Joshua 14:1-15
The LORD designated by name those who were to be responsible for dividing the land among the tribes (Numbers 34:16-29). The children of Judah now step forward toward those men to receive their portion of land and Caleb begins to speak. For more than forty years he had waited for this moment. Without complaining about a punishment which was not deserved by him personally, he had walked in the wilderness with the people and was upheld by his hope. He relied on the promises of God and now reminds Joshua about them. "Give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake" (v. 12). What a glorious example of persistent faith! But there is something else to admire in this man. "My strength," he says, "has not changed. At eighty-five years I am as strong as at forty." What was his secret? Isaiah 40:31 reveals it: "They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength . . . they shall walk and not faint". Through this divine strength, Caleb, who is old in years but full of youthful energy, is ready to possess Hebron and overcome the human strength of the notorious Anakim, those giants who had formerly frightened the people to such an extent. Yes, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee. . . They go from strength to strength" (Psalms 84:5; Psalms 84:7).