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Author: Mike Bradley Article source: http://www.bible-knowledge.com/. Used with author's permission.
The story of Joshua and Caleb is one of the most powerful and dramatic stories in the entire Bible. There are major lessons in this story for all Christians to grab hold of!
Most Christians have heard of the story of Moses, but many Christians are not aware of the story involving these two. They are an extension off the story of Moses. They are the climax to the story of Moses, as I will show you below. I'll first give you a brief synopsis of their story and then give you what needs to be learned from their story and how it personally applies to the situation that you are now facing.
Brief Synopsis Of Joshua and Caleb
God sends Moses into the land of Egypt to rescue and pull His people out of slavery from the Egyptians. He parts the Red Sea so they have a way to escape from the Egyptians. He throws 10 whopper plaques at the Pharaoh in order to get him to release His people from their bondage. God the Father performs one of the most powerful supernatural displays of signs and wonders that the world has ever seen to get His people pulled out of Egypt.
Moses tells God's people that He will give them what He calls the "Promised Land." It is a land flowing with milk and honey. He will settle His people down in this land and this is where He will break the Israelites off into 12 different tribes.
However, there is one little catch to this story. Before they are allowed to enter into this Promised Land, they must first pass a test. God allows them to stay in the "wilderness" for 40 years. He gives them all the basics as far as food and water in order to survive in the wilderness for the 40 years.
God purposely tested His people to see if they would "hold fast" to Him while in the wilderness for the 40 years. And time after time, they continued to screw up. At one time, God got so mad at their rebellious attitude, they He literally wanted to kill them. But Moses got into the gap for his people, pleaded his case to God as to why He should not kill His people, and the Bible said God relented and changed His mind - just because Moses stood in the gap and effectively pleaded his case before God.
However, just after a little over 2 years into this 40 year journey is where they finally blew it big time for the last time with God the Father. The Israelites sent in some spies into the Promised Land to check out who the enemy was and to develop battle strategies to defeat the enemies. God was going to allow them to go into the Promised Land, but they first had to defeat and drive out the enemies in order to conquer and possess the land.
When the spies came back, they came back with a "bad report." They said the enemies were "giants" and their kingdoms were too well fortified and they wouldn't be able to defeat them. Now mind you, God had just got done pulling them out of Egypt with one of the greatest displays of His supernatural power the world has ever seen with Him throwing 10 whopper plaques against the Egyptians and then parting the Red Sea to give them safe passage into the wilderness.
When God saw their negative attitudes and their lack of faith and belief in His power, He literally threw up His hands and basically said that's it, you're done. At that point, He told them that all the men 20 years and older would not enter into the Promised Land due to their lack of faith and belief in Him. He said that they would all wander in the desert for the next 40 years until they all literally died out in the desert. God says that their carcasses would fall in this wilderness and that their sons would be shepherds bearing the brunt of their infidelity towards God. The spies that went into to spy out the land did so for 40 days. As a result of this bad report - God pronounces judgment that they should wander in the wilderness for 40 years to match up with the 40 days that they had spied out the land for.
Now this is where Joshua and Caleb come in. God then tells Joshua and Caleb that they and the younger generation under 20 years of age would be the ones to go into the Promised Land because they had "wholeheartedly followed God." They had full faith and belief in God that He could defeat all their enemies once they went into the Promised Land to conquer and possess it.
Joshua was the leader that led them in. Moses himself was not allowed to go in and he died and was buried out in the wilderness. Joshua then took Moses' position as leader of the Israelites. He then goes into the Promised Land with his strong faith in God and then proceeds to literally wipe their enemies off the face of the earth and conquer and possess the land that God had promised their forefathers.
Lessons To be Learned From Joshua and Caleb
1. I believe the "Promised Land" for today's Christian refers to God's call on that person's life. For the Christian that will fully surrender his entire life over to God the Father - I believe God will place a specific call or calls on that person's life. However, it may take many years before God releases that person into what his true calling is for God. Sometimes it takes years of preparation to get ready for that call.
But once that call comes in and you are getting ready to cross over into your "Promised Land," a lot of Christians get cold feet at the last minute and walk out of their call. They start to get too focused on all the negative possibilities that they will encounter if they take the call. Fear sets in and they "bail out of the boat."
This is why the above story is so powerful. The Israelites lost their one and only chance to go into this Promised Land due to one main reason - fear and a lack of true faith and belief in the power of God too see them through. They were too scared of the "giants" they saw in the land that they were supposed to possess and they did not have enough faith in God to conquer and defeat these giants. As a result, they lost out on the biggest blessing of their entire life.
After Joshua fully succeeded in his mission, he makes the comment shortly before he dies, that God had not failed him in any of the promises that He made to him in that He would give him every ounce of land that he would step foot on. He told Joshua that his enemies would be taken out and that he would be given total victory as long as he stayed with God's instructions. Joshua saw his call completely through and when he died, he died a man with his call and mission from God completely fulfilled.
His story is how God wants all of His people to live!! The 2 keys to Joshua's success was his strong faith in God and the fact that he had always "wholeheartedly followed God." I always tell everyone to stay with their leadings from the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will "guide us into all truth and teach us all things." He is our guide and our teacher. If God puts a call on your life, but you don't follow His specific instructions and leadings on how to get there, you will never succeed.
Joshua's story is one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible about someone who "did it right in God." His story is a perfect example for all Christians on how to properly follow God and the call that He can place on your life.
2. Susie, this story really applies to where you are at right now with God. You may be getting ready to have your door opened up to enter into your Promised Land - into God's true call on your life. However, you are well aware of the "giants" and "strongholds" you will be coming against if this door opens up for you.
Susie, remember the above story on Joshua. He saw the same "giants" and "strongholds" you are seeing. He saw all this before going in. God allowed him to see exactly what he was going into before he actually went into it. And God is showing you the same thing.
You have two choices. You can either let fear and panic set in just like the Israelites did and lose your chance to enter into your "Promised Land," or you can have the same strong faith and belief in God that Joshua had - and go in their with a "kick butt attitude" that you will be victorious and that you will accomplish everything that God wants you to accomplish.
I'll leave you with one last thought. Joshua took his strong faith and belief in God, entered the Promised Land and achieved
total victory in God. The Bible says God is "no respecter of persons." What He will do for one, He will do for another.
If God is calling you to go through this door, rest assured that you will have the full power of God operating through you to achieve total victory just like Joshua did!
As a final testament to the this man's story, God saw fit to name one of the books of the Bible after him - "The Book of Joshua." I think that was a very fitting ending to what this man accomplished "in God" while down here on earth. The Bible said Joshua lived to be 110 years old. Article written by Michael Bradley of Bible Knowledge Ministries. Their
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