Tag Archives: Joshua 12-14

Daily Bible Study

March 15, 2024 Bible Study — Caleb Conquers His Portion

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 12-14.

The first thing I noticed was that the Midianite kings whom Moses had killed because of their involvement with what happened at Baal-Peor were allied with Sihon.  Which clarifies some of the questions from what happened in that account in Numbers 31, and explains why Sihon attacked the Israelites when they requested to pass through his lands.  Overall, the passage describes the land which the Israelites were claiming as theirs, even though they did not yet control all of it.  Then the writer begins describing how the land was allocated to the various tribes, starting with the land east of the Jordan River.  After describing the basic division of the land, and that the Levites did not get a division, just some towns and cities within the land given to the other tribes.  Finally for today, it describes how Caleb obtained his portion.  I believe that description serves several purposes.  First it shows that Caleb, unlike everyone else of his generation except Joshua, did indeed get a portion of the land promised to the Israelites.  Second, it shows how the ability of the individuals to take their portion played a role in the land which they received.  Finally, it shows that Caleb was still a strong and powerful warrior at the same time his contemporary Joshua was entering into retirement.  We learn from that last piece that God chooses for some us to continue working as others enter into retirement.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

March 15, 2023 Bible Study — Recognizing Where The Authors Tell Us One Event Did Not Follow All Of Those Previously Recounted

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 12-14.

At the end of Chapter 11 (the end of yesterday’s passage), we were told “Then the land had rest from war.”  Today’s passage ends with the same phrase.  This leads me to believe that we are intended to understand that some portion of today’s passage took place during the events recounted before that phrase was written at the end of Chapter 11.  As I read this, Chapter 12 is a summary of the kings defeated by Joshua before the end of Chapter 11.  I believe that Chapter 13 occurs after the end of Chapter 11, but that Chapter 14 occurs during the time when the battles written about before the end of Chapter 11 took place.  I am not quite sure when Caleb claimed his inheritance in Hebron, but I would guess it occurred shortly after Joshua and the Israelites finished their war against the alliance of the northern kings described in Chapter 11, most likely during the time in Chapter 11 where it describes the Israelites killing all of the Anakites who lived in the hill country.  I do not think figuring out the exact timing of when Caleb claimed his inheritance is important.  Rather, I think it is important to recognize the clues which tell us that account of one event is not intended to be understood as taking place after all of the events which had been described before the writer(s) got to the event in question.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

March 15, 2021 Bible Study There Is Still Work To Be Done Serving God, Sometimes Even At 85

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 12-14.

Having conquered the largest military forces in the land, Joshua began the process of allocating the land to the various tribes. God reminded him to include the land which He had promised to Israel which they had yet to conquer in the allotments being given out.  I believe this was included here as a reminder to those reading the passage that just because great men of God such as Joshua have passed on that does not mean there is not more work to be done serving God.  It also provides a transition to tell the story about Caleb claiming his share of the land.

One thing I find interesting is the contrast between God telling Joshua at the beginning of Chapter 13 “You are now very old,” and Caleb declaring that at eighty-five years of age he was just as strong as when he spied out the land over 40 years earlier.  Everything we read about Joshua and Caleb suggests that they wee contemporaries.  Yet Joshua was ready to wind down his life while Caleb was ready for another round of the fight.  Let us learn from Joshua and Caleb.  They were the same age, but neither felt obligated to live their life according to what the other felt up for.  No matter what your age, live your life according the what God has planned for you.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

March 15, 2020 Bible Study — Never Too Old To Do That To Which God Calls Us

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 12-14.

Under Joshua the Israelites conquered a large portion of the land of Canaan, but not all of it.  This was as God had promised through Moses.  He would not give them all of the land at once because they would need time to consolidate control over the land.  So, when Joshua reiterated the borders for each of the tribes he included land which the Israelites did not yet control.  As Joshua was reminding the Israelites of the territory which belonged to each tribe, Caleb, the only surviving contemporary of Joshua, asked for his portion.  Caleb was 80 years old, or so, at this point.  Despite his age, Caleb was not too old to do the Lord’s work in conquering a portion of the land.  The Bible contains many accounts which remind us that we are never too young to do that to which God calls us.  This passage reminds us that we are also never too old to accomplish the tasks to which God calls us.

Daily Bible Study

March 15, 2019 Bible Study — Age Is a Number, When Some Need To Slow Down, Others Are Still Going Strong

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 12-14.

The passage begins by listing the conquests which Israel had made during Joshua’s lifetime.  I find it interesting that the passage gives the borders of the land which the Israelites took control of east of the Jordan River, but only lists the kings which they defeated west of the Jordan.  East of the Jordan the passage describes the borders of the land they controlled after defeating the kings whom they defeated, while west of the Jordan it describes the area in which the kings they defeated lived.  Then the passage describes the unconquered land which they were to include when dividing the land up among the tribes.  The passage tells us that this was the state of things when Joshua was forced to acknowledge that old age meant that he would no longer lead Israel to further conquest.

So, with this state of affairs, Joshua, Eleazar the priest, and leaders from the tribes divided the land among the tribes.  The division was done in such a way that all of the tribes were satisfied that it was appropriate and fair.  In the middle of this, Caleb, who was a contemporary of Joshua, comes forward and asks for his allotment.  Caleb declares that he is 85 years old, but still able to fight.  From this we see that we should not have the same expectations for everyone.  Joshua, about whom I will repeat that he was a contemporary of Caleb, needed to recognize that he could no longer lead the Israelites in war and would soon die.  Caleb, on the other hand, was still prepared to go out and serve God by conquering the land which would belong to his descendants.  Each of us needs to judge to what God is calling us based on our own situation, not by comparing ourselves to others.

Daily Bible Study

March 15, 2018 Bible Study — Never Too Old To Serve God

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 12-14.

    Today’s passage summarizes the land which the Israelites gained control over as they ended their days as nomads. Perhaps I am reading too much into this, but it appears to me that the writer of the Book of Joshua perceived the Israelites as having been nomads from the time of Abraham until they defeated King Sihon east of the Jordan. At that point, they began to take ownership of land more than a burial plot. Even during their days in Egypt they viewed themselves as nomads. No longer. The writer lists the kings whom the Israelites had conquered, then lists the land which he considered to be part of Israel which had not been conquered as of Joshua’s death. Finally he begins describing the boundaries of the land assigned to each of the tribes.

    Once the writer described the boundaries of the land east of the Jordan the writer makes a slight detour and tells the story of the tribe of Judah conquering the land assigned to them. In particular he describes the story of Caleb claiming his land. Caleb, was along with Joshua, one of the twelve spies who spied out the land before their generation became too frightened to begin the invasion. Caleb is now an old man, but claims that he is still strong enough to conquer those living on the land promised to him and take possession of it. He credits remaining alive and strong when all of his peers (except Joshua) had died to God’s grace. Despite being forty plus years older than when he scouted out the land, Caleb is still confident that, if God is with him, he can defeat those who stand in his way. Let us follow Caleb’s example. No matter how old, or young, we are, we are capable, with God’s aid, of carrying out the mission which he has assigned us. We may have “one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel” but we can be sure that if we are following God’s direction and are depending on His strength we will accomplish the tasks He has set before us. The same is true of us who are still “wet behind the ears” as well. Just put your trust in God, do as He commands, and you will not fail.

Daily Bible Study

March 15, 2017 Bible Study — So, You Think You’re Too Old To Serve God?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 12-14.

    The passage describes the Israelite conquest of Canaan and mentions that Joshua was an old man at this time (considering that he was, at the youngest, not much younger than 20 when he left Egypt, he would have been at least 60 by this point). However, the thing that always strikes me was Caleb asking for his land. First Caleb recounts that he was one of those who had scouted the land over 40 years earlier and reminds Joshua that he was one of those who at that time believed that Israel could conquer the land. Despite being 85 years old, Caleb was ready to take the land which had been promised him, land which was inhabited by the people of whom the Israelites had been so frightened 45 years older that they resisted entering the Promised Land at that time. He was confident that with God on his side he would be able to take possession of the land, even at 85 years of age. At 85 years of age, Caleb was still a fighter for the Lord, will I be? Will you be?

Daily Bible Study

March 15, 2016 Bible Study — So, You Think You’re Too Old?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 12-14.

    Today’s passage contains a list of the kings the Israelites defeated and the land they took control over under Joshua’s leadership (although Moses was still alive when they conquered the lands east of the Jordan). Despite the large number of kings whom they had defeated there was still a significant amount of land in the area God had promised them which the Israelites had not yet taken control over. God once more promised to drive the people living on the land still to be conquered out of that land, giving it to the Israelites. He instructed Joshua to include that land in the land designated for the various tribes as he divided the land among them.

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    The most interesting part of this passage is that Caleb came to Joshua and requested his grant of land. What is interesting is that this happened at a point where the passage had just told us a few verses back that Joshua was an old man. Further, Caleb states in his request that he is 85 years old. If Caleb, at 85 years old, was prepared to battle for control over the land which God had promised him, how can you, at whatever age you are, say that you are too old to fight the battle to which God is calling you?