Pastor Ken Maxey: Morning Devotion 08/30/22
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
I Showed You So – Joshua 14:6-15
Joshua 14:9– “So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’”
Isn’t it a sweet feeling whenever you are vindicated? When you are at work and you tell your co-workers or boss how you think a certain task should be done. But no one listens to you; only to come to you later admitting that what you recommended was right.
Or maybe you get a second chance at accomplishing something that you either failed at completing the first time or your opportunity was taken away. Isn’t it a great feeling to take another run at it and succeed? I think all of us have had these moments sometimes in our life.
As we look at our scripture for today’s devotion, we read in Joshua 14:6-15 of a man who got a second chance to do something he wanted to do 45 years earlier, but was thwarted by the people of Israel. That man was Caleb and he was one of the twelve spies mentioned in Numbers 13.
If we look at that passage we read, “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’ But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.’ And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out…” Later in Joshua 14:8 we find out that the report from the ten spies was so bad it “melted the hearts of the people.” As a result of this hesitation, God’s anger burned against the children of Israel and He caused them to wonder in the wilderness for another 38 years. Eventually all who were under twenty years of age at the time died. All except Caleb and Joshua. The two spies who trusted that the Lord would deliver the land to Israel.
Fast forward to this moment in Joshua 14. Caleb comes to Joshua as an 85 year old grandfather asking for the blessing to go get the land that Moses and God promised him. Now remember, the land Caleb is speaking of contains a people group known as the Anakim. The father of these people was Arba, described in Joshua 14:15 as “the greatest man among the Anakim.” They were fierce warriors. It was no walk in the park to defeat these people.
But Caleb was chomping at the bit to take them on. He had mountains to climb and giants to conquer, and the only thing stopping him was not age or desire, but the go ahead from Israel’s leader Joshua. To me this shows you the kind of character Caleb possessed. He could have disregarded Joshua’s authority and simply marched into the land of the Anakim. But he waited for the blessing first.
Caleb was a man who “wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.” In fact the word wholly is used six times in scripture to describe his faithfulness to God (Josh. 14:14; also see Num. 14:24; 32:12; Deut. 1:36; Josh. 14:8–9). And because he wholly followed God, Caleb received his land.
When it was all said and done, Caleb could have stood on top of his mountain and yelled, “I told you so.” Instead, Caleb ended up showing them so. Showing the Israelites that God would continue to fight their battles.
And you know what, God continues to fight for you as well. So whether you’re young or very “seasoned,” don’t quit serving the Lord. He always has a new task for you to take on. It may even be one that you get a second chance at achieving. Whatever it is, just do it wholeheartedly for the Lord, and He will always deliver.
I pray you have a Terrific Tuesday!
Pastor Ken
