Episode 2582 - Lesson 8 - Monday November 17: Give me this hill country

Give Me This Hill CountryRead Joshua 14:6-14, Numbers 14:24, Numbers 32:12, Deuteronomy 1:36, and Luke 6:45. How would you describe Caleb and Joshua’s attitude? What does it mean to follow the Lord fully?Caleb never forgot the promise the Lord had given him through Moses: that he would enter the land where his feet had trodden (Num. 14:24). Forty years later, he refers to his own report on the land as a word “as it was in my heart” (Josh. 14:7, NKJV). His report was based on his conviction that, with God’s guidance and help, Israel would be able to conquer the land.In contrast to the report of the other ten spies, who inspired fear among the Israelites, Caleb manifested a wholehearted trust and commitment to the promise of the Lord. The Hebrew phrase, which literally means “I was full after the LORD” (Josh. 14:8), is probably a short form of a longer idiom: “My heart was fully following the LORD,” or “I filled my heart to walk behind/after the LORD.” In contrast with others who walked after foreign gods and who did not follow the Lord fully, Caleb’s heart was wholly dedicated to the Lord.The same expression is later repeated twice, emphasizing Caleb’s faithfulness (Josh. 14:9, 14). His own characterization is in harmony with what the Lord Himself called a “different spirit” (Num. 14:24, NKJV) that distinguished Caleb from the other ten spies. Even at the age of 85, he continued to be an example of what the Lord can achieve through people whose hearts are fully dedicated to Him and His cause.Caleb understood that the territory each tribe would eventually possess was directly proportionate to the extent to which they dared to claim the promises of the Lord and how much land they were willing to tread upon by faith. God’s promises are not self-fulfilling, in the sense that they come true irrespective of our will. Rather, they require faith accompanied by resolute action. The Hebrew term ’ulay, “maybe” (Josh. 14:12), can express fear and doubt, but it usually denotes hope and the anticipation that something positive will take place (Gen. 16:2; Num. 22:6, 11; Num. 23:3).What compromises, “small” compromises, are the kinds of things that can keep us from fully following the Lord?