In our study of Joshua chapter fourteen, we look at the judgement and rewards for those who have complete faith in the Lord.
Now, if God speaks to you in this study, you can save your own personal notes on this page. Then, every time that you look at this study, your notes will automatically be added to the page. To add a note or to display your previous notes, click on the YOUR NOTES button.
These are the inheritances which the people of Isra'el took in the land of Kena'an, which El'azar the cohen, Y'hoshua the son of Nun and the heads of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra'el distributed to them by lot for them to inherit, as ADONAI ordered through Moshe, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. Moshe had already given the inheritances to the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Yarden; to the L'vi'im he gave no inheritance among them.
In the last chapter, we saw that the half-tribe of M'nasheh, the Re'uveni and the Gadi received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River and that the L'vi'im (Levites) did not receive a land inheritance. Now, we will see how the land of Kena'an (Canaan) is distirbuted among the other tribes.
The descendants of Yosef constituted two tribes, M'nasheh and Efrayim; and they gave no portion of the land to the L'vi'im except cities to live in, with the open land surrounding them for their livestock and crops. As ADONAI had ordered Moshe, so the people of Isra'el did - they divided the land.
We are reminded again of the Levites and we see that, instead of an inheritance like the other tribes, they were given places to live in the cities with the land around for their livestock. We also see that the other half tribe is Efrayim and along with M'nasheh they were sons of Yosef. We are reminded that this division of the land was under the authority of the Lord.
The descendants of Y'hudah approached Y'hoshua in Gilgal, and Kalev the son of Y'funeh the K'nizi said to him, "You know what ADONAI told Moshe the man of God about me and you in Kadesh-Barnea. I was forty years old when Moshe the servant of ADONAI sent me from Kadesh-Barnea to reconnoiter the land, and I brought back to him an honest report. My brothers who went up with me discouraged the people, but I followed ADONAI my God completely. On that day Moshe swore, 'Surely the land where your foot has been will be the inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have followed ADONAI my God completely.'
Israel was once again at the camp in Gilgal which speaks of redemption and here the leaders of the tribe of Y'hudah (Judah) including Kalev (Caleb) came to speak to Y'hoshua. Kalev reminded Y'hoshua of the events where they were sent to spy out the land by Moshe. He reminds Y'hoshua of the fact that he was faithful to God in giving the good report and, at that time, Moshe had said that Kalev would inherit the land that he had spied out.
Now, look: ADONAI has kept me alive these forty-five years, as he said he would, from the time ADONAI said this to Moshe, when Isra'el was going through the desert. Today I am eighty-five years old, but I am as strong today as on the day Moshe sent me - I'm as strong now as I was then, whether for war or simply for going here and there. Therefore, give me this hill, the one ADONAI spoke about on that day; for on that day you heard how the 'Anakim were there with great, fortified cities; perhaps ADONAI will be with me, and I will drive them away, as ADONAI said."
This passage tells us of faith's rewards as we see that, since Kalev was faithful, God had given him another forty five years and he was just as strong and ready for battle as he was before. He reminds us that it was at Hevron where the giants (Anakim) scared the others into abandoning the will of God and wandering in the wilderness until they perished. Kalev remains faithful and trusts that God will continue to bring him the victory as he asks for that place. We see the phrase "on the day" repeated in this passage and the phrase speaks of judgement. Normally, we think of God's judgement being a bad thing for people but, in this case because of the faith of Kalev, God's judgement means good things (rewards) for Kalev.
Y'hoshua blessed him and gave Hevron to Kalev the son of Y'funeh as his inheritance. So Hevron became the inheritance of Kalev the son of Y'funeh the K'nizi, as it is to this day; because he followed ADONAI the God of Isra'el completely. (Hevron was formerly called Kiryat-Arba; this Arba was the greatest man among the 'Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.
We see that Hevron was given to Kalev as his inheritance and that is significant as the patriarchs were buried in a cave there and the place was known as a place of faith. We see that, because of the complete faith of Kalev, it was given to him and his descendants. We are also reminded of the previous name of the city which was Kiryat-Arba and it means "city of four". We are reminded that throughout the Bible the number four is associated with the world and earthly struggles and we are also told that the chief giant of the Anakim was named Arba with the city being named after him. In all of this we see that the reward for faith is overcoming the world and receiving rest.
Read about what we do with the data we gather and the rules you agree to by using this website in our privacy policy.