strong at 85 as he was at 40 - he was still able and willing to face giants. The secret is that those who serve the Lord in their youth will have nothing to fear as they grow older. We will gain our future leaders and saints from our faithful young ones. Caleb was obviously a man testifying to vigour and strength and health and healing as a product of his close walk with God. He understood God's healing name - "I AM THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE."

Caleb, in verse 12, shows that he was not one living in the past. Some older folk live in the past - but not Caleb. He remembered the past with gratitude for God's faithfulness, but he had not lost his vision for service. He did not ask for any easy place where he could spend his remaining years in peace and quietness. He wanted to do something for the Lord.

He took the promises of God; not as a deserved reward, but as an opportunity to exercise faith and claim new victories.

So he asked for the hardest place of all, a place where giants were entrenched and where the fierce Anakim guarded the cities. In war, the officers sent the most trustworthy, faithful soldiers to the hardest places in battle. After all, how can we experience a great victory unless we are willing to face great opposition and great difficulty?

You will notice that although he thanked God for his vigour and strength, he was not depending on that. Instead, he confesses his need of God's help and demonstrates a faith firmly grounded on God's promise.

Time had not dimmed his faith and spiritual vision.

Though Israel had disappointed him 45 years before, he did not complain when he had to wander in the wilderness with them. Sometimes we do not understand why disappointments come our way, often through no fault of our own, 'BUT, new opportunities will come our way if we hold steady in faith and keep on walking with the Lord.'

A Generous Reward

(JOSHUA 14:13-15) became Caleb's Inheritance (verse 13).

He was blessed and received Hebron; remember though, he still had to possess it. God gave him more than he asked, but note that unless we have the faith to claim them, we will not have the faith to use them, so God's Word urges us to ask (MATTHEW 7:7; EPHESIANS 3:20).

God enabled Caleb to take, possess, enjoy, and keep his inheritance, AND his heirs enjoyed it too. Jesus Christ has made us Joint Heirs to an Inheritance He has won.

It follows that the faith inheritances we may win, for others to enjoy, are like parents passing onto their children the faith spoils of battle.

As we read on, we see that Caleb did more than set a good example and pass on a heritage to his heirs; he also provided them with an opportunity and incentive to exercise the same faith.

After Caleb took Hebron, he offered the hand of his daughter to the man who would take Debir, a few miles to the South-west. Othniel, the young man who took Debir, not only won Caleb's daughter and shared in the inheritance, but he continued to follow Caleb's example.

Othniel later became a judge and deliverer. A Godly example will never cease reaping rewards.

7.Do a search or cross reference and find all the verses that say Caleb followed the Lord fully (with whole heart). List them.
3 times we are told that caleb wholly follow the Lord.Num:14:24, Joshua 19:8:

Joshua 14:9 and other verses are as below;

1.Numbers 32:11-12:Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.

2.Deuteronomy 1:36:Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.

3.Joshua 14:14:Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.

8. What does Jesus say about His disciples in regard to them following Him?
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” (Mark 10:17-27)

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish (me) to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”

Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.

Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:35-45)

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:46-52)

Jesus said take up our cross and follow Him. He bore a cross and we must bear our cross and follow Him.
9. Read the account of David and Goliath & Jehoshaphat and evaluate their faith against Caleb's. What similarities do you see? Through Samuel, God told David that he would be king of Israel. David waited many years for God to fulfill that promise (psalm37). Goliath lost the fight before it had even begun. Why? Because the object of David's faith was a mighty God who once declared: "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27). The object of David's faith spelled D-E-F-E-A-T for Goliath.
10.Do you see the relationship of grace, faith, and works (Eph 2:8-10) in Caleb and him asking for and conquering Hebron?
In the Book of Ephesians, we can see the harmony between grace, faith, and works. Paul presented a fivefold description of redemption in Ephesians 2:4-7.

1. God loved us (v. 4).
2. God made us alive together with Christ (v. 5).
3. God raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ (v. 6).
4. God made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ (v. 6).
5. God showed the exceeding riches of His grace in Christ (v. 7).

Then in Ephesians 2:8-10, Paul summarized God's scheme of redemption.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast. {10} For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10). God's wonderful grace has saved us through our obedient faith to do His good works.