Joshua and Caleb (cont.)

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah Protects and Provides.

Why was it that God told Israel to utterly destroy her enemies in the Old Testament?

God knew that mixing with other nations would ultimately bring desolation and destruction. Israel would commit apostasy by mixing light and darkness, evil with good. Compromise would destroy them. The words of Jesus divided people as did the message of Elijah in the Old Testament. The word of Jesus calls us to serve only one —God Himself.

Here in Psalm 92, King David of Israel prophetically spoke the promise of God which applies to all His people today:

¹² The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible].¹³ Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God.

David described life as an inheritance from the Lord. Being uncompromisingly righteous produces a flourishing life like the stately, upright palm tree and majestic cedar of Lebanon.

God promised Judah this Messianic inheritance, that the scepter of Christ would never leave the tribe. This inheritance explains our reign with Christ.

Joshua 15 teaches that Caleb, one of the faith-filled two witnesses to the power of God on behalf of His people, received his inheritance in Judah as God had promised.

Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, whose name meant he will be prepared, could not have been more ready to enter the promised land the first time he, Joshua, and ten others spied it out. He believed, hope against odds, what God had in store. Like Caleb, those who listen to and obey the voice of Christ uncompromisingly believe God’s word.    

Caleb saw the land while the rest of the nation were safely lodged in the desert, and he believed that God would grant it by His power as He had promised. God fulfilled His word to Caleb. He gave him his inheritance in Judah, in the land of Anak, the early giant people of Philistia and Hebron. The word Hebron meant tied in association. It also meant spell. 

We are not under a spell, but we are protected and hidden by the power of God in the reign of the the Lamb of God, the lion of the tribe of Judah. God kept Caleb alive while everyone else of his generation died in the wilderness. He provided Caleb with the land in Judah because against the mainstream and all that could cause doubt, Caleb believed God. He perceived God’s victory over all His enemies and God’s gift of a fruitful land.

God has also given us His inheritance in a land set apart within the realm of the reign of Christ. Some ways to prepare for this are better than others, but most importantly, we must allow God to lead us. We must not lose sight that preparation implies a goal or destination.

Jesus said to one of the churches in Asia Minor that He wants them either hot or cold. The lukewarm He will spit out of His mouth. Then He says, so buy from Him gold refined in the fire to become rich and white garments so that the shame of our nakedness won’t be seen.

God directs us to prepare so that we can flourish before God and appear fully clothed in His presence unashamed.