Accepting a Challenge

Having conquered the land, Joshua now divides it so that each tribe may have a territory. In the midst of the rather boring description of this process of dividing, we come across the story of Caleb. Forty five years before he had been one of the spies sent by Moses to see what the promised land was like. Ten had come back saying the task of conquering the land was hopeless. But Caleb and Joshua had come back saying that with God’s help the job could be done.

Now Caleb is 85, but he doesn’t sit on his rocking chair. He asks for a difficult assignment, conquering the giants that live in the hill country. Notice that he is described as a man who “wholly followed the Lord.” God is still looking for people like that, people who will be completely dedicated to Him, people who will be willing to accept a challenge. Will you be one of those people, no matter what your age? How would people describe you? Would those who know you best say that you “wholly follow the Lord?”

Caleb volunteers for a challenge, but others need to be urged to accept one. In the last part of chapter 17, the Josephites (the tribe of Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh) complain that they have not been allotted a large enough territory. Joshua challenges them to clear out a territory which is now being held by the enemy.