Tag Archives: taking the land

The Lord Helping Me

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Joshua 12-17

There are two separate and opposite approaches to following God in these chapters. God had given the land to the Jews marked it out for them so each tribe knew what was their’s. However, there were people already living on that land and in those cities. Taking the land would require more than a U-Haul. It would require wars – victories and defeats. It would require strength and faith and obedience.

So here is approach #1: CALEB (14:10-15)

At 85 he was as fit as he was at 40. (I am neither). God had promised Caleb a portion of the land after he and Joshua had spied out the land and came back with a report saying they could defeat the giants living there. The other spies threw fear into the people and the whole nation was forced to wander 40 years in the wilderness as punishment for their lack of faith in God.

Now it was time to do what they should have done 40 years earlier. Caleb had been ready then. He was ready now. Here is his approach:

You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, BUT, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out JUST AS HE SAID. (vs 12b) (emphasis mine)

Caleb was ready to take the land at 85! Why? He trusted God. He knew God would help him do what God told him to do.

Which leads to approach #2: THE TRIBE OF JOSEPH (17:14-18)

They had already taken the land God had given them. Well, kind of. The Canaanites didn’t go down easily and were still living shoulder to shoulder with the Jews. The descendants of Joseph were living in the land, but they were outgrowing it. There just wasn’t room for the Canaanites AND the Israelites.

So they went to Joshua and complained about the crowded living conditions. “We need more land,” they said.

I think Joshua probably shook his head and rolled his eyes “No you don’t,” he replied. “You just need to use what God has already given you.” He told the people to get off their couches and continue the work God had assigned them. “Clear the land…you can drive out the Canaanites. Problem solved.”

We see Caleb ready to plunge head first into battle knowing God would be with him. We see Joseph’s clan hitting a road block of their own making, and wanting to take a detour. They wanted the blessing without the work. They wanted God to give them, without having faith God would help them, get what they needed.

In which approach to following God do you see yourself? I know God has given you a task, has given you land to clear so to speak. Do you grab His hand and go to work? Or do you sit back and expect Him to give you land already cleared by someone else?

Do you expect blessing without obedience, favor without faith?

There is still land to possess, souls in need of a Savior, sins that need to be annihilated in your life and mine. God says, “Go.” How do you approach obedience? How do I?

God WILL go with you. He WILL fight for and with you. Do you trust Him? I pray that you – and I – will say with Caleb:

I know that what God is asking me to do seems impossible but, the Lord helping me, I will take the land.

March 26 – God’s Sovereignty

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Joshua 12-15

Caleb went to Joshua and reminded him that 45 years earlier, Moses had promised him a certain portion of the Promised Land. Now Joshua was assigning property to the Jews, and Caleb wanted to be sure Joshua gave him the land Moses had promised. So Joshua assigned Caleb that land.

Later, Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, asked her dad for springs of water to go with the land in the Negev he had already given her and her husband. Caleb gave her the springs.

These days, with the election coming, and with such unrest in our country and the world, I often hear it said, “God is Sovereign.” Many people seem to believe that means God will put whoever He wants in the White House, that He is exacting punishment on the world by causing some people to be suicide bombers. Some seem to take the attitude that we might as well sit back and let God do His thing because, after all, He is Sovereign.

But I don’t think that means God is up there playing a game of chess with our lives.

Would Joshua have remembered Moses’ promise to Caleb had Caleb not reminded him? Would Caleb have thought to include springs of water with the land he gave his daughter had she not asked? Would the Israelites have received the Promised Land had they not fought for it?

We won’t know the answers to those questions because Scripture tells us what actually happened. Had the requests not been made or the wars not fought we would be reading a different account.

Yes, God is absolutely, without question, Sovereign. He is the Supreme Ruler. He is the ultimate Power. But God has also chosen to exist in time while we are on earth.

Actually, He’s already at the end of time, too. He’s already returned for His own in the realm of eternity. We just haven’t experienced it yet, trapped in minutes and seconds.

The Bible tells us over and over how important our choices are. Why would our choices make any difference if God was “in control?”

Does God have a will concerning who occupies the White House the next four years? I am certain He knows who will be our next president. It will be the person who gets the most votes, and voting is a choice each of us must make.

I think God’s will is for Christians to fight for our land. He wills that we choose morality, obedience, and that we make our voices heard. I think His will is that we vote and make our position known. I think His will is that we take action and not sit back and assume He’s going to do it all.

If we sit at home and think that, because God is Sovereign, His will will be done with or without us, we are sadly mistaken. There are dozens of examples in the Bible where God wanted to bless His children but could not because of their choices. More than once He “gave them over” to their choices. And those times certainly couldn’t be described as His will for them.

I know that God is in control. I know He knows the end from the beginning. I know that He knows when life on earth will end. He is Sovereign.

But God’s Sovereignty does not let us off the hook. God knows what will happen if Christians stand up for themselves like Caleb and Achsah did, like Israel did when they fought for the land.

But He also knows what will happen if we don’t.

That chapter hasn’t been written yet in the realm of time. Our choices will make the difference. Yes, God knows what we are going to choose. But He wants us to choose Him. That’s His will. Everything else will fall into place, if we choose God.

Dear Sovereign God, it is comforting to know that You are who You say You are. You are all powerful, all knowing, ever present. But You, in your wisdom have given us the ability to make choices. And those choices, according to Your will for Your creation, determine life on this planet. I pray that Your children will choose You, that we will intentionally put on Your armor, that we will purposefully choose to obey You, and that we won’t just sit back and assume You are going to do a great work in spite of us. May we not give up, thinking there is nothing we can do to change the tide. You can and do great things when we choose to be vessels through which You accomplish Your will. May You find us choosing to be faithful.