Joshua 13 - 15

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Out of what may seem to be a boring set of chapters comes a few POWERFUL points! Let me share a few of them with you!

1) The Levites receive no land , but are uniquely blessed of God! The Bible says in 15:4, "the Levites were given no land at all, only towns to live in with surrounding pasturelands for their livestock and all their possessions." The Levites didn't receive any portion of land because God said, "I will be their portion." In other words, they will have the privilege to serve before the presence of God - a privilege no one else, other than the priests, were to enjoy! Simply put, they were to act as God's ministers in behalf of the people and were given the specific duties of serving at the Tabernacle. Instead of being granted only one geographical location like the rest of the tribes, God gave them an opportunity to enjoy 48 beautiful cities (21:41) scattered throughout the land of Israel.

Another advantage these Levites enjoyed was that they were to receive the food from the Israelites too! Actually, how this was done was that they were to receive the food that was offered on the altar of the Lord as a burnt sacrifice to God (13:14). You might be thinking, "Yuck, burnt food! What good is that?" But, in all reality, there was plenty of food left over. Since God said, "I am their portion", He wanted to make sure that the Levites were fed well, and lived well. God made it the responsibility of every Israelite to make sure that these ministers of God were to be well taken care of!

Should it be any different today? Shouldn't we, as Christians, find it within our duty to take care of our ministers? In the same manner as the Israelites were to take care of the Levites (God's ministers), so we should take care of our pastors and church leaders! It is our responsibility, as Christians, to take care of those who feed us and nurture us spiritually before the Lord!

Here's a tough question: Are you doing your part? Are you taking care of your minister? Are you making sure your pastor and/or spiritual leader is being fed and taken care of well? You might want to look into the matter! I've personally met many pastors who are struggling financially, being paid a mere poverty wage with no retirement benefits (and in many cases, no health benefits either), yet they continue to live with a smile on their face with hope in their heart and serve us who are being paid much more handsomely! May God forgive us for being guilty of abusing his servants! If you feel your pastor is being mistreated in respect to the Godly position that he (or she) holds, you ought to do something about it!

2) Oh that God would make me a man like Caleb! Reading 14:6-15 is one of my greatest joys! After a thorough examination, I'm convinced that Caleb is one of the greatest men who's ever lived! He is a man's man - a combination of great "Godly" characteristics as well as great "Manly" characteristics. As we study this man in scripture, we can see some things about him that is so uniquely characteristic of another GREAT man - Jesus!

Caleb began as a scout for Moses at the age of 40. So, it stands to reason that he must have been a brave, intelligent, and militarily cunning individual. His eyes enjoyed the wonderful and unique privilege of seeing God bring ALL the plagues on Egypt and the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. He was also the only scout (besides Joshua) who possessed an unwavering faith in the power of God because he came back to Moses and said, "Let's take the Promised Land now! Let's kill the giants of the land! God is on our side!" In addition all of this, he outlived all of his generation due to their lack of faith in God.

Now, in chapter 14, at the age of 85, he wants to go to war against the toughest people on the planet - the giants, the descendants of Anak. Listen to what Caleb tells Joshua, "Now as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty five years...I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on the journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then...you will remember that as scouts we found the descendents of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out...just as the Lord said."

Here's a guy who's 85 years old and says to Joshua "As you can see". In other words, "Look at me Joshua! I'm the same, muscular, rugged warrior today that I was 45 years ago! Look at me, you can see that I haven't changed a bit!" Wow!

Caleb doesn't want to quit working (fighting) for the Lord! He refuses to get old! He's right out there leading the young men into the toughest battles! He's trusting God to wipe out the toughest gang of giants on the planet! Can you imagine this guy??? Better yet...can you be this guy?

Here is a man that simply "Believes God!" Oh that we were ALL like that! Oh that we were all men and women who are looking for new territories to conquer for Jesus! Where are the men like Caleb today? Will you be one of them? What territories are left to conquer in your life? What giants stand in your way? What walled towns are keeping you from believing God?

3) The Jebusites could NOT be driven out! The Jebusites lived in and occupied the town of Jebus - what we now call Jerusalem. In rabbinical literature, it is said that the reason "they could not drive out the Jebusites" is because they were under an oath that Abraham made to them hundreds of years before! When the Israelites came into the city of Jebus (Jerusalem) to conquer it, they held up a bronze engraving noting the oath Abraham made with the city inhabitants. Abraham apparently let them know that God had promised him that one day his descendants would occupy the city of Jebus. Therefore, in order for Abraham to purchase the cave of Machpelah to bury his wife Sarah, he was forced into an agreement with the Jebusites. This agreement was engraved on a bronze flatware for future reference. So, it is said that when Joshua led the campaign against the city of Jebus, the Jebusites brought to him the bronze covenant articulating the terms of agreement Abraham made, which included "not take the city of Jebus against the will of its inhabitants."

Throughout the time of King David and the rule of his son, Solomon, you see the Jebusites as being servants to the Israelites. In fact, the Bible tells the story of the death angel who killed thousands of Israelites due to King David's census taking and stopping at the threshing field of a man called Araunah, a Jebusite. David, subsequently purchased that field and erected an altar to God seeking His forgiveness.

I hope this was an interesting addition to your reading today. May God give you a wonderful day!