We're going to be in the book
of Judges again tonight. Judges 1. Judges 1. And I'm going to read beginning
with verse 8 down through verse 13, but I want to spend our time
tonight mostly on verse 12. But let's start with verse 12.
Well, let me read verse 2 because that's kind of the key to this
whole scene. And the Lord said, Judah shall
go up. Behold, I have delivered the
land into his hand. Jehovah said, Judah shall go
up. Behold, I have delivered the
land into his hand. And now beginning with verse
8. Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem.
and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword,
and set the city on fire. And afterward the children of
Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in
the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley. And Judah
went against the Canaanites that dwell in Hebron. Now the name
of Hebron before was Kirjath Arba. And they slew Shishai,
and Ahiman, and Talmai. And from thence he went against
the inhabitants of Debor. And the name of Debor before
was called Kerjathsephir. And Caleb said, he that smiteth
Kerjathsephir and taketh it to him will I give Aksha, my daughter,
to wife. Now that caught my attention
in that 12th verse, a name that we're familiar with as we've
been going through the book of Numbers, and that is our friend
Caleb. Caleb, as he's mentioned here. Now it's interesting too that
this passage of scripture is almost a direct quote or is almost
the same verses over in the book of Judges, or excuse me, Joshua. Would you turn with me to Joshua
chapter 15? The Lord is so gracious to the
church on this, that He often repeats Himself. And, you know,
we may think that that's a characteristic in our old age that we don't
want to acquire, that we always repeat ourself, but the Lord
has license to do that, and we thank Him for it, because He's
the one that is constantly repeats the great truths from generation
to generation, the great truths of his sovereignty, the great
truths of his elective grace, the great truths of how he saves
his people, the gospel. He continues to repeat that from
generation to generation. And here in the book of Joshua
chapter 15, And beginning with verse 13, we have these words
recorded, And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part
among the children of Judah, and according to the commandment
of the LORD to Joshua, even unto Arba the city of Anak, which
city is in Hebron. And Caleb drove thence the three
sons of Enoch, Shishai, Ahamond, and Talamite, the children of
Enoch. And he went up thence to the
inhabitants of Derbeer. And the name of Derbeer before
was Kurjathsephir. And Caleb said, He that smiteth
Kurjathsephir and taketh it to him will I give Achish my daughter
to wife, And the rest of these verses in this section are the
same as we find over in the book of Judges. And I just find that
it is intriguing, but it also is such a blessing for us to
realize that as we go from book to book, chapter to chapter,
we're going to find that God is going to repeat Himself about
the great truths of the Bible, the great truths of the Gospel.
This is mentioned over in the New Testament in a couple of
places. So would you join me over in the book of Philippians?
The book of Philippians. God is gracious to repeat Himself. He's gracious to us. He knows
that we so easily forget, we so easily put things aside, and
here we are, one more time, it's brought up and it's mentioned,
and it warms our heart as He does that. So in the book of
Philippians, we have this mention, this statement is mentioned about
this very thing in the book of Philippians chapter 3. And there
in verse 1, we have the Holy Spirit using the Apostle Paul
as his secretary and saying, Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. To write the same things to you,
to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. It's
a good thing. that God would have these writers
of the New Testament as well as the writers of the Old Testament
continuously go over the truths of the Gospel, continuously go
over the truth about God, continuously go over about the Messiah, about
the Lord Jesus Christ, about His earthly ministry, about His
heavenly ministry, about who He's going to save, how He's
going to save. There's repeat after repeat after repeat of
these great truths and The church has been thankful for that. The
Apostle Paul used that in his ministry. He never failed to
write the old, old story in these books. All right, a couple of
other places, and this is brought out by the Apostle Peter in the
book of 2 Peter. 2 Peter 1. 2 Peter 1, verse 12. We find that the Apostle Peter
was to write some of these same things. What we find in the book
of Judges, It's also recorded over in the book of Joshua and,
you know, some people and even one group edited out all the
repeats and the Bible was about half the size that it is. Well,
they edited out God repeating the great truths of the Bible. Here in the book of 2 Peter chapter
1 verse 12, 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 12, Wherefore I will not be negligent
to put you always in remembrance of these things. Though you know
them and be established in the present truth. You already know
these truths, but I'm going to go over them again. And that's
what we do from Sunday to Sunday, Wednesday night to Wednesday
night, Bible class, whatever time we're going over the same
thing. We're not changing our message. We're going over the same thing.
Verse 13. Yeah, I think it meet as long
as I am in this tabernacle, as long as I'm alive. to stir you
up by putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put
off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus has showed
me." Verse 15, "'Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able
after my decease to have these things always in remembrance,
The preacher's not gonna be around here all forever, gonna come,
preach, leave, pass on, and yet this ministry, this message continues
on, and it is never old, it never wears out, and it's often repeated. And again, Peter mentions this
in 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3 and verse 1, he brings
this up again. talks about the second letter
that he is called to write. The Holy Spirit gave him the
ability to write this second epistle. It says, This second
epistle, beloved, I now write it unto you in both which I stir
up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that ye may be mindful
of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets of
the commandments, of us, the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, what the prophets said, the
apostles said, we continue to say, we continue to repeat, we
continue to go over the same ground. And so, it is not by
mistake that these things are repeated in the scriptures. We
find that it is on purpose that God does this, and the church
is thankful for it. From generation to generation,
God calls up people to declare the same truths that have been
declared from the very beginning. Now, as we go back there to the
book of Judges, Judges chapter 1 and verse 12, we're not introduced
to a fellow. We have some acquaintance with
this brother. He indeed is our brother, this
man by the name of Caleb. In the book of Judges, Chapter
1 verse 12 we have and Caleb said now we're going to spend
our time on this man tonight Because he is very important
in the scriptures one of the things that he is important about
is he is of the tribe of Judah and Now, Joshua was not. Joshua was of another tribe,
but this is that one that has been, well, God said, Judah's
gonna take the property. Judah's gonna take the land.
He's gonna deliver the land into the land of Judah. And Caleb
is here, and it's interesting that Caleb's name means a dog. Now, I mentioned that to a grandson
once, and he says, I don't like that. Well, this Caleb, and I
pray someday that my Caleb will appreciate the meaning of that
name. That word dog is used 16 times
in the Old Testament, and that number Mr. Strong gave to his
Hebrew word to 3611. Now Caleb is mentioned 36 times
in the Old Testament, and Mr. Strong gave his name, the number
3612. There is very close relationship
between dog and Caleb. One is translated dog, the other
one is always translated Caleb. Now, many times a dog is known
for the qualities of faithfulness, wholehearted, bold, or brave. That's what we find that this
means. And I've heard that there are only two animals in all the
world that will give their life for their master. That's a dog
and a horse. Most other animals, they could
care less. But a dog and a horse. In the
New Testament, there is a Greek word that has been translated
worship. The first time that this word
is used is found in the book of Matthew chapter 2. Now, follow
with me. We're going to make a point here.
We're going to be looking at Caleb. Caleb's name means a dog. And here in the New Testament,
there is a Greek word that has been translated worship. Now
let's look at this word, first time it's used, it's found in
the book of Matthew chapter 2 and verse 2. This has to do with
the birth of the Lord Jesus and some folks that come from a great
distance from the east to come and visit. Now, I just want to
throw this in. They're often said there were
three of these men. They're three gifts. I think there are probably more
than that, and every one of them had one of the three gifts, so
they brought a lot. But how many there were, it doesn't
matter. We do know that there were three
gifts. Now, they are wise men from the east, and they came
to Bethlehem in the days of Herod, king. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem,
verse one of Judea, in the days of Herod, the king, behold, there
came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he
that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in
the east and are come to worship him. Now this is one of 60 times
in the New Testament that this particular word is used, this
word worship. Now the interesting thing for
me is that this word worship carries with it, and I wouldn't
know this, I'm not a Greek scholar, but I can read Strong's Concordance. And Mr. Strong's definition for
this word is, to kiss like a dog licking his master's hand. Now
that's his direct quote, to kiss like a dog licking his master's
hand. Now when we get over here and
looking at Caleb, we find that he has been given the ability
to worship God. And he gives that ability to
worship God in such a way that he worships God. He bows before
God. He bends before God. He has given
up to God because God has worked a work of grace in him. So he
is like a dog, Caleb, Licking his master's hand. He is so worshipful
of God and God gives us a reason for all of that as we look into
the scriptures. So we're going to do a little
quick review over in the book of Numbers again. So if you join
me in the book of Numbers, let's follow this man Caleb. His name
means dog and he worships God. He loves God. He has God as the
object of his worship and His very name, Dog, symbolizes what
worship is. It is like a dog licking its
master's hand. He knows what that master provides. He knows that the master provides
safety, and he will give his life for that. He will. All right, here in the book of
Numbers, chapter 13, we read, first of all, with regard to
this grandbrother in the Lord, this man by the name of Caleb,
he's of the tribe of Judah, and it tells us right here in Numbers
chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13 verse 2, it
says, Sin thou mean. Now the Lord is speaking to Moses
and this is the time that the Lord is going to call on 12 men
to go into the land that, I want to underline this, He has promised
to the children of Israel. That's so important. Because
10 of them could not believe that promise. Two of them did.
Now the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men that they
may search the land of Canaan. which I give unto the children
of Israel. I give this land unto the children
of Israel. Underline that, put it in boldface
type and about a hundred point because that's what God said.
I will give them this land of every tribe of their fathers
shall you send a man, everyone, a ruler among them. Drop down
if you would in that section and look at verse six of the
tribe of Judah. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.
So out of all the members of the tribe, Caleb is chosen to
be the spy, the man that would go in and look at the land. Now,
we're going to find out that there is another, the whole list
is given right there, and we find out that we have another
one that's going to go into the land, and that's Joshua. Joshua
and Caleb. We hear of them together so often
in scriptures. Now, if you travel down to verse
25 of this chapter, you'll notice that they return from searching
the land after 40 days. They've gone in. What a time
that they have spent in that land. You know, the land is not
that big. 40 days, you could get a good
view of even Oregon if you're on foot. If you travel 10 or
20 miles a day, you're gonna get a pretty good view of Oregon.
Well, they're spending 40 days there in the land of Canaan,
in the land the Lord gave the children of Israel. Now, it tells
us there as we follow through, verse 26, and they went and came
to Moses and to Aaron and all the congregation of the children
of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh. and brought
back word unto them, and to all the congregation, and showed
them the fruit of the land. And they told him and said, we
came unto the land where thou sinnest, and surely it floweth
with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. Now, we could
read just a little bit earlier in this chapter and find out
it takes one man, or two men to carry one bunch of grapes.
It's a land that flows with milk and honey. And they're coming
back and they're telling that. But verse 28, now there are several
times the word nevertheless is used in scripture and we appreciate
it. The gospel went out, good news went out there among the
time of the kings, and come to Jerusalem and participate in
the Passover. Come down and let us worship
God. And a whole bunch of people said,
not on your life, we're busy. Nevertheless, a few of the tribe
of Asher and another tribe came to Jerusalem and participated
in the Passover. So we like that nevertheless.
We like when God deals with us and makes us a nevertheless.
He puts in our heart to come. Well, this nevertheless is not
a good nevertheless. In the book of Numbers chapter
13 and verse 28, Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell
in the land, and the cities are walled and very great. Moreover,
we saw the children of Anak there, and the Amalekites dwell in the
land to the south, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites
dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and
by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb, here we are, our dog,
our faithful dog, our dog that God's gonna say had another spirit.
That's the only way he could speak the way he does. He believed
God. We have a chapter in the book
of Hebrews written about this man. By faith, this faith that
God gave him, the faith of God's elect, he comes back and Caleb's
still the people before Moses. Now, one of the things that I
appreciate about Caleb in that passage of scripture is that
people seem to have respected him enough to calm down and let
him talk. Now, it's not gonna be very long,
they wanna stone him, but they're gonna let him talk and he says,
Still the people before Moses said, let us go up at once and
possess it for we are well able, not just able, we are well able
to overcome it. But the men that went up with
him said, We be not able to go up against the people, for they
are stronger than we. You know, these people just could
not see God. They could not see the power
of God. They could not see that God had
given them that land. They were blinded to it, just
like so many are blinded to the Word of God. They're blinded
They have no faith that the Word of God, as Mike and I were talking
the other day, and how many commentaries, it seems to be their job to create
doubt. And I mentioned that about that
one man who had his thumbs and his big toes cut off, and he
said, I've done that to 70. I don't know how many commentaries
I read that said, well, there couldn't have been 70 kings.
You know what? They weren't there. They were
not there. It's like people get on the TV
and tell me that a stone is 700 billion years old. And I says,
man, you don't look that old. How can you guess at something
like that? Okay. Anyway, the men that went up
with him said, We be not able to go up against the people,
for they are stronger than we. What are they leaving out of
this equation? What are they leaving out of
this? God said, I will give you the
land. They cannot see that. They cannot
even, they can't imagine that. They cannot imagine what it is
to enjoy the power of God. They never had it. They've seen
it, and seen it, and seen it, and seen it, but they've never
had it. They've witnessed it at the Red Sea. They've witnessed
it when it came to giving food. And they've witnessed it, and
witnessed it, and witnessed it, and yet they cannot see it. It
is the land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and all
the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants.
The sons of Anak, you know, when you look through glasses that
are too magnifying, you just see giants. Look through the
eyes of God. I am able to do exceedingly,
abundantly, above all that you ask or think. Well, Caleb said,
we're able to overcome. What that means is prevail. We're
able to have power. We're able to endure this, because
God's on our side. All right. Move with me to chapter
14 of this, if you would. And we have Caleb again, our
dog, our faithful dog. A dog that worships his master,
that worships the Lord, that would kiss him like a dog kisses
his master's hands. Here in the book of Numbers chapter
14 verse 6, 14 and verse 6, we read these words, And Joshua
the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were
of them that searched the land, rent their clothes. This is the
only ones of all those that affected, you know, oh, to see what decision
these people are making, the wrong decision. And yet I'm sure
that they're able to see in themselves, except for the grace of God,
there go I. If it wasn't for God's revealing
grace, for His effectual grace, I would do the same thing. And
they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying,
The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding
good land. If the Lord delight in us, then
He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which
flows with milk and honey. The Lord has already said, I've
given it to you. I have given you the land. And they bring
that up. Jehovah, only rebel ye not against
the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they
are bred for us. Their defense is departed from
them. And the Lord is with us, fear
them not. What a statement. That's the
gospel preacher. The Lord is with us. The Lord
is with us. It won't hurt to repeat ourselves. The Lord is with us. Verse 10,
But the congregation bade stone them with stone. Verse 24, let's
drop down in this same chapter to verse 24 and it says, But
my friends, my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit
with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into
the land where into he went, and his seed shall possess it. You know, there's a verse in
53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah, it says about Christ, he shall
see his seed. I just think of Caleb, the promise
is given to him. Not only Caleb will you see it,
but your children will see it, your grandchildren will see it,
your great-grandchildren will see it, your seed shall see it.
All right, let's follow this through a little farther. And
in verse 30 of this chapter, chapter 14 of the book of Numbers,
In verse 30, we read these words. Doubtless ye shall not come into
the land concerning which I swear unto you to make you dwell therein,
God speaking, the rest of you folks are not going in, except
save Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. These
two servants. Why? Because they had another
spirit. Why? Because God had given them grace.
Why did He give them grace? Only His sovereignty knows that.
Not because of what they had done or they were better than
the rest of them. They're born out of the same stock as Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. They're born out of the same
stock. They're natural men that God has worked the work of grace
in. Verse 38 of that chapter, it shares this. But Joshua the
son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were men
that went to search the land, lived still. God spared them. God was gracious to them. You
know, I was thinking about this today. Joshua and Caleb are the
only ones I read about in the scripture, and Moses probably,
but these two particularly, they did not complain about another
38 years of wandering. Why? Because they knew who was
leading them. The rest of the people, oh, we
can't do that. We're going to go in right now.
We'll take it right now. The Lord said, I'm not with them.
And that's where we find. All right. Join me, if you would,
in the book of Numbers 26. The book of Numbers chapter 26,
verse 65. Numbers chapter 26, verse 65. The Lord had said of
them, they shall surely die in the
wilderness. That's what he said back there
in Numbers, and this is just a rehearsal of that. Here towards
the end of Numbers, many years later, the Lord said, the Lord
hath said unto them, they shall surely die in the wilderness,
and there was not left a man of them. saved Caleb the son
of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Not a man left. God's promise to them was fulfilled,
just like his promise to those who went into the land would
be fulfilled. Joshua and Caleb could see it, and it didn't matter
when, they could still see that the Lord would bless them when
they went into the land. They were not going to complain
about wandering 38 more years because they knew exactly who
was leading them during that 38 year period. They were going
to move by the cloud and they're going to move by the fire. They
knew this God was watching over them. So they are submissive
to him. All right. Now, if you'll turn
with me in this book of Numbers to chapter 32, Numbers chapter
32 and verse 12, we have this mentioned Numbers chapter 32
and verse 12. It says here, well, let's read verse 11 and
12. Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt from 20
years old and upward shall see the land which I swear unto Abraham,
unto Isaac, and unto Jacob. You know, the thing about it,
in the word of God. by the Word of God and in the
Word of God, that very statement is repeated time and time again.
It was something, if they didn't have the written Word, they had
someone telling them, this is what God had said. I've given
the land, I've swore I am swearing, I'm promising the land unto Abraham,
unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, because they have not wholly followed
Me. Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh
the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly
followed the Lord." You know, that's some statement that God
would say that about any man, that they have wholly followed
the Lord. How can we do that? In Christ
alone. We know our own hearts. We know
what the Apostle Paul said about himself. O wretched man that
I am. And we find that by Job, we find
that by Isaiah, we find David saying similar things than that.
That it is our nature is against God, but God gives us the grace
to wholly follow Him. The Lord speaks it. The church
believes it. Now, from the outward appearance,
sometimes it looks kind of shallow, but from God's side, I have promised
it from eternity, I will carry it out. What does it tell us
in the book of Malachi? I am God. I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. I promise it. I will lose none. I promise it. I have chosen many. I promise to bring the gospel
to every one of them. Turn with me to the next book,
if you would, the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 1. Deuteronomy 1, and
there in verse 36. Deuteronomy 1, verse 36. Once again, we have this reiteration,
this restatement, this repeat. The only two out of that generation
that gets to go into the land are Joshua, the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. Verse 35, Surely
there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see
that good land. What did Jesus tell Nicodemus?
Without the new birth, you cannot see the kingdom of God. It's
impossible. You cannot enter the kingdom
of God without the new birth. Well, these men, these men of
this evil generation that see the good land. They shall not
see the good land, which I swear to give unto your fathers. How
many times have we read tonight, I swear to give it to them. I
promised it them. And they could not take God at
His word. Why? They had no faith. God-given
faith. Deuteronomy, I believe it's chapter
10, says, I did not give them a heart to believe. Why? That's God's business. That's
God's business. All right, and then in verse
36, all right, we have two. We have a remnant according to
the election of grace. Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh,
he shall see it. And to him will I give the land
that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath
wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with
me for your sake, saying, Thou shalt not go in thither. I am
just amazed. Moses recognized that fact right
away, and he didn t argue with God about it. That s his promise.
But he s, and then in verse 38, But Joshua the son of Nun, which
standeth before thee, he shall go and thither encourage him,
for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. So we have Joshua
and Caleb, this wonderful friend, brother in the Lord, Caleb, this
faithful dog that God gave faith to. He's a faith of God's elect. Now, a reading over in the book
of Joshua chapter 14. The book of Joshua chapter 14. In Joshua chapter 14, we have
this beloved brother once again mentioned here. Joshua chapter
14. There in verse, we're going to
begin with verse six. Then the children of Judah came
unto Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kinnesite
said unto him, Thou knowest a thing that the Lord said unto Moses,
the man of God concerning me. Isn't that wonderful? He saw
what God had said about him. What's God say about the church?
Well, Brother Mike keeps bringing out there in the book of Jude,
the last two verses, present you spotless, without wrinkle,
without spot. How wonderful. He said that about
us. He said, I'll lose none. All
that the Father giveth me. That's talking about me. All
that the Father giveth me shall come unto me. That's talking
about me. How does He do that? By giving us the new birth through
the preaching of the gospel. How God will cross our paths
with the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. How it will
make an effect on us. Oh, how it will be different,
changed. We'll look at the Word of God
with power it's powerful all right goes on here then the children
of judah came to joshua and gilgal and caleb the son of jephunneh
verse six the kinezite said unto him thou knowest the thing that
god said unto moses the man of god concerning me you know that's
another thing that that caleb recognized about moses A whole
bunch of those people wanted to stone Moses and Joshua and
Caleb. They had no respect. Korah had
no respect for him. All those other elders had no
respect for Moses. But this man knew him as what? The man of God. He was God's
choice in this matter. Aaron was God's choice in this
matter. They were men of God. And concerning
me and thee in Kadesh Barnea. So we've been here, we fought,
we've won. Now remember what God said through
the man of God about us at Kadesh Barnea. To a lot of people, Kadesh
Barnea was a sad, sad event. You know what it was to Joshua
and Caleb? Just another event in their life waiting on God. It's such a blessing that we
don't find them going to their tent and says, these stupid people. We're going to have to get stuck
in this land for 38 more years because of their being garbage
heads. Anyway. 40 years old verse 7
when was I when Moses the son of the Lord sent me from Kadesh
Barnea To a spy out the land and I brought him word again
as it was in my heart It just makes you we What a blessing
God had given this man Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with
me made the heart of the people melt, but I holy followed the
Lord my God And Moses swear on that day, saying, surely the
land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance and
the children forever, because thou hast wholly followed the
Lord my God. What a statement. And then, and
now behold, the Lord hath kept me alive. As he said, these forty
and five years, even since the Lord spake his word unto Moses,
while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, and
now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. I was forty
years old when they wouldn't go in. I spent another thirty-eight
years. Wandering around and here I am
85 years old yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day
that Moses sent me as My strength was then even so is my strength
now for war both and to go out and to come in Now therefore
give me this mountain whereof the Lord spake in that day, for
thou heardest in that day how the Anakins were there, and that
the cities were great and fenced. If so be the Lord will be with
me, then I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said. He
just continuously bases everything he does and thinks on the Lord
said. Thus saith the Lord. That's all
we have. Thus saith the Lord. When it
comes to our spiritual things, our experience is worthless.
Our thoughts are worthless. The Word of God is everything.
Verse 13, And Joshua blessed him and gave unto Caleb the son
of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. What a blessing. This faithful
dog, this man of God, this brother in Christ, spent all these years
wandering around with the rest of the folks until they all died
off, and now I'm claiming the promise of Almighty God. I'm
taking this land. Regeneration does not flow through
physical blood lines. Turn with me to a relative of
Caleb's in 1 Samuel 25. 1 Samuel 25. Verse 3. Here's
a man of the house of Caleb You know, sometimes we make grave
mistakes on, well, there's a person that loves the Lord and look
at his family. Whoa, how different is that? We shouldn't think that's strange
at all. here now the man the name of the man was nabal and
the name of his wife abigail and she was a woman of good understanding
and of a beautiful countenance but the man was churlish and
evil in his doings and he was of the house of caleb caleb's
had children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren that were
churlish Welcome to the real world. Welcome to the real world. You know, there is no guarantee. We pray that our children, God
will draw them and bring them and cause them to see the Lord.
But there's no guarantee whatsoever. Caleb was faithful in his generation. He was a man that had a different
heart and he was faithful. He continuously said, The Lord
has given me this. The Lord has given me this. It's
of the Lord. It is of the Lord. All right. Now, would you travel with me
to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 4? 1 Corinthians chapter
4. As we think about our friend
Caleb, that faithful dog that worshiped His Master. Worship the Lord. Worship Him.
How His words portray that. Declare that. And here in the
book of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians, there in chapter 4, verse 7. Now we say, well, why was He
different? Why was Caleb so different? Well,
we have that identified in a couple of places. The Lord said he had
a different heart. He was able to look at things through the
faith of God's elect and say, this is of the Lord. We can go
in. It's interesting, when he asked
for land, he took the land where the biggest giants were. We'll
fix that. We'll fix that. We know how to
deal with that. The Lord will deal with them
just like He has everyone else. Okay. Who maketh thee to differ
from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? So we can say that Caleb would
just jump up and say, everything I was, I received. I had nothing
to myself. He was no better than any of
the other spies by nature. They were all broken out of the
same nest. They were all children of Israel. They were all grandchildren
of Isaac. They were all great-grandchildren
of Abraham. And we just follow him back.
Joshua is going to tell us here in the book of Joshua, he worshipped
other gods on the other side of the river. God called him
out. And I've shared this many times,
but I love that passage when Stephen brings up Abraham in
the Old Testament. He said, the God of glory appeared
unto Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees. He was an evil worshiper of idols. And God gave him grace. Well,
who makes you to differ? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Now, if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? Well,
we follow Caleb's life through there. I'm sure there were times
he's just like the rest of us. He says, oh, woe is me. But when
we follow his life in the Word of God, we find out I'm going
in. He's promised me the land. I'll
have to wander around for 38 years? I was 40 years when that
happened. And I wandered for another 38
years, and I was 78 when that all happened, when we got to
come into the Promised Land. Well, he never lost that. God
continued to bless him, and now, here in our reading in the book
of Judges, as we read over there in the book of Joshua, he said,
whoever will go take this city, I have my beautiful bride, my
daughter, my beautiful daughter to give to that one. And you
know what? A man said, I'm going for it. Let's go back there to the book
of Judges for just a moment. In closing, the book of Judges
chapter 1, there we read verse 12, Caleb said, He that smiteth
courageth sephir, and taketh it, to him will I give Aksha,
my daughter, to wife. And Othniel, now that's going
to be an important person here in just a moment, Othniel, the
son of Keniz, Caleb's younger brother, took it, and he gave
him Aksha, his daughter, to wife. What a statement. We're going
to stop here and we'll look at that passage of scripture, Lord
willing, next Wednesday as we look down through here as she
asks for a spring of water. All right. We'll stop there.
Lord willing, we'll pick this up in our next meeting on Wednesday
night.