September 12, 2020 I SHALL DRIVE THEM OUT
Joshua 14:11-13 “I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities, perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out as the Lord has spoken. So Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephumneh for an inheritance. Therefore, Hebron became inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephumneh the Kenizzite until this day, because he followed the Lord God of Israel fully.”
Because Israel did not follow God’s command to enter the Promised Land, the children of Israel wondered in the wilderness for forty years. If you are familiar with this story, you will recall that Caleb was one of the two spies who wanted to enter the land when God said to enter, but the other eight spies were fearful of the giants in the land and they persuaded the people not to enter. After the forty years, Moses died and Joshua became the leader of Israel. Now, Caleb is eighty five years old, but he has not forgotten the promise form God that they would enter and possess the Promised Land. Even though he was eighty five years old, Caleb told Joshua that he was as strong as he was forty years ago and was ready for war and ready to drive out the inhabitants of the land that God had given them. Caleb reminded Joshua of the promises of God, and Joshua gave Hebron to Caleb for his inheritance because Caleb followed the Lord God fully. There is much we can learn from this story. One obvious thing is for us to hold on to the promises of God even when things are difficult and when there seems to us to be a delay in the promises of God being fulfilled. Another amazing point is that at eighty five, Caleb was not sitting in his rocking chair reminiscing about the past or bemoaning the fact that they did not enter the Promised Land forty years ago; he was actively pursuing the plans of God. (I’m not putting down sitting in rocking chairs-just don’t give up on actively seeking what God has for you.) Caleb was ready for war and for driving out the enemies; but he also knew that he could do just that only if God was with him. Even though we are not facing real giants to drive out, we nonetheless have enemies we must drive out lest we be defeated by these enemies. The enemies we face are real; whatever our individual enemies are, we must drive them out. Some common enemies would include such things as hopelessness, addictions, laziness, apathy, living the self-life, unfaithfulness, watching and listening to what is not wholesome, impatience-and the list could go on. We must be proactive-ready for war-and be about driving out anything in our lives that is ungodly and not pleasing to the Lord. When we follow the Lord our God fully, He will be with us and He will insure victory. No matter your age, your health, or your circumstances, go to war; in whatever way you can, engage the enemy-not only the enemies in your life, but the enemies of those we love. Your war may be making a phone call, writing a letter, praying, speaking a word of correction or encouragement, or adjusting your mind-set, but whatever it is, be about it. We must drive the enemies out and keep them out-it’s something we do daily.
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
Blessings, Buddy
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