(Josh 14.15; 15.13)
Caleb is a man who stands out in strong contrast to all his brethren. He is eighty-five years of age and might look for respite from a life of arduous toil. But instead of this he asks the hardest job: "Give me this mountain (Josh 14.12)" - Hebron, positioned on a hill! What is the secret of Caleb's valour and ambition? God often helps us by the name of a person, and sometimes by linking with it the names of the parents. Caleb means "whole hearted". Again and again it is said of him that he "wholly followed the Lord (his) God". But we read that he was the son of Jephunneh which means "regarded with favour". It is blessed when what we are is the outcome of what God has made us and where we have been led in the power of the Holy Spirit. True Calebs are all the sons of Jephunneh.
To take Hebron he had to assault the position at a disadvantage. Nevertheless, he achieved his goal, for "Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak" (15.14). Moses gave the place to Caleb, but Caleb did not enjoy it until he dispossessed the people who were dwelling in it. Fellowship, of which Hebron is a picture, is our birthright: the precious blood of Christ has purchased it for us. But to know it day by day in enjoyment, the three sons of Anak, the world, the flesh and the devil, have to be overcome. The devil with all his batteries, the world with all its seductions, and the flesh with all its treacherousness try to spoil that enjoyment.
Caleb drove out the sons of Anak and made Hebron his own. How did he do it? "The Lord will be with me" (14.12). The Christian who trusts God has all the power and the Anakims' defences fall like paper houses before the intrepid warrior.
Concluded.
