Joshua 14:6-12 meaning
Here in Joshua 14:6-12, as the Israelite leaders prepared to supervise the land distribution, the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, a town near Jericho where the Israelites had camped after crossing the Jordan River (v 6).
Previously, Israel's leaders drew lots to discern God's will in allocating the land of Canaan to the nine and one-half tribes since Moses had already assigned land to the two-and-a-half tribes east of the Jordan. Although the Levites were not to receive a portion of land, they would receive towns in which to dwell and pasturelands for their livestock.
Then, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, spoke to Joshua (v 6).
Caleb was a prominent member of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 13:6). He was the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. According to Genesis, the Kenizzites were an ethnic group living among the peoples who inhabited the land that the LORD promised to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 15:19). They dwelt in the region southwest of Hebron in the vicinity of Edom. It is possible that Caleb and his predecessors joined with the Hebrews in Egypt and were "proselytes," eventually being absorbed into the tribe of Judah.
Caleb was one of the twelve men sent by Moses from the wilderness to map out the land of Canaan. He reminded Joshua of the event: You know the word, which the LORD spoke to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea (v 6). According to Numbers, Kadesh-barnea was the spot where the Israelites camped for an extended period during their wilderness journey (Numbers 13 and 14). There, the LORD addressed Moses on behalf of Caleb and Joshua.
The Hebrew term translated as LORD is Yahweh, the self-existent and eternal God who revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). It often emphasizes God's covenant relationship with His people. In our passage, the term demonstrates Moses's relationship with God. He was the mediator between God and the people. His mission was to receive the divine revelation and relay it to the Israelites, instructing them on how to live righteously before their covenant partner, Yahweh. Thus, Moses was the man of God, His special emissary.
In a nutshell, Caleb reviewed the incident at Kadesh: I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the LORD, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart (v 7). Caleb, Joshua's contemporary in age and faith, recounted his experience and his honesty. He and Joshua were the only two who gave a favorable report because they trusted the LORD (Numbers 14:6-9). The word which Caleb brought back to Moses was as it was in his heart, it was what he truly believed. His trust was in God's promises, that the people of Israel could defeat the occupants of Canaan, despite their size and strength.
He made that plain when he declared, Nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear (v 8). That means that the ten other scouts failed to believe God. As a result, they brought back a frightening report, causing the people to rebel against their Suzerain God. But Caleb did not buckle under the pressure of the majority. He and Joshua openly disagreed with the fearful report, insisting that the Israelites could succeed because of God's promises. Caleb had decided to obey God and walk in His ways. He was not ashamed to speak about his obedience during his conversation with Joshua: I followed the LORD my God fully (v 8).
Caleb described the LORD as his God, meaning he knew God and had a relationship with Him. The man had seen how God redeemed the Israelites and protected them through the wilderness. Based on his experience, he believed God would lead them into the Promised Land regardless of the circumstances. Thus, he did not align himself with the ten unbelieving spies and the Israelites who complained about going to Canaan. Rather, he "quieted the people before Moses and said, 'We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it'" (Numbers 13:30). This conviction shows that Caleb had an unwavering faith. He adhered to God's precepts and followed Him wholeheartedly.
God answered with a promise: "My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it" (Numbers 14:24). The phrase "followed the LORD fully" runs through this section (vv 8, 9) and throughout Caleb's life (Numbers 32:12, Deuteronomy 1:36, Joshua 14:14).
Because Caleb trusted God and obeyed His command, he received a special blessing. He and his descendants would inherit the land he had spied out, as Moses had promised, due to his faithfulness (Numbers 14:24). Caleb recalled Moses' oath on his behalf on that day: Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God fully (v 9).
Now that Caleb was in the Promised Land with the new generation of Israelites, he reminded Joshua of the divine words before asking him for a portion of land. The LORD rewarded Caleb because he chose to act by faith and not by sight. He decided to obey God despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
The LORD allowed His covenant people to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land, fulfilling His promises to Abraham. Caleb was a testimony of God's faithfulness. Despite the faithlessness of the first Israelite generation after the exodus, God still allowed the new generation to enter Canaan and possess it. Caleb lived long enough to witness the fulfillment of this promise. He stated, Now behold, the LORD has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today (v 10).
Many years had elapsed from the time God commissioned the spies from Kadesh to the time they conquered Canaan. However, God's promises still held. He kept Caleb alive all those years and allowed him to enter the Promised Land with full vigor and strength. Caleb's words best capture the essence of this truth: 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 (v 11).
Despite Caleb's age, he did not have any health concerns. He was ready for war and for going out and coming in (v 11). He was so strong that he could still fight and perform all his daily activities because the LORD was with him. Moses had the same gift at the end of his life: “his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7). Caleb's obedience and patience were rewarded in his lifetime, and God rewards faithful service in His time, sometimes in the now, sometimes in eternity (Hebrews 6:10-12).
Having recalled God's promise and reviewed his physical condition, Caleb claimed his legal right based on his faith: Now then, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke on that day (v 12). The hill country here refers to the highland region. Caleb was a man who walked by faith. He trusted God even in his old age. He exemplified that even in asking for his inheritance, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities (v 12).
The prepositional phrase on that day refers to the time when Caleb and the other eleven men went to scout Canaan. The Anakim were a race of giants, "a people great and tall" (Deuteronomy 9:2). On top of that, they were valiant warriors. That is why the ten spies feared going to the Promised Land and discouraged the congregation (Numbers 13:33; Deuteronomy 1:26-28).
Although Caleb was well aware of the presence of the giant Anakim in the hill country, he requested that portion of land, for he said, Perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out as the LORD has spoken (v 12). The clause perhaps the LORD will be with me is not a sign of doubt. Rather, it is an expression of hope based upon someone’s faith. Caleb asked for the place that had frightened the unfaithful Israelites most, the hill country where the Anakim lived in great fortified cities. The spies had said of the sons of Anak, “we became like grasshoppers in our own sight” (Numbers 13:33). Caleb asks for that ground. His words perhaps the LORD will be with me leave the outcome in God's hands, while the duty to obey and act is his own. His confidence rests on God's word, as the LORD has spoken.
Caleb demanded the opportunity to fight against the Anakim and believed that God would grant him success. He was so courageous that he was willing to do one more battle in his advanced age. He had a great conviction because he stood on the promises of God.
Like Caleb and the Israelites, New Testament believers are required to live by faith, obeying the Spirit, through whom we gain strength to perform His instructions. The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews makes many comparisons between the Israelites' inheritance and believers in Jesus.
The first generation of Israelites in the Old Testament were cowardly and lacked faith in God, so they did not possess the land as their inheritance. The ten spies feared the Anakim and persuaded the Israelites to rebel against Moses and the Lord, so they lived out the rest of their lives in the wilderness. Likewise, New Testament believers can fail to prove themselves faithful, and can also "come short" of receiving their inheritance (Hebrews 4:1). The inheritance promised to New Testament believers is to share in Christ's reign over the earth according to God's original design (Hebrews 2:7-9).
For the Israelites, entering the Promised Land is phrased as entering God's rest (Hebrews 3:18). Believers enter God's "rest" of being a new creation in Christ simply by believing (2 Corinthians 5:17), however, there is another "rest" that goes beyond spending eternity with God (Hebrews 4:8-9). That is the "rest" of the reward of the inheritance, to reign as co-rulers with Christ when He establishes His kingdom on this earth in the future (Hebrews 2:10).
Caleb is a great example of someone who received his inheritance through faith, while the others of his generation (besides Joshua) failed to inherit the land. Here now, though he is an old man, he continues to show his faith in God and His promises, and to obediently pursue them.
Like Caleb seeking to inherit his place in the Promised Land, we are exhorted to pursue this additional "rest" (Hebrews 4:8-9), which refers to the opportunity to receive an inheritance as a reward for completing the work God gives us to do (Ephesians 2:10).