Giants of Faith: Joshua and Caleb

Moses sent 12 men, one from each tribe, to act as intelligence agents or spies, regarding the land that God had promised to Israel.

Text:

Numbers 13:17-20.


17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country.


18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.


19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps?


20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)

Questions:

If God had already promised the land of Canaan to Israel, and Moses trusted God to do what He had promised, what was the point of sending in spies to bring back their personal impressions of the “promised land.”


Did God, or Moses, expect that twelve investigators, invited to give their own personal impressions, would give identical reports?


If you were asked to make your own evaluation of facts, and you sensed that your views would not be shared by the majority, would you still wish to make your personal report?


”Majority rule” has been said to be a characteristic feature of democracy. In the time of Moses, was democracy a common form of government? Had any nation ever been ruled as a democracy, with “government of the people, by the people, and for the people?”


If a leader creates a commission to investigate important questions, and receives the report of a clear majority of witnesses, should he then disregard the majority report, and simply make his own decisions?

Text:

Numbers 14:10.


“But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb.”

Questions:

Should Moses have tried harder to keep the peace between those who agreed with the majority report, and those who did not?


Do you believe that in a democracy, the majority should feel empowered to discriminate against, terrorize, or even kill those whose who hold minority opinions?


And if this were our world’s first experiment with democracy, would you judge that its outcome proved successful?


And if not, what do you suppose went wrong?

Text:

Numbers 14:11-12.


11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?


12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!”

Questions:

If Moses was truly a “friend of God,” might he have responded in these words?


”Yes, God, I agree with you completely. You have every reason to doubt the commitment of this people. I understand your disappointment with them, and when you destroy them, I will break out with applause and cheering.


“And incidentally, I remember that on a previous occasion [Exodus 32:10] when you threatened to destroy this people, you offered to instead make a great nation out of me, personally. I surely hope that your offer is still good.”


Might we agree that prominent among God’s “friends” were Abraham, Job, and Moses? Does it seem curious that all three of these friends felt free to say “No!” to God, and tried to warn God against making ungodly actions?


Should true friends always applaud our choices? Or might a true friend be concerned for your own reputation? Could a friend sometimes say, “Please no!

That’s a terrible idea. Consider the long-term consequences of such an emotional response!”

Text:

Numbers 14:13-20.

13 But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the Lord. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.

14 Now if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, Lord, that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.

15 Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say,

16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’

17 “Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said,

18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’

19 In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

20 Then the Lord said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.”

Question:

What did God think of the minority report submitted by Joshua and Caleb?

Text:

Numbers 14:24.


24 But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land.

Question:

Did God welcome the report of the large majority?

Text:

Numbers 14:36-38.

36 The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land—the ones who incited rebellion against the Lord with their bad report—

37 were struck dead with a plague before the Lord.

38 Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.

Text:

Numbers 32:11-12.

11 ‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly.

12 The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’

Text:

Joshua 14:7-12

7 “I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report,

8 “but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.”

9 So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’

10 “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.

11 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.

12 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.”

Question:

Do you find it easy to believe that at age 85, Caleb was truly as strong, and just as good a traveler and a fighter as he had been at age 40?

Text:

Joshua 15:13–19.

13 The Lord commanded Joshua to assign some of Judah’s territory to Caleb son of Jephunneh. So, Caleb was given the town of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), which had been named after Anak’s ancestor.

14 Caleb drove out the three groups of Anakites—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the sons of Anak.

15 From there he went to fight against the people living in the town of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher).

Question:

What special incentive did Caleb offer to whomever would volunteer to attack and capture the town of Kiriath-sepher?

Text:

Joshua 15:16-17.

16 Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.”

17 Othniel, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz, was the one who conquered it, so Acsah became Othniel’s wife.

Question:

Would you wish to overhear any conversations that occurred between Caleb and his daughter Acsah —

before Caleb made this bold offer?

or

After he became a most original matchmaker?

Questions:

Do you suppose that Caleb already knew how assertive his daughter was?

What do you think of the newlywed Acsah’s request (or demand?) for further wedding gifts, that would allow her to make better use of the real estate already granted her?

Text:

Joshua 15:18-19.

18 When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him [or he urged her?] to ask her father for a field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What’s the matter?”

19 She said, “Give me another gift. You have already given me land in the Negev; now please give me springs of water, too.” So, Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

Question:

Are some stories so good, that others are also tempted to tell them —again?

Text:

Judges 1:11-15.

10 Judah marched against the Canaanites in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath-arba), defeating the forces of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 From there they went to fight against the people living in the town of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher).

12 Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.”

13 Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz, was the one who conquered it, so Acsah became Othniel’s wife.

14 When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him [or he urged her] to ask her father for a field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What’s the matter?”

15 She said, “Let me have another gift. You have already given me land in the Negev; now please give me springs of water, too.” So, Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

Lesson Guide:

Regarding the young Achsah, encouraged by her young husband:


“What can we do to facilitate and train youth to assume godly leadership?”

Questions:

Should we conclude that a chance to marry an attractive girl might stimulate our youth toward “godly leadership?”

And at what age might our “youth” assume godly leadership?
At age 20? 30? 40? 50?

What about our own leaders who appear to be well beyond age 60? Do we believe that with increasing age, our leaders will become more and more godly?

Who might be more interested in offers such as the one that seems to have attracted both Othniel and Achsah? Young leaders or old leaders?

Ellen White:

“With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world!” —Education p. 271 (1903).

Question:

What kind of training could transform “our youth” into “an army, rightly trained?”

Story:

When I was 17, I considered the gospel ministry. But at that tender age I already saw clearly that gospel ministers must get up and speak to crowds—a terrifying act that I could never do.

It was partly for this reason that I chose to prepare not for pastoral ministry, but for medical ministry. Not until age 28 did I become a newly married “youth.” And yes, I was happy to be a medical missionary in Africa, offering better health to my patients, married to a lovely girl, whose parents and grandparents had been missionaries before us. So yes, of course, I wanted to help people— but not by trying to preach to them.

Imagine my dismay, to suddenly find my name on the preaching schedule for Kabula Hill Church in Blantyre, Malawi.

To correct this error, I went immediately to our Mission Director. I explained that God had given me neither ability nor interest in being a preacher. In fact, Jesus Himself apparently spent more time healing the sick, than in preaching to them.

I thought the Director might prove sympathetic, until he said to me:

“Bob, you are a missionary.
Missionaries preach.
You will preach.”

So, I “preached” my first “sermon,” which I had cobbled together, literally “copy and paste,” from sermons of some of some favorite teachers. My hands shaking, my voice quivering, I stood before a friendly congregation and read this first such attempt. But people claimed they were blessed, and they urged me to speak again.

A few months later I again met the same mission director, who told me,

“Bob, I have good news for you: This year, all up and down this nation of Malawi, there will be 50 simultaneous 21-night evangelistic meetings.

I: “That’s good news.”

He: “Yes, of course it’s good news. And Bob, you are one of those 50 speakers. We have already rented a hall for you, and I’ve assigned to you an excellent translator. Here is a stack of 21 sermons that you may freely use— or you can write your own. May God bless you.”

And God did bless. People made decisions for Jesus. And ever since, in addition to healing, I have enjoyed preaching and teaching good news about God.