Joshua 13:8-14:15

Forty-five years!  Caleb was 40 years old when he spied out the land of Canaan for Moses, when he spoke up for the Lord before a fearful and stubborn Israel, when he received the promise of inheritance.  He was eighty-five when he went before Joshua and claimed it.  Forty years of wandering, and then we can assume it was five years of war before Caleb was able to enjoy the result of the promises.  That is patience!  But then, God has never rushed His promises.  He had promised all that land to Abraham, who died long before his descendants even saw the Promised Land, let before they actually went in.  It was prophesied to Judah that kingship would come in his line hundreds of years before David was anointed (and even then, he did not receive the kingship until many, many years later).  Over centuries, God promised the Messiah before Jesus was born onto the earth, and even yet there are prophecies of His return that have yet to be fulfilled.  God's timing is not our timing.  Caleb likely would have enjoyed receiving his inheritance many years before, though his strength was unwavering at age 85 (amazing!).  We don't know how long Caleb's strength lasted or when he died, though we know that he awarded his daughter to his younger brother for answering the call against Kiriath-sepher.  He must have led for at least a time after Joshua's death, but not too much longer as Israel then failed to drive out the peoples of the land as they were supposed to.  Still, Caleb proved faithful to the Lord, even in his last years, defeating the Anakim and driving out the sons of Anak and inspiring others to do the same (as his brother Othniel).  And God blessed him: He gave him his inheritance, he was able to enjoy it, for however long.  God fulfilled His promise to Caleb, in his own time.

This is something I've had to remind myself over and over: God's timing is not my timing; God's ways are not mine.  God is much higher and wiser and better than I am.  And yet sometimes I am still tempted to question Him.  Particularly when things don't go the way I wanted.  It is good to see examples like Caleb, who was faithful over years and years and years, who had to prove faithful though they could not immediately see a fulfillment to promises.  Many of the things I hope for or desire are much smaller than what Caleb may have desired: peace and a place to settle.  If he can prove faithful waiting for that, surely I can prove faithful, too.

Tomorrow's Reading: Joshua 15:1-63