You may turn in your Bibles to Joshua chapter 14. Joshua 14. It's not often the case, but occasionally one of our studies on Wednesday night will make it into the pulpit ministry. So I think there are some very helpful themes or very helpful thoughts in Joshua 14.
One might wonder what it has to do with the Lord's Supper specifically. God willing, we'll make some New Covenant application as we proceed in our exposition this evening. Joshua chapter 14, I'll pick up reading at verse 1, read to the end of the chapter, and then we'll begin. These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eliezer the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them.
Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe on the other side of the Jordan, but to the Levites he had given no inheritance among them. For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And they gave no part to the Levites in the land, except cities to dwell in, with their common lands for their livestock and their property.
As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land. Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, said to him, You know the word which the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 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 back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.
So Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance. and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God. And now behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these 45 years. Ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness. And now here I am this day, 85 years old.
As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me. Just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day. For you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified.
It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.' And Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba. Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.
Then the land had rest from war. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we ask now that Your Spirit would guide us and direct us and let us learn these lessons from this particular chapter of Holy Scripture.
And help us to see as well the glory that we have in New Covenant religion, the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the great act of redemption accomplished by Him for us. How we thank you, and how we praise you, and how we bless you, and we pray through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, up to this particular portion in the book of Joshua, the people of Israel had gone in to the land and they had conquered the land. In fact, that's how the book breaks down. They enter chapters 1 to 4, they conquer chapters 5 to 12, and the section that we're in is the largest section of possessing the land, which begins actually in chapter 13 and continues to chapter 21. And then the ending chapters deal with retaining the land.
Exhortations by Joshua to the children of Israel so that they will maintain fidelity in the land and be able to hold on to it. So as I said, this larger section is dealing with possession. If you go back for just a moment to chapter 13. In verse 1 it says, Now Joshua was old, advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land to be possessed.
And he describes that land, he describes the remaining portions, up to verse 7, and in the midst of this he highlights the fact that he will drive out the inhabitants of this land. This is typical of our great God. Throughout the conquest, it wasn't the superior military strategy of the children of Israel. It wasn't their superior armament, it wasn't their superior capability, rather it was their superior God who went before them, who drove out the inhabitants, and who enabled his people to gain victory.
So here in chapter 13 of verse 1, we see that Joshua was old, advanced in years. Chapter 13 verse 6, we see that Yahweh is not old, He's not advanced in years, He is not incompetent or inept, but rather it is He who will drive them out from before the children of Israel. Chapter 13 then takes up the division of land in the eastern tribes. East of the river Jordan, there were two and a half tribes that occupied that land.
East, Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben. And probably why it's reiterated here is to maintain the emphasis on the unity of the people of God whether they find themselves on the east of the Jordan River or whether they find themselves on the west of the Jordan River. So when we get to chapter 14 verses 1 to 5 it is introductory for the division of the land west of the River Jordan. Interestingly enough it begins with Caleb and it ends with Joshua in chapter 19.
Of course chapter 20 deals with the cities of refuge and cities for the Levites, but properly speaking Caleb and Joshua bookend this whole allotment of the land. These were the two spies that were faithful and brought back a positive report to the children of Israel back in Numbers 13 and 14. It's as if to say the author wants us to emphasize or wants to emphasize that the faithful men of God head up and follow up the tribal allotments here. As I've said, it deals primarily with the tribe of Judah beginning in chapter 14. and specifically with this man, Caleb.
Caleb is a good man. Caleb is one worthy of our emulation, one worthy of our imitation. But it's not only that, we need to understand that Caleb lives by faith in the God of heaven and earth, looking toward redemptive act. And that's what I'll argue tonight. that just as God delivered his people out of the land of Egypt, where God gave his people this gift of the land, this is what kept Joshua going, but Caleb, he persevered by God's grace through faith in his promises.
That's how the supper functions. The Supper points to that great redemptive act of God on behalf of His people, namely the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We derive strength and perseverance by believing, by looking back to that event, and it gives us the grace to stand firm in the present and to persevere into the future. That's what I believe we learned with reference to this man Caleb in Joshua 14.
Four Considerations in Joshua 14
So let's look at the inheritance given to Caleb in verses 6 to 15 under four considerations.
The Past Recall
First, the past recall. Notice, then the children of Judah, verse 6, came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, You know the word which the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. Now remember, Caleb was part of the exodus.
Caleb had been in Egypt. The event that he's referring to specifically here is the reconnaissance mission of Numbers 13 and 14. But we need to put Caleb in his larger biblical context. He was a man that had been in bondage in the nation of Egypt.
And he was a man that witnessed the power of Yahweh, the glory of God, as he led through Moses these people out of the land of Egypt. He points specifically to that instance where Moses dispatched 12 spies into the land of Canaan. Numbers 13 and 14. I'm gonna assume that you've read that.
I'm gonna assume that you know what I'm talking about. If I see puzzled looking faces, may I just encourage you to go home and read those two particular chapters. But in essence, or some in substance, Moses selects a man per tribe. Twelve total.
And he sends those twelve men to go and spy out the land of Canaan. Now God already says, I am giving you this land. This was already promised, this was already in effect, this was already told to father Abraham way back in Genesis chapter 12. And so the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, they're marching their way to the promised land, and God says to Moses to separate these spies, send them into the land to spy it out.
And so of course they do that. The 12 spies go into the land, the 12 spies return to Moses. It's a reconnaissance mission. They are surveying the enemy.
They are surveying the fruit. They are surveying the land so that they can bring back report to the children of Israel who are poised to go in and conquer the land. So these 12 spies return and two of them give a good report, Joshua and Caleb. They say, it's a good land, it's filled with good fruit, and we should go at once and take the land.
This is precisely what Caleb says, let us go at once. Well, the 10 other spies bring back a negative report. The 10 other spies come back and they say, well, it's a good land, but there's big people in that land. There's anarchy.
There's giants. They are a formidable threat. We don't think that we can conquer them. And when they come back and report this to the congregation, it shouldn't surprise us that the congregation gravitates toward the negative report. so much so that the people of Israel want to stone Caleb and Joshua for having given this good report and insisting that we go into the land.
This is what Caleb is talking about. You know, verse 6, the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. He says, I was 40 years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.
Again, it was a faithful testimony. Good land, bad people, big God, we will destroy. So let's go at once. And then he goes on to say, nevertheless, verse 8, my brethren whom I brought, I'm sorry, nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt.
This is the language of distress. This is the language of fear. This is the language of trepidation. This is the language of paralysis.
The people of Israel melted and therefore they whined and complained So God ordered that they be executed in the wilderness or that they die in the wilderness and not ultimately enter the land. Caleb is referring to this particular instance, and then notice what he says at the end of verse 8. But I wholly followed the Lord my God. That is repeated again in verse 14.
I wholly followed the Lord my God. It's interesting because between Numbers 13 and 14, and this allotment of land in Joshua 14, you don't hear a lot about Caleb. other than in some genealogies he appears occasionally, and then in two specific spots it refers to that instance at K-Barnea. And in those two specific spots it describes Caleb as one who wholly followed the Lord. Wouldn't that be a great way to die?
Wouldn't that be a great legacy? Wouldn't it be a fantastic statement on your tombstone? He had his issues here, I don't know if a tombstone can contain all this stuff, but the heart, the psalm, and the substance is this, he wholly followed the Lord. The reason that he wholly followed the Lord, I believe, is made evident as we traverse through this particular passage of Scripture.
This is a faithful brother. And as New Covenant believers, whose Lord died for them, who granted us this benefit of redemption, and this every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, isn't our great privilege, our great blessing, to be able to wholly follow the Lord? Remember the death of Polycarp when they were about to burn him at the stake? They give him the opportunity, he's 86 years old, and they say, recant, renounce the Lord.
He says, 80 and 6 years I've served my Lord, and he has never, ever done me wrong. Should I betray him now? Absolutely not. Polycarp goes to the fire because he has a Christ that is worth going to the fire for.
That's what Caleb's about. When you serve the God of Israel, it isn't a chore to wholly follow Him. It isn't bad to wholly follow Him. It isn't a burden to wholly follow Him.
This is the joy and the delight of God's Spirit-filled people. It isn't a burdensome thing to keep the commandments of God. It isn't a bad thing to read those 10 words, to have the power of the Spirit, so that we may pursue those things. This antinomian or a rejection of the law of God and this idea that it's all about me does not find its tap roots in men like Caleb, or men like Joshua, or men who know and serve their God.
Holy following the Lord is what it's about. It's what we've been saved for. Isn't this Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 on resisting sexual immorality? Don't you know you were bought at a price?
Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your soul. Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness. Do not pursue your lusts, but rather wholly follow the Lord. That's what characterized, that's what described, that's what demonstrated, that's what evidenced this 85-year-old man.
He feared God. He served God. He glorified God. Notice in verse 9, again, he's reflecting on the past.
This is so important for the Christian life. That's what this is about. When we eat this bread and we drink this cup, what are we doing? We are rooting our minds back.
We are looking to the cross. We are remembering and recalling the great redemptive act of God Most High. And that's what Caleb is doing here. He's not so much different than you and I, other than we're not as faithful, I think, as this dear brother was.
But notice in verse 9, So Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever, because you have fully, wholly followed the Lord my God. It is a great description of the faithfulness of this particular brother. Before we leave the past with reference to Caleb, consider what it cost him. Consider how it affected him.
We mentioned this on Wednesday night. My apologies to those of you who remember Wednesday night. Actually, not my apologies to those of you who remember Wednesday night. My cheers for you for remembering Wednesday night.
I hope this just seals it in all the more. But you remember, there were 12 spies and there were two that were faithful. The congregation sided with the 10. The congregation wanted the stone with stones, Joshua and Caleb.
We made the observation that long before Daniel, Caleb dared to be a Daniel. He dared to stand alone. It wasn't the populace, it wasn't the majority, it wasn't what we want. It's what God has said is what Caleb was faithful to.
There will be times in your Christian experience, there will be times as New Covenant believers when you will be called upon to stand alone. There will be times when the congregation itself may turn against you. There may be times when workmates or family members... Jesus speaks of this very specifically in Matthew 10.
Do not think that I came to bring peace. Are you crazy? I came to bring a sword. There will be division in a family because of the claims of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Brethren, you signed up to dare to be a Caleb. You signed up to dare to be a Daniel. You signed up to stand alone if that is what is necessary. This brother is able to look back in history and say, by God's grace I wholly followed Him.
He's recalling the past, the great redemptive act of the Exodus that brought them to that place in Kadesh Barnea, where they would then be dispatched to spy out the land that the Lord God was giving to them. He acknowledges God's goodness. He acknowledges further God's faithfulness.
The Present: God's Faithfulness
And that brings us to the present, considered in verses 10 and 11. Notice what he says, "...and now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive." Isn't this beautiful? That's great. Not for us.
We've got to be great. We've got to be prosperous. We've got to be victorious. Caleb says, it's great, he kept me alive. 21st century North American Christians like to live in the sphere of victory constantly.
Well, brethren, if you're in Christ, you're in the sphere of victory. You just may not be bouncing around the way you might like. He kept me alive, which is no small feat through wilderness and war, is it? Isn't that what Caleb's life of 45 years consisted of?
Wilderness and war. Not retirement villa, not vacation spot, not golf course. Notice what he says in verse 10, "...and now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive." As he said, these 45 years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness, and now, here I am this day, 85 years old. As yet, I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me.
Just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Let no one ever tell you that the service of the living and true God is burdensome. 85 years old and he says my strength is as good as it was when I was 40. That's that Psalm 92 man we just read about. What happens when he gets older?
He flourishes. His righteousness abounds. He's godly. He's solid.
He is firmly established in the Lord. He is God. So what he does is he looks to the past, he brings those promises into the present, and he highlights certain aspects that brought him to this point. The first thing we ought to notice is his patience.
His patience. Again, if in the 21st century, North America, we want to live in the sphere of victory, or bubbly-bubbly, whatever that looks like, patience doesn't fit with us. We like our investments to yield immediately. We get upset if our email downloads in 5 seconds rather than 3, because I'm so busy. 45 years through wilderness and war. 45 years is probably longer than many of us have been alive.
And I realize that when we look at the biblical data, and we look at the ages, and we look at the time frames, and we look at those numbers, we look back from this vantage point, we say, you know, in the grand scheme of things, 45 years really isn't that much. Yes, it is. 45 years of patience, perseverance, and endurance. 45 years of getting up every morning, brushing his teeth, combing his hair, leading his family, going into the wilderness, going into war, coming home, kissing his wife, kissing his children, getting back in bed, getting up the next day, and doing that for 45 years. Brethren, may I suggest to you that this is the Christian life. It's not bouncing from cloud to cloud. 21st century North American Christianity, in many respects, has gotten it wrong.
God calls us to faithfully and doggedly endure. God calls us to be tenacious and to be persevering. God calls us to go through wilderness. God calls us to go through war.
God calls us to do so in dependence upon Him, wholly following Him. So what we find here with Caleb is that he reflects on the past. Now he talks about the present to look forward to the future. Notice in verse 10. and now behold the Lord has kept me alive as he said these 45 years ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in this I'm sorry wandered in the wilderness and now here I am this day 85 years old we can't stop there hang on back to the present as yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me just as my strength was then so now is my strength for war both for going out and for coming in That's a great testimony.
I know we spent a little bit of time on this, but this is what we ought to be pressing onward to. Great things for God looks like this. Looks like faithfulness. Do you know that Paul's instruction with reference to gospel ministry, according to the first Corinthian letter, he says, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found, what?
Successful, popular, cutting edge, visionaries, dreamers. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. Faithful in preaching and in teaching. Faithful in praying and in shepherding.
Faithful in the tasks that God has entrusted to them. You know what everybody's calling is with reference to the Christian life? To be found faithful. persevering, enduring, tenacious, holding on to the promises of God while marching through wilderness and war. That's what characterized this man Caleb.
Now
The Request: Faith for the Mountain
notice, he submits his request in verse 12. Now therefore give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day, for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. Now this is the point where anybody who had any faith was cheering in their hearts. Joshua was probably written to educate the people of Israel even as far back in the time of the judges.
In other words, the people that lived in Israel during the time of the judges should have been able to see here a great example of faith. And when Caleb makes this request, if you know anything about Anakim, they're big, aren't they? That's their claim to fame. Big people.
Giants. Do you see what Caleb says? It was at Kadesh Barnea when they spied out the land and they come back and report their findings. The ten spies say to the children of Israel, there's Anakim in the land.
Everybody's knees knocked, they began to bite their fingernails and they got very freaked out. It immobilized them and it paralyzed them. When it comes time for tribal allotments of the land, guess what Caleb wants? I want the Anakim's land.
What immobilizes and paralyzes the children of Israel energizes this man of faith. I don't care how big the Anakim are, I want what they've got. When we get to the apportionment for Joshua, he makes a request and the children of Israel make it happen. These two faithful men got from God blessing that they specifically requested.
This is great faith, not because Caleb was a great man necessarily, but because he believed in a great God. Now therefore give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day. For you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. Notice, down in verse 15, in the name of Hebron, formerly was Kirjath Arba.
Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. This was a foe. These people were scary. These people were a threat to Israel.
And Caleb says, I want their particular land. When he says in verse 12b, it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said. He is not doubting. He is not disbelieving.
He is rather recognizing the sovereign prerogative of God. You see, even as Caleb predates Daniel, Caleb predates David, who would write concerning our God in Psalms 115 and 135 that he's in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases. You see, Caleb has bold faith, Caleb has an earnest faith, but Caleb does not presume. Caleb understands the sovereign prerogative of God, and his hope-filled statement acknowledges that.
It may be that Yahweh will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said. And then the specific answer given to him in verse 13, Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.
Caleb and the Josephite Tribes Contrasted
before we make some specific applications, something that I think is helpful to understand, something that we looked at on Wednesday night. Go back for just a moment to verse 4 in chapter 14. For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. Remember, there's two and a half tribes east of the Jordan.
That means nine and a half tribes take the west of Jordan. Levi does not get a tribal allotment. The other tribe are these two half-tribes of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. That's how you end up with nine and a half.
Is everybody with me? I know math's not my forte, but I think even I understood that. So, everybody's there? Okay, these Josephite tribes, that's how we'll refer to Manasseh and Ephraim, don't seem to be of the same grit as Caleb.
Turn for just a moment to chapter 17 in Joshua. Caleb is identified as an at-once sort of guy. Let's go take Golan. Caleb is a man that acknowledges the goodness and the faithfulness and the kindness of the Lord in having preserved him through wilderness and war.
Caleb is the sort of man that sees Anakim in the land and says, I want that portion, provided this is the will of the Lord. The Josephite tribes do not come across that way, according to Joshua 17 at verse 14. Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why have you given us only one lot and one share to inherit, since we are a great people, inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now? So Joshua answered them, if you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the parasites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.
But the children of Joseph said, the mountain country is not enough for us." Imagine your child doing that. He'd say, oh darling, it is enough for you. That's what you might say. What you might feel like saying is it, oh darling, it's enough for you.
They sound whiny, don't they? They sound like grumblers. They sound like complainers. The mountain country is not enough for us and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Bethshean and its towns and those who are of the valley of Jezreel. bit of a different approach between Caleb and these Josephite tribes.
I just want to read a quote from Dale Ralph Davis. He says, it was crucial concerning the time of the judges, it was crucial for Israel to respond rightly to the challenge of possessing the land. A Josephite attitude will lead to military inertia. We see that in Judges 1, which will in turn create the conditions for religious apostasy.
We see that in Judges 2. Caleb and Ephraim Manasseh present the models and alternatives for next generation Israel. It will spell the difference between fidelity and apostasy, between blessing and curse. He says, so if you have read chapters 14 to 17 as though they comprised an ancient, tedious geography lesson, you have wrongly read them.
They are charged with the current that runs through them, the crisis of faith or unbelief. Behind every town he lists and every border he traces, the writer is seeking to raise up disciples of Caleb. There's a reason why these things are indicated in the text. It is for the encouragement, it is for the faith-producing character on the children of Israel.
So that when they continue in the conquest, they dare to be a Caleb rather than a Josephite. And they, by God's grace, go in and devastate the land. Unfortunately, as the book of Joshua Judges unfolds, we see, unfortunately, they weren't always disciples of Caleb.
Application
So thus, exposition, what are some lessons for us? So I've already alluded to, as I've already mentioned many times throughout the course of our study tonight, it is the redemptive act of God. that produces Caleb. It is the exodus from Egypt. It is the gift of the land.
It is His view of God and His promise and in His grace, and for the New Covenant believer, it's the cross. Matthew 121, for it is He who will save His people from their sins. It is that that we reflect upon tonight. It is that that we consider as we eat this bread and as we drink this cup.
We do so to feed our hearts, to feed our minds, so that we, by God's grace, will persevere for another 45 years, through wilderness and through war. Why do you do what you do? It's because of what Christ has done on our behalf. You see, faith looks to the past, strengthened for the present, and to go forward in the future.
That's the point of the supper, one of the points of the supper.
The Faithfulness of God in the New Covenant
Secondly, as Caleb alludes to in Joshua 14 concerning the faithfulness of God, consider the faithfulness of God in the New Covenant equation. We've got the great redemptive act of Christ crucified. The apostle draws this implication In Romans 8.32, he says, "...he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" So the great redemptive act of Christ, on behalf of his people, secures for them every blessing they'll ever stand in need of. If God has done the chief in delivering up His Son for us all, how will He not come to you in the wilderness?
How will He not sustain you in the war? How will He leave you or forsake you or abandon you in light of a crucified Savior? He won't. It is the strength we derive from this blessed Christ.
It is nurtured and fed by sacraments like these so that we will understand that great redemptive act of Christ on our behalf is that which spurs us on each and every day.
God's Presence in the Wilderness
Consider the wilderness. There are times when it seems like the believer is in the wilderness. Is God faithful? Yes.
Does he see you through that? Yes. You know what's very intriguing is that the children of Israel interpreted the wilderness as a bad thing. They thought God was taking them out there just to kill them.
God says it was in the wilderness where I nurtured you. In Deuteronomy chapter 1 he uses the language of as a father carries his son, so I carried you through the wilderness. Little did Israel realize, I'm sure the faithful and the remnant did, but it was in the wilderness that God communed with them. And the same is the case with the Christian today.
God has never stopped being with you. God does not forsake. God does not abandon. Have you ever gone through a season of difficulty?
Have you ever gone through a trial? Have you ever gone through a challenge and come out on the other side and you've said, God was there with me? God was present. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
Why? Because God's with me in the midst of the valley, in the wilderness, in the trial, in the difficulty. When everything seems to be falling down around me, God is there.
Perseverance Through Spiritual Warfare
And what about the war? Ephesians 6, 10 to 20. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but we wrestle, we battle, we engage in war. Who is responsible for keeping us?
Who is responsible for preserving us? Who is it, according to the psalmist, that trains our hands for war? It's God. It's the Lord.
The great redemptive act of Christ on Calvary frees us from the tyranny of Satan, but it enters us into a warfare or battlements wherein we need the Spirit, we need His Word, we need to persevere, but He has promised to stand with us in the midst of the fire. the perseverance of God's people in light of the cross. You know, if a Caleb could for 45 years march through wilderness and war based on the redemptive work of God and the Exodus, certainly Caleb's in the New Covenant can march through wilderness and war based on the redemptive act of God in the New Covenant. Jesus said, in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. You know what we need a great big dose of today is some tenacity.
We need a staying power, we need devotion, we need patience, we need perseverance, we need dogged endurance. We need to be a people that press onward, that faithfully plot, that serve the way that a man like Caleb served. These 45 years in wilderness and war, God has been there.
Word and Sacrament as Means of Grace
And then may I suggest the means employed by Caleb. The Word and Sacrament. You know, at times as Baptists, we use the word ordinance. That highlights the fact that they're ordained by the Lord Jesus.
Because of its association with Romanism, we sometimes back off from the word sacrament, but it's a legit word. It's a good word. You say, what sacrament did Caleb engage in? What happens when they cross the River Jordan to get to the west side?
Do you know what they do before they go in battle? Do you know what they do before they go and kill people? Do you know what they do before they go and dispossess the land of the Canaanites? They circumcise and they eat the Passover.
What's God telling us? Battle in the land is first fought and won spiritually. Right? You don't go marching in to the land of the Hivites without having spent time with God.
That's what's crucial. It is the word and sacrament. If you go back for just a moment in Joshua 14, notice it was the word that Joshua believed. Verse 6.
He says, you know the word which the Lord said to Moses. Look at verse 10. And now behold, the Lord has kept me alive as he said. These 45 years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses.
Drop down to verse 12. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke. And at the very end of verse 12, I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said. You see, it's not magic, it isn't mystery, it isn't a surprise why Caleb is the man of God he is.
It's because he lives by faith in the Word of God. And he takes the supper, and he takes baptism, at least the old covenant equivalents of them, and he uses them. He's a man that employs the means of grace, and as a result, He is firm, He is established, and He is flourishing in His old age. Our confession of faith concerning the supper tells us the supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by Him the same night wherein He was betrayed, to be observed in His churches unto the end of the world, And here's the reasons.
For the perpetual remembrance and showing forth the sacrifice in his death. As we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death. We remember it and we show it forth. It goes on to say, confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits thereof.
You see, when you eat this bread and you drink this cup, there is a benefit on your soul, according to our forefathers. Their spiritual nourishment and growth in Him, their further engagement in, and to all duties which they owe to Him, and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with Him and with each other. Don't think it's accidental that these two ordinances are mentioned in the land of Canaan. I don't think it's accidental that we are seeing Caleb reflect constantly on the Word of God.
Jump into the New Covenant, what are we told as Christians? We're told to read his Bible, we're told to pray, we're told not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, we are to obey him in the ordinance of baptism, and we are to obey him in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. Mystery? Magic?
Surprise? No. Faithful use of the means that God has ordained for His glory and for the growth of His people. So may we learn, with Caleb, what it is to reflect upon the living and true God, specifically focusing upon great redemptive act.
And in the New Covenant, that great redemptive act is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you have not come to Christ, if you have not believed the gospel, do not take the supper, flee to the Savior. Believe on Him, look to Jesus, He lived, He died, He rose again, and the scripture says, whoever believes on Him, will have everlasting life. That is what you need tonight.
It is a look to Christ in faith to live. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for this, your word. We pray that you would help us, God, to grow in our understanding of your truth, to grow in faith and belief. And God, may you help us to truly flourish as we age. Help us, God, to acknowledge and to realize your faithfulness through wilderness and through war.
And God, please continue to come to the aid of your people in this world. Cause us to know your nearness, to know your presence, to know your spirit, to know your goodness and your kindness in our lives, and help us to live in absolute dependence upon you. For Jesus said, apart from him we can do nothing. We thank you for this time that we can remember his death in a special way.
We pray that you would be glorified in this, and we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.