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Joshua Chapter
Fourteen
Joshua 14
Chapter Contents
The nine tribes and a half to have their inheritance.
(1-5) Caleb obtains Hebron. (6-15)
Commentary on Joshua 14:1-5
(Read Joshua 14:1-5)
The Israelites must occupy the new conquests. Canaan
would have been subdued in vain
if it had not been inhabited. Yet every man
might not go and settle where he pleased. God shall choose our inheritance for
us. Let us survey our heritage of present mercy
our prospect for the land of
promise
eternal in the heavens. Is God any respecter of persons? Is it not better
that our place
as to earthly good or sorrow
should be determined by the
infinite wisdom of our heavenly Father
than by our own ignorance? Should not
those for whom the great mystery of godliness was exhibited
those whose
redemption was purchased by Jesus Christ
thankfully refer their earthly
concerns to his appointment?
Commentary on Joshua 14:6-15
(Read Joshua 14:6-15)
Caleb's request is
"Give me this mountain
" or
Hebron
because it was formerly in God's promise to him
and he would let
Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that
which is given by God's promise
far above what is given by his providence
only. It was now in the Anakims' possession
and Caleb would let Israel know
how little he feared the enemy
and that he would encourage them to push on
their conquests. Caleb answered to his name
which signifies "all
heart." Hebron was settled on Caleb and his heirs
because he wholly followed
the Lord God of Israel. Happy are we if we follow him. Singular piety shall be
crowned with singular favour.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Joshua》
Joshua 14
Verse 1
[1] And
these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of
Canaan
which Eleazar the priest
and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of
the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel
distributed for
inheritance to them.
Eleazar the priest — He
best understood the laws of God by which this division was to be regulated.
Heads of the fathers — Twelve persons
each the head of his tribe
who were appointed and named
by God
Numbers 34:19
and if any of them were now dead
no doubt Joshua and Eleazar
by God's direction
put others in their stead.
Verse 2
[2] By lot was their inheritance
as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses
for the nine tribes
and for the half tribe.
By lot —
This course God ordained
partly to prevent discontents
enmities and quarrels
among the tribes
and partly to demonstrate the truth and wisdom of his
providence
by which alone those parts fell to each of them
which Jacob long
since
and Moses lately
foretold; so that as a learned man saith
he must be
more stupid than stupidity
that doth not acknowledge a Divine hand in this
matter. The lot did only determine the several parts to the several tribes
but
did not precisely fix all the bounds of it; these might be either enlarged or
diminished according to the greater or smaller number of the tribes.
Verse 4
[4] For
the children of Joseph were two tribes
Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they
gave no part unto the Levites in the land
save cities to dwell in
with their
suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.
Were two tribes —
That is
had the portion of two tribes
and therefore though Levi was excluded
there remained nine tribes and a half
to be provided for in Canaan.
Verse 5
[5] As
the LORD commanded Moses
so the children of Israel did
and they divided the
land.
They —
That is
the persons named
verse 5
who acted in the name of the children of
Israel
divided it
either now
or presently after.
Verse 6
[6] Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son
of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him
Thou knowest the thing that the LORD
said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.
Then —
When Joshua and the rest were consulting about the division of the land
though
they did not yet actually divide it. The heads of that tribe who were willing
thus to shew respect to him; and to testify their consent
that he should be
provided for by himself
and that they would not take it as any reflection on
the rest of the tribe.
In Gilgal —
Where the division of the land was designed and begun
though it was executed
and finished at Shiloh.
The Kenezite — Of
the posterity of Kenaz.
The Lord said — In
general
the promise he made us of possessing this land; and for my part
that
which is expressed here
verse 9.
Verse 7
[7]
Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from
Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in
mine heart.
As it was in mine heart — I spake my opinion sincerely
without flattery and fear
when the other
spies were biased by their own fears
and the dread of the people
to speak
otherwise than in their consciences they believed.
Verse 8
[8]
Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people
melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
I wholly followed the Lord — Which self-commendation is justifiable
because it was necessary
as
being the ground of his petition. Therefore it was not vain glory in him to
speak it: no more than it is for those
who have God's spirit witnessing with
their spirits
that they are the children of God
humbly and thankfully to tell
others
for their encouragement
what God hath done for their souls.
Verse 10
[10] And
now
behold
the LORD hath kept me alive
as he said
these forty and five
years
even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses
while the children of
Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now
lo
I am this day fourscore and
five years old.
Forty-five years —
Whereof thirty - eight years were spent in the wilderness
and seven since they
came into Canaan. The longer we live the more sensible we should be
of God's
goodness to us in keeping us alive! Of his care in prolonging our frail lives
his patience in prolonging our forfeited lives! And shall not the life thus
kept by his providence
be devoted to his praise?
Verse 11
[11] As
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 to go out
and to
come in.
For war — Not
only for counsel
but for action; for marching and fighting. And therefore this
gift will not be cast away upon an unprofitable and unserviceable person.
To go out
and to come in — To perform all the duties belonging to my place. Moses had said
that at
eighty years old
even our strength is labour and sorrow. But Caleb was an
exception to this rule: At eighty-five years old
his strength was still ease
and joy. This he got by following the Lord fully.
Verse 12
[12] Now
therefore give me this mountain
whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou
heardest in that day how the Anakims 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.
This mountain —
That is
this mountainous country. He names the country rather than the cities
because the cities were given to the Levites
chap. 21:11
13.
Thou heardest —
Didst understand
both by the reports of others
and by thy own observation.
Hearing
the sense by which we get knowledge
is often put for knowing or
understanding.
If the Lord will be with me — A modest and pious expression
signifying both the absolute necessity of
God's help
and his godly fear
lest God for his sins should deny his
assistance to him; for although he was well assured in general
that God would
crown his people with success in this war
yet he might doubt of his particular
success in this or that enterprize.
To drive them out —
Out of their fastnesses where they yet remain
Caleb desires this difficult
work as a testimony of his own faith
and as a motive to quicken his brethren
to the like attempts.
Verse 13
[13] And
Joshua blessed him
and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an
inheritance.
Blessed him —
Prayed to God to bless and help him according to his own desire.
Verse 15
[15] And
the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the
Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
A great man — In
stature
and strength
and dignity
and authority
as being the progenitor of
Anak
the father of those famous giants called Anakims.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Joshua》
14 Chapter 14
Verses 1-5
By lot was their inheritance.
The tribes apportioned
As the whole inheritance was the gift of God
so each one’s
share was assigned to him by His appointment. Not even Joshua himself in a
display of the greatest wisdom and impartiality could have yielded satisfaction
in a matter where so many
and all of one family
were concerned. Only the
authority of the Father
who had entailed upon them as His redeemed children
this common patrimony
could decide the portion of each tribe and of each
family. This may yield great satisfaction to the heirs of promise
who are
looking for a share in the heavenly inheritance. There
whatever degree of
station
difference of capacity
or diversity of possession may exist
no one
but will find his inheritance all he could desire and enjoy
and for ever
beyond the possibility of becoming a cause of dissatisfaction to himself or of
envy to others. To animate the hopes of the believer
and quicken his desires
after it
an outline is presented in the descriptions of heavenly promise. Oh
for a realising faith
that elevation and meekness which characterise the
high-born sons of God
and which by present hopes wean the heart from earthly
bliss and sublimate its affections to highest joys. The portion of inheritance
that fell to the members of this great family was
agreeably to previous
instructions in the wilderness
determined by lot; and was to be viewed not as
the result of
chance
but as the wise and gracious appointment of their heavenly Father. No
one but had reason to be satisfied with his portion
and to consider it
assigned him with the indisputable exactness of last will and testament. What a
sweet thought to the true spiritual Church of God
the heirs of grace and glory
both with respect to their present condition and their future inheritance! He
who did not overlook one tribe or family in the earthly Canaan
but provided
for them as few or many
now
though the lot is differently determined
as
minutely fixes the bounds of His people’s habitations
and manages all their
affairs. Nor less exact will appear the eternal consummation of His goodness
in the final results of providence
and completion of His covenant purpose. (W.
Seaton.)
Verses 6-15
Caleb . . . said . . . the Lord hath kept me alive
as He
said.
Caleb’s reflection on the goodness and faithfulness of God to him
I. It is God that
keepeth us alive. The Scriptures often remind us of this
and urge it as a
motive to religious fear
gratitude
and obedience. They teach us “that in Him
we live and move and have our being: that in Him is the breath of every living
thing and the spirit of all mankind”; that He gave it at first and that He
taketh it away. More particularly
God preserveth us from many accidents that
would be fatal to us. “He giveth His angels charge over us
to keep us in all
our ways.”
II. The aged have peculiar reason
to make this acknowledgment. When any arrive at old age
it is proper to do
this
with peculiar seriousness and gratitude; considering that
like Caleb
they have
been wandering all their days in a wilderness. Dangers surround us on every
side. The aged cannot but often reflect upon this; what numbers they have
survived! Their own infirmities render the acknowledgment of God’s preservation
of them almost natural and peculiarly proper.
III. It is a great satisfaction to aged
christians to reflect on their obedience to God
and the accomplishment of his
promises to them. They recollect with gratitude and delight
that grace
which
began
maintained and improved the Divine life in their souls
amidst
innumerable temptations
from without and within; and though they have fallen
into trouble
they have been prevented from making shipwreck of faith and a
good conscience. It is pleasant to them to trace up all these streams to the
fountain; to consider them as the displays of rich and free grace; as the
accomplishment of the promises of God
and proofs of His fidelity. Their
mercies were sweet in the enjoyment
and are sweet in the reflection
when they
consider them as founded on the covenant of grace
made with all true believers
through Christ Jesus.
IV. The experience
which aged saints have had of God’s goodness and faithfulness is a strong
encouragement to them to hope and trust in him. Application:
1. Let us all re
member our constant dependence upon God
and learn
those useful instructions which that is adapted to teach us.
2. What hath been said should be an inducement to young persons to
follow the Lord fully. Instead of “possessing the iniquities of your youth
”
you will have unspeakable pleasure in being able to appeal to God
with
Hezekiah
“that you have walked before Him in truth
and with an upright heart
and have done that which was good in His sight.”
3. The example of Caleb is worthy the imitation of aged Christians.
When
like Caleb
you are mentioning your age
your contemporaries
or what
happened in the former part of your lives
let it be done with seriousness
with an humble and thankful acknowledgment of God. Further
let the remainder
of your lives be faithfully devoted to God’s service. One important branch of
this is humbly to relate your own experience for the instruction and consolation
of others. (J. Orton.)
Caleb’s confession
We meet with old men who are continually asking us
with a slight
twinkle in their eye
“How old do you think I am?” and the answer
of course
is meant to bring out that you never would dream that they were such veterans
in years
they are so fresh
and sprightly
and springy. That is an evil thing
and would have been evil in Caleb but for this saving clause
“Behold
the Lord
hath kept me alive.” That is the saving clause
my green and vigorous aged friend
with whom all things have prospered. See to it that boastfulness be not found
in your heart. Let not that “dead fly” spoil your ointment
Do not give to
yourself the credit and glory of your strength and prowess of body
and brain
and mind. Give all the glory where all is due. “The Lord hath kept me alive.” I
want you to notice this also about Caleb. He says
“I have wholly followed the
Lord my God”; and in the Hebrew that is quite a striking word--more striking
than in the English. It is a pictorial word in the Hebrew
and describes a ship
going out at full sail. Why
that is the very keynote of Caleb from beginning
to end. He was the man he was
from the beginning to the end
because he was
out and out--because there were no limitations and provisions with him. He was
not a man who
as Paul would say
“made provision for the flesh for the lust
thereof”; but having been called by God to His service
he made it his meat and
his drink. He “went in” for God and His cause
like a ship in full sail. He
flung every power of body
and soul
and spirit like a free sheet to the winds
of God’s grace
and God’s Spirit
and God’s Providence. He “let go.” Young
fellow
it is the ruin of you that you are holding back. You will never be a
Caleb; you will never be a Joshua; you will never be a David--never
never--at
this rate of it; hanging back and saving your life
and therefore losing it;
taking so much of the programme because it fits you
and scoring out certain
other items that you do not like. Go in for a full programme
if you would
enjoy Christian life. (John McNeill.)
Joshua’s grateful retrospect
A great Alpine climber was asked about the ascent of a high
mountain
and said
“I was very weary before I got to the top
and found the
best plan was just to follow the guide in front of me. At the summit I turned
round
and when I saw the grand view
and the dangers through which the guide
had brought me
I felt I could have fallen down on my knees to thank him for
having led me to such a wonderful place.” (Our Own Magazine.)
I am as strong this day as
I was.
Caleb--youth in old age
I. A life built on
God’s promise. Five times in his short speech does he refer to the word which
“the Lord spake.” The word of promise to Caleb dealt with two things--his
prolonged life and his possession of the land “whereinto he went” (Numbers 14:24). For five and forty years
he had kept this word “hid in his heart
” and now he puts out a hand
unweakened by age and long-delayed fulfilment
to grasp the realisation--a
grand example of steady
persistent faith
which waits for the vision
though
it tarry
and buoyantly welcomes it when it comes at last! A life thus filled
with trust in God’s faithful word has ever present instalments of
accomplishment
as brooks by the way
to keep its hope fresh. The prolongation
of Caleb’s life was the pledge to him of the fulfilment of the remoter promise.
Such a life is consciously surrounded with Divine operations
too plain to be ignored
and when looked at in retrospect
presents one solid and homogeneous mass of
preserving providences
which are all summed up in saying
“Behold
the Lord
hath kept me alive
as He spake . . . while Israel walked in the wilderness.”
Such a life has hope burning as
a guiding star to the very end. The hopes of age are few and
tremulous
if they be limited to earth. When the feast is near an end
appetite
is dulled
and there is little to do but to get up and go away. But if we set
our hope on God
our hope is immortal. He keeps the good wine till the last.
II. A life which
bears being remembered. We may freely admit that the tone of this retrospect
savours of an earlier stage in the process of revelation than ours
and that
if this were a complete account given by a man of his life
we should miss in
it the voice of humble penitence
which must always sound through a Christian
autobiography. But still
a life of trust and following Christ
however
imperfectly
does yield calm remembrances
which nothing else does
and for the
lack of which nothing can compensate. If we would lay up for ourselves against
old age the treasure of such calm and humble memories
we must in youth and
manhood choose God for our God
and Lake heed to follow Him
though we may be singular;
and to do it wholly.
“I
backward east mine e’e
On
prospects drear
”
said poor
brilliant Robert Burns
whose youth of riotous pleasure
burnt itself out before he was forty
and had been full of self-reproach and
bitterness long before the end. Many a life which grasps at delight and spurns
the slow-going puritanical ways of God-fearing
sense-coercing Christians
comes at last to be gnawed by memories sharp and poisonous like a serpent’s
tooth. The only way to secure that at the end we may be able to say
“I have
fought a good fight
” is to become Christ’s soldier. Recruits for His army are
most surely enlisted in youth.
III. A
life-preserving youthful vigour to old age. This “old young man
” as Thomas
Fuller calls him
followed the Lord wholly; therefore he “brought forth fruit
in old age
” and the aged tree was “full of sap and green” in all its gnarled
branches. In a very true sense a man may keep himself young all his days. A
youth and manhood of Christian sobriety and self-restraint
temperate
chaste
and free from the “sins of youth
” which rot “the bones” and “lie down with”
their victims “in the dust
” is likely to conserve physical vigour
A life of
Christian devotion and faith will keep its spring flowers blowing till late
autumn
and blossom and fruit will hang together. The buoyancy
carelessness
hopefulness
cheeriness of youth are not far away from the aged heart
which
lives by faith
and therefore dwells at ease
and is glad and secure
though
the shadows of evening be falling.
IV. A life still
eager at last for further enterprise. That is the true temper of the Christian
soldier
seeking the hardest
not the easiest
work
and finding in danger an
attraction. How nobly it has been exemplified in many a mission field
to
which
whenever disease has smitten down one
two have been ready to go! An old
Highland legend tells how his foster-brothers made a ring round the chief in a
battle
and how
as each that shielded him with his own body fell
the
foster-father cried
“Another for Hector
” and another strode into the fatal
empty place. The annals of the Church are full of like incidents. The call for
another to stand in some deadly breach for the sake of the elder brother has
never been sounded in vain; and to-day American and English Christianity is
showing that the old heroic fire burns yet
in the men who
on the Congo and
elsewhere
have hazarded their lives for the name of Jesus
and been drawn to
the field by its very dangers. (A. Maclaren. D. D.)
Caleb’s vigour of mind in old age
was equal to his vigour of body in youth. As his strength was in
the day that Moses sent him
so was his strength then for war
both to go out
and to come in: yea
he had waxed stronger and stronger
and
as is said of the
righteous
“brought forth fruit in old age.” As all other graces
true faith
increases in its exercise
and becomes mightier by conflict. They who are
strong in faith when young
and have the word of God abiding in them
are not
likely to become weak in faith when old. Interesting sight
to behold one grown
old in the service of God
still a veteran in the ranks
with a resolution
never to yield or return his sword
while an enemy remains unsubdued. One had
thought it now time for this old warrior to leave the field
and quietly to
enjoy his earthly portion; and had his mind been affected less with things
future than things present
had he sought rest only in Canaan
and not rest in
heaven
he would have so thought himself. It is a lovely sight
and what must
command admiration from all
to see an old believer to the very last ready to
testify his faith in God and hope of the promise by a sacrifice of ease
and
even at the hazard of life. But they may well be inspired with the fortitude of
unyielding valour
and fight even till they die
who are under the command of
Jehovah and the banner of the Cross; for a crown of life and eternal triumphs
await the slain--they shall rise and reign for ever in the kingdom of glory.
The Christian
whose brightest portion lies beyond this world
must not wonder
if
as age creeps on
new conflicts arise
and if at last
before he take possession of his
eternal settlement
the Anakims
a people tall and great
should still be to be
conquered. They are all an easy conquest through Him that hath loved us
so
that he may say as Caleb (Joshua 14:12). (W. Seaton.)
Give me this mountain.--
Caleb’s choice
1. In this choice we find a
revelation of a sturdy character. There is a powerful individuality about the
man who chooses a mountain as his ideal possession. It means climbing and hard
work. I knew a veteran who
late in life
bought a rugged mountain
built his
house in one of its hollows
cultivated a portion of its slope
and let his
sheep wander for a living over the remaining portion. He was as happy in
breathing the clear mountain air
and in climbing the mountain steeps
as Adam
was in Paradise. There was wonderful congeniality between him and his
surroundings. There was a great deal of rugged grandeur about him. To come into
contact with that man was as bracing as to climb his mountain
and to breathe
the pure inspiring air upon its summit. In Caleb we have a man of similar
robust make--a man who not only chose the mountainous district of Hebron while
others sought the plains
but also chose that mountain while as yet every
crevice in its fastnesses bristled with foes of giant stature. Caleb was
charmed with the thought of a possession which involved most of faith and
heroism in making his own.
2. This choice further reveals to us the continuity of his
character. It is the brave man who stood before Israel and the ten spies who
brought depressing news of the land
and exclaimed
“Let us go up at once and
possess it
” that now
forty years later
claims it as his privilege to drive
the sons of Anak out of their last fastness. He had done enough to wear out
half a dozen ordinary men. There seemed to be endless wear in him. This is the
speech of an old soldier. You trace the same man
and he affirms--and gives
proof of his affirmation subsequently--that he has the same vigour as of old.
Throughout his life we trace one master-feeling
one supreme purpose
one
distinctive personality. This unity running through life is one of the glories
of a great character.
3. Caleb’s choice shows his hopefulness and faith. We are not so
surprised that when forty-five years of age he should have taken such a bright
view of things
as that now in prospect of such a difficult task he should say
“If so be that the Lord be with me
then”. This is not the “if” of doubt
but
the “if” of great possibilities
of a large hope
and of a mighty faith (R.V.).
“It may be that the Lord will be with me
and I shall drive
” &c. He is
willing to risk all upon that “may be.” He bases all upon what the Lord had
promised.
4. This choice shows Caleb’s wisdom. The mountain fastnesses of the
land were the most difficult to win
but having been once won could best be
held
and would finally become the greatest centres of strength. It is a general
rule of life that what is hardest won is worth the winning most
and is the
most lasting good when won. The strength of a life as well as of a country is
in its mountain fastnesses and passes
and not in its broad and luxuriant
plains.
5. The whole incident reveals the sacredness which Caleb and Joshua
attached to a promise given by Moses forty years previously. Moses was dead
but the promise lived. Caleb repeated it
and Joshua honoured it.
6. Observe how the name of a comparatively unknown father is
connected with the choice now made by a noble son. Caleb is usually designated
as the “son of Jephunneh.” Jephunneh seems to have belonged to an Edomite
tribe
the Kenezites
but all that we know of him besides is that he was the
father of Caleb. All that we know
too
of Nun is that he was the father of
Joshua. These were two noble sons who made their fathers famous. Young men
take note of that I How largely the father’s reputation is in the hands of his
son! “A wise son maketh a glad father.” (D. Davies.)
Hebron therefore became
the inheritance of Caleb . . . because that he wholly followed the Lord.--
God rewards His faithful followers
I. What is implied
in” Caleb’s following the Lord wholly. Though this may imply a great deal
yet
it cannot imply absolute perfection.
1. It implies that his heart was renewed. He had a filial
dutiful
submissive spirit
which the Scripture calls a perfect heart.
2. It implies that he paid an external respect to all the
intimations of His will. If he had allowed himself in one sin
or habitually
offended in one point
he would have been guilty of all. It is essential to the
character of a good man to follow the Lord in all His precepts and
appointments. “This is the love of God that we keep His commandments; and His commandments
are not grievous.”
3. This amiable character implies that he persevered in obedience
under every trial and temptation. Such a sincere
uniform
and constant course
of obedience
for forty or fifty years
fully verified the Divine declaration
that “he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.” But this is not all. God not
only approved
but rewarded his obedience.
II. Why the Lord
rewarded him for following him wholly.
1. Because his wholly following the Lord was a strong expression of
his supreme love to Him. Obedience is the natural expression of love. “Ye are
My friends
” says Christ
“if ye do whatsoever I command you.” Neither the
hosts of Pharaoh
nor the absence of Moses
nor the defection of Aaron
nor the
giants of Canaan
could cool his zeal or warp his resolution. He determined to
endure unto the end; and unto the end he endured. He loved God sincerely and
supremely
and he meant to express his love to Him
by uniform obedience
under
the most trying circumstances. This God saw
approved
and rewarded
agreeably
to His own declaration
“I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early
shall find Me.”
2. Caleb greatly promoted the glory of God and the good of His
people
by his uniform and persevering obedience. This rendered him one of the
principal instruments in the hand of God of conducting His people to Canaan
and of executing His wise and gracious purposes respecting them. By walking
with God
and observing His wise and holy providence
he became a man of great
experimental and practical knowledge
which enabled him to be very useful in
guiding and instructing an ignorant and refractory people. It is natural to
suppose that he had a principal hand in forming the lives and manners of that
generation
which was educated in the wilderness
and eventually prepared for
the promised inheritance. And his great and extensive usefulness was a good
reason why the Lord God of Israel should reward his signal services
agreeably
to His own maxim
“Them that honour Me
I will honour.”
3. There was something very distinguishing in Caleb’s conduct. None
but he and Joshua persevered in their allegiance to God. This singularity of
his obedience not only displayed
but really enhanced
the worth of his virtue
and piety
and laid a proper foundation for God to reward him with peculiar
marks of His favour.
Reflections:
1. What great encouragement have all true saints to persevere in the
ways of well-doing!
2. What great benefit may those
who follow the Lord wholly
derive
from the evils and burdens of their wearisome pilgrimage! Caleb acquired a
beautiful character
and a distinguished reward
by properly improving a series
of great and complicated trials. He learned obedience by the things which he
suffered.
3. How will saints hereafter admire the distinguishing grace of God
by which they were conducted to heaven!
4. Does God speak respectfully of those who follow Him wholly
and
graciously reward their faithful labours? Then we must justly conclude that we
ought to honour those whom He delights to honour. (N. Emmons
D. D.)
Following the Lord
I. What is
included in the expression
“wholly following the Lord”? It is impossible to
take the words in their strictly literal sense. There are so many slips
so
many wanderings
so many shortcomings
that the strict perfection of obedience
is unattainable by any of the children of Adam. But the expression is one
which
nevertheless
can be applied to those who honestly and simply give
themselves up through Divine grace to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
1. A realisation that the will of God is paramount.
2. A resting upon the Word of God as clear and authoritative.
3. A laying hold of the promises of God as sure.
II. The
circumstances under which it is said of Caleb that he wholly followed God.
1. Caleb wholly followed God
though others who were in the same
position of influence with himself deserted the side of God and of His truth.
2. Caleb wholly followed God
though the whole congregation feared
to walk in the right way.
3. Caleb wholly followed the Lord in spite of opposition. The
current of excited feeling set dead against him
and threatened to bear him
down. And you will observe that it was not the mere opposition of abuse
insult
and prejudice; it assumed a far more dangerous form (Numbers 14:10). His life was perilled.
Yet no degree of violence
however determined
could drive him from the
position which he had been enabled to take up. Oh
what encouragement there is
here for those who find themselves in the midst of difficulties and trial for
the sake of the Gospel! Caleb was a man of like passions with ourselves.
Naturally he had the same aversion to the will of God that others have; but in
his case grace was strong
faith triumphed. And what a glorious sight it is to
see
when you behold one thus meeting any storm of indignation
coldness
or
scorn from man
rather than forsake the way and truth of the Lord Jesus! (C.
D. Marston
M. A.)
Caleb the soldier
I. Caleb’s
fidelity. Fidelity is one of the first properties of a soldier; and it were
well that every good cause
and especially that of Christ
could boast of such
fidelity as gallant men have often shown in the ranks of war. Mere boys have
bravely carried the colours of their regiment into battle; and to save them
from falling into the hands of the enemy they have been known
when they
themselves fell
to wrap them around their bodies and die within their
encrimsoned folds. An incident more heroic still occurred on one of those fields
where Austria lately suffered disastrous defeat. When the bloody fight was
over
and the victors were removing the wounded
they came on a young Austrian
stretched on the ground
whose life was pouring out in the red streams of a
ghastly wound. To their astonishment he declined their kind services.
Recommending others to be removed
he implored them
though he might still have
been saved
to let him alone. On returning sometime afterwards they found him
dead--all his battles o’er. But the mystery was explained. They raised the body
to give it burial; and there
below him
lay the colours of his regiment. He
had sworn not to part with them; and though he clung to life
and tenderly
thought of a mother and sisters in their distant home
he would not purchase
recovery at the price of his oath and the expense of a soldier’s honour--“he
was faithful unto death.” The property of a good soldier was eminently
illustrated by Caleb.
II. Caleb’s
courage. Courage
which has in all ages won the praise of poets and admiration
of mankind
is a property for which our seamen and soldiers have been long and
eminently distinguished. Descended from ancestors who met the Romans on the
sea-beach
and those brave Norsemen who ploughed the stormiest oceans with
their warlike prows
our countrymen have proved themselves worthy of their
sires; and the repute of a courage which has been tested in many a hard-fought
field has proved
under God
the strongest bulwark of our island-home. It is
remarkable
and highly creditable to the resolution and bravery of our
soldiers
that
notwithstanding all the wars in which they have engaged
no
foreign nation flaunts a flag of ours as the trophy of its victory
and of our
defeat. No British banner
so far as I know
hangs drooping in dusty folds from
the walls of foreign castle or cathedral to make us blush; nor in that proud
pillar the great Napoleon raised
whose bronze
formed of the cannon taken by
him in battle
commemorates his victories
is there an ounce of metal that
belonged to a British gun. I have heard indeed how cowards
probably drawn from
the scum of the people
hung back when the bugler in the trenches sounded a new
assault
and refused to cross ground so strewed with their fallen comrades as
to resemble a field carpeted with scarlet cloth. Yet
whatever may be their
defects
our soldiers have been commonly as much distinguished for their
courage when the battle raged as for their clemency when the victory was won.
For that courage
true
calm courage
which does not lie in insensibility to
danger
nor in the violent animal passion which may bear a coward forward as a
whirlwind does the dust
or a wave the seaweed on its foaming crest
Caleb
presents the very model of a soldier. How bravely he bears himself when the
other spies prove traitors! The source of Caleb’s courage
of a bravery so
admirable and dauntless
is not far to seek. In him
as in those noble
Christian soldiers whom I have mentioned
and in others also who have
maintained their religion in the camp
courage
if it did not spring from
was
sustained by piety. He had faith in God. Therefore he did not fear the face of
man
though that man were a giant
nor of death itself. From the same lofty
source
and none other
the soldier of the Cross
he who fights with foes more formidable
than giants--the devil
the world
and the flesh
that trinity of evil--is to
draw his courage. More of it may be needed to face the jeers of an ungodly
world than a blazing battery of cannon. (T. Guthrie
D. D.)
Caleb’s history--piety portrayed and piety promoted
I. Piety
portrayed: Caleb “wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.”
1. Genuine piety is the sublimest of all pursuits.
2. Genuine piety accords with the constitutional cravings and powers
of the human soul.
II. Piety promoted:
“Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb.” (Homilist.)
The inheritance of Caleb
Caleb is one of those men whom we meet with seldom in Bible
history
but whenever we do meet them we are the better for the meeting. Bright
and brave
strong
modest
and cheerful
there is honesty in his face
courage
and decision in the very pose of his body
and the calm confidence of faith in
his very look and attitude. It is singular that there should be cause to doubt
whether his family were originally of the promised seed. On the whole
the preponderance of
evidence is in favour of the opinion that Caleb’s family were originally
outside the covenant
but had become proselytes like Hobab
Rahab
Ruth
and
Heber. Their faith was pre-eminently the fruit of conviction
and not the accident
of heredity. It had a timer basis than that of most Israelites. It was woven
more closely into the texture of their being
and swayed their lives more
powerfully. It is pleasing to think that there may have been many such
proselytes; that the promise to Abraham may have attracted souls from the east
and the west
and the north
and the south; that even beyond the limits of the
twelve tribes many hearts may have been cheered
and many lives elevated and
purified by the promise to him
“In thee and in thy seed shall all the families
of the earth be blessed.” Caleb and Joshua had believed and acted alike
in
opposition to the other ten spies; but Caleb occupies the more prominent place
in the story of their heroism and faith. Caleb was evidently the man who led
the opposition to the ten
not only asserting the course of duty
but
manifesting the spirit of contempt and defiance toward the faithless cowards
that forgot that God was with them. In his inward heart Joshua was quite of his
mind
but probably he wanted the energetic manner
the ringing voice
the
fearless attitude of his more demonstrative companion. Certain it is that Caleb
reaped the chief honour of that day. It is beautiful to see that there was no
rivalry between them. Not only did Caleb interpose no remonstrance when Joshua
was called to succeed Moses
but he seems all through the wars to have yielded
to him the most loyal and hearty submission. His affectionate and cordial
bearing on the present occasion seems to show that not even in the corner of
his heart did there linger a trace of jealousy toward the old friend and
companion whom on that occasion he had surpassed
but who had been set so much
higher than himself. He came to him as the recognised leader of the people--as
the man whose voice was to decide the question he now submitted
as the judge
and arbiter in a matter which very closely concerned him and his house. And yet
there are indications of tact on the part of Caleb
of a thorough understanding
of the character of Joshua
and of the sort of considerations by which he might
be expected to be swayed. “Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses
the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-barnea.” “Moses the man of
God.” Why does Caleb select that remarkable epithet? Why add anything to the
usual name
Moses? The use of the epithet was honouring to all three. That
which constituted the highest glory of Moses was that he was so much at one
with God. God’s will was ever his law
and he was in such close sympathy with
God that whatever instructions he gave on any subject might be assumed to be in
accordance with God’s will. Moreover
in calling him “the man of God” when
addressing Joshua
Caleb assumed that Joshua would be impressed by this
consideration
and would be disposed to agree to a request which was not only
sanctioned by the will of Moses
but by that higher will which Moses constantly
recognised. Having fortified his plea with this strong reference at once to
Moses and to God
Caleb proceeds to rehearse the service which had led to the
promise of Moses. “Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord
sent me
” &c. Why does Caleb put the matter in this way? Why does he not
couple Joshua with himself as having been faithful on that
never-to-be-forgotten occasion? The only explanation that seems feasible is
that from the pre-eminent position of Joshua this was unnecessary
perhaps it
might have appeared even unbecoming. A soldier making a request of the Duke of
Wellington
and recalling some service he had done at the battle of Waterloo
would hardly think it necessary
or even becoming
to say how the Duke
too
had been there
and what surpassing service he had rendered on that day. “I
brought him word again
as it was in my heart.” The statement is made in no boasting
spirit
and yet what a rare virtue it denotes! Caleb
as we now say
had the
courage of his convictions. To break away from your own set
from the comrades
of your campaign
to upset their plans
and counsel those in power to a course
diametrically opposed to theirs
is one of the most difficult of social duties.
The men that have the courage of their convictions are often social martyrs
shut out from the fellowship of their brethren
shut out from every berth of
honour or emolument
and yet
for their courage and honesty
worthy of
infinitely higher regard than whole hundreds of the time-servers that “get on”
in the world by humouring its errors and its follies. Nevertheless
though most
of us show ourselves miserably weak by not speaking out all that is “in our
hearts
” especially when the honour of our Lord and Master is concerned
we are
able to appreciate and cannot fail to admire the noble exhibitions of courage
that we sometimes meet with. “He that believeth shall not make haste.” Caleb
believed
and therefore he was patient. Five-and-forty long years had elapsed
since Moses
the man of God
speaking in the Spirit of God
had promised him a
particular inheritance in the land. It was a long time for faith to live on a
promise
but
like a tree in the face of a cliff that seems to grow out of the
solid rock
it derived nourishment from unseen sources. It was a long time to
be looking forward; but Caleb
though he did not receive the promise during all
that time
was persuaded of it and embraced it
and believed that at last it
would come true. It seems that when acting as one of the twelve spies
Caleb
had in some emphatic way taken his stand on Hebron. “The land on which thy foot
hath trodden will be an inheritance to thee.” Perhaps the spies were too
terrified to approach Hebron
for the sons of the Anakim were there
and
in
the confidence of faith
Caleb
or Caleb and Joshua
had gone into it alone.
Moses had promised him Hebron
and now he came to claim it under circumstances
that would have induced most men to let it alone. The driving out of the Anakim
was a formidable duty
and the task might have seemed more suitable for one who
had the strength and enthusiasm of youth on his side. But Caleb
though
eighty-five
was yet young. Age is not best measured by years. He was a
remarkable instance of prolonged vigour and youthful energy. “As yet I am as
strong
” &c. As one reads these words of Caleb
one recalls the saying of a
well-known physician
Dr. Richardson
that the human frame might last for a
hundred years if it were only treated aright. There is something singularly
touching in Caleb’s asking as a favour what was really a most hazardous but important
service to the nation. Rough though these Hebrew soldiers were
they were
capable of the most gentlemanly and chivalrous acts. There can be no higher act
of courtesy than to treat as a favour to yourself what is really a great
service to another. Well done
Caleb! In the spiritual war fare
too
we do not
want instances of the same spirit. We recall Captain Allan Gardiner choosing
Tierra del Fuego as his mission sphere just because the people were so
ferocious
the climate so repulsive
and the work so difficult that no one else
was likely to take it up. We think of the second band who went out after
Gardiner and his companions had been starved to death; and still more
after
these were massacred by the natives
of the third detachment who were moved
simply by the consideration that the case was seemingly so desperate. Or we
think of Living stone begging the directors of the London Missionary Society
wherever they sent him
to be sure that it was “Forward”; turning aside from
all previous missionary stations
and the comparative ease they afforded
to
grapple with the barbarian where he had never begun to be tamed; his eyes
thirsting for unknown scenes and untried dangers
because he scorned to build
on the foundation of others
and thirsted for “fresh woods and pastures new.”
We think of him persevering in his task from year to year in the same lofty
spirit; disregarding the misery of protracted pain
the intense longings of his
weary heart for home. A crowd of noble names comes to our
recollection--Williams
and Judson
and Morrison
and Burns
and Patteson
and
Keith-Falconer
and Hannington
and Mackay--men for whom even the Anakim had no
terrors
but rather an attraction; but who
serving under another Joshua
differed from Caleb in this
that what they desired was not to destroy these
ferocious Anakim
but to conquer them by love
and to demonstrate the power of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ to change the vilest reprobates into sons of God. (W.
G. Blaikie
D. D.)
Caleb the Kenezite
I. In all
probability Caleb was a proselyte. In Genesis 36:42
Kenaz is named as one of
the Edomite “dukes.” In 1 Chronicles 2:50
Caleb is called
“son of Hur.” Many critics assume that this indicates that he was adopted into
the family of Hur. This foreigner had the true faith of an Israelite. Sometimes
those whose early years have been spent in heathenism
home or foreign
become
noted in Christian circles for their moral virtues and foremost in every good
work.
II. Caleb had the
courage to be in a minority of two (Numbers 14:1-10). The secret of this
courage was--
1. His faith in God’s promise.
2. That the Lord put His fear upon their enemies (Numbers 14:9).
3. His sense of the Divine presence.
III. Caleb’s whole
conduct was consistent. “I wholly followed” may mean--
1. The full measure of his days.
2. The whole-heartedness of his life.
IV. At the end of
his career he receives his reward.
1. A happy old age.
2. An unfailing faith in God.
3. The people acknowledge his faithful service.
4. The seed of Caleb received the benefit resulting from the
father’s fidelity. (Henry Smith.)
Caleb’s inheritance
I. An old man’s
inheritance. Old age has its benedictions
its redeemed pledges
its
inheritance. The faithful
tireless servant of God has his portion
though he
has not gathered
sold
and joined field to field. Caleb had been seeking for a
country
not scattering an estate.
II. An old man’s
request. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”; but
the life approaching the grave with a weight of honourable service is alike
cherished by the Lord. It must have been so with Caleb
His strength was as
great for war as when he received his commission. The old man does not ask for
land he may cultivate
on which to raise choice varieties of those grapes whose
single clusters weary two men to bear them on a staff. He has led the life of a
soldier His service for the Lord he thinks still lies in that direction. Those
giants who frightened his comrades forty years ago have been on his mind ever
since. The Israelites are not likely to become more warlike in this rich
country where they can till the soil. He therefore proposes to take care of
those enemies of God himself. When Herod the Great wished to rid the cliffs of
Arbela of robbers
he caused Roman soldiers to be let down in cages to fight
the outlaws in the mouths of their caves. Caleb did not ask for a Hebrew
regiment to help him manage those sons of Anak. Hebron
that ancient city built
seven years before Zoan in Egypt
ought not to remain longer in the hand of the
infidel. Alien born or Hebrew
he cannot bear that God’s people should be
defied in their inheritance. In after-years
when crusading knights took this
city
it was not with more righteous purpose than that which stirred the heart
of this ancient servant of Jehovah.
III. An old man’s
request. Caleb’s first work was to purify his inheritance. He got the iniquity
out of it. He did not levy tribute on the brigands and live luxuriously on the
income of robbery. This veteran was not a man of compromises. The enemies of
God and righteousness could get no terms with him. His hands were not soiled
with the revenue or the rents of a nefarious business. They did not close
around the rewards of iniquity. Something of the spirit which in after-years
stirred the heart of the Master as He drove the money-changers from the temple
now rested on this old man. The spirit of reform was strong in him
and it had
fuel to keep it burning
for it was fed by the Spirit of God and of
righteousness. That mountain was not first cleared of timber
and lawns
parks
and terraces laid out and built on its slopes. There was perhaps no
summer-house commanding a view of the distant Mediterranean
but there was some
honourable estate to pass onward. There was a remainder which
according to
Divine promise
would go to his descendants. It was cleared of the enemies of
God. Whoever received it would get an inheritance without any bill of attainder
against it for treason. Such a man as Caleb does not impoverish his estate
though he lessen it in behalf of righteousness. The bare mountain was to him a
better property than a large rent-roll of criminal tenants. (W. R. Campbell.)
Caleb’s reward
Caleb’s reward illustrates the immense difference between a full
and a partial following of God. It is the difference between the river and the
sea. Both are water
and the river is all well in its way and is useful to man
and beast in small services. The sea is something more than mere water
for it
is infinite; and as we gaze upon it a sense of its immeasurableness comes over
us as never is the case when we behold the largest lake or the Mississippi
river. You cannot measure a wholly following servant of the living God
and you
can too easily take the dimensions of a half-and-half Christian. You come to
form an idea of about how much money he will give to a needy enterprise
about
how much time to a pressing work
how long he will stay to push a fresh project
in the kingdom
and what pleasures and business engagements he will surrender
to help revival efforts. We get tired of these easy measurements. But take a
Caleb
and you cannot tell what Divine energies are locked up within him to
come forth when needed..
I. One with
Caleb’s spirit sees clearly the good things which God has promised. He has
sight and insight. Twelve good men go over the same country
but on the whole
they see differently
and so report what they see. Ten
with a common-sense
vision of the greatness of the foes
and making no allowance for hidden and
supernatural factors
did not see things as they were. On the other hand
Caleb
saw all that they did
but he had a power of seeing Him who is invisible
and
so of seeing truly. The man who followed fully had a clear eye
a single eye
and his whole body was full of light. In this way he perceived the essential
weakness and rottenness of confederated evil. All achieving men have the same
vision
and so they persist and wait and return to the same attack until they
win the day
and the people that once bade stone them bring out garlands for
their graves.
II. Men of Caleb’s
spirit
wholly following the Lord
have the power of standing alone. The mass
move with the stream. The few stand like a rock. No one knows who has not tried
it what it costs the soul of self-searching
fear
doubt
sorrowful parting
with loved friends
and the crushing weight of popular disapproval. In one of
his noblest odes Horace speaks in admiration of him who can resist the heated
demands of citizens who call for evil things
III. Those who are
like Caleb have the patience of faith. It was a long and wearisome time before
the word of God to His trusty servant was fulfilled--more than a whole
generation. No doubt sometimes
for he was human
he wondered when God would
arise and His enemies be scattered. Have you seen some new possession in the
things of the Spirit? Repeat the promise. Though it tarry
wait for it; it will
surely come; it will not tarry. We get tired and run away from our own prayers
so that when the answer comes some one else lives where we did when we prayed.
Oh
let us seek the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ!
IV. Men of Caleb’s
spirit have to fight the good fight of faith. Hebron was beautifully situated
upon the hills to the south of Jerusalem
where even to-day there is a
luxuriant vegetation and the grapes as of Eschol are gathered. From it one looks over a wide expanse
of country
eastward
westward
northward
southward
towards Edom. There David
was crowned and reigned seven years. It was a splendid reward after forty-three
years’ delay. Perhaps on the great expedition with the spies Caleb marked the
place and made a vow that
if the people entered in
he would have that abode
and the picture may have dwelt in his memory to cheer him in long years
just
as the heavenly hills glow before the eye of Christian faith. But even at last
the prize did not drop into his hands like a ripe apple. No; he must draw his
sword and expel the sons of Anak who were in possession
for they also loved
the high places. It costs to get the best
but it is wise economy to be
satisfied with nothing less. Faith
the patience of faith
the fight of faith
the reward of faith--these come before us in this ancient story with the
freshness of the Word of God. And now it remains to be said that there is a
peculiar need of Calebs to-day
when great things are offered us in the
providences of God and we have not far to go to enter into them. Make it
personal. Sometimes the Spirit shows you while you are praying or reading or
listening to others an attainment beyond all you have ever reached. It is your
Hebron. No matter what the precise form of the blessing
if you have had it
clearly set before you
it is a call to possess it by faith
just as Caleb went
up to his reward among the hills of Palestine. All that your feet press is
yours. Saints are more to blame for not walking upon the high places as
children of the heavenly King than sinners are for not turning to God in
penitence. Saints have great promises made to them and great helps offered
them. Make it more general. Before the whole Church to-day there is a promised
world to be won for Christ by prayer and toil. Our charter gives it to us for a
possession
and the doors are wide for our entrance therein. Another field for
faith is the deeper Christianising of the already Christian nations of the
earth. Dr. Herren says in his little book
“The Larger Christ”: “The
realisation of heaven upon earth is more than a mystic ideal. It is the
crowning fact of history. It is the solid reality with which God is displacing
the insubstantial materialism underlying the rude social structures of human
selfishness. It is the Divine errand upon which white-souled prophets have
walked serene through a world ablaze with scorn. The pledge of God is behind
it
and the victorious forces of the universe are allied in its behalf. The
Bible is its written warrant and the Cross its seal which none can break. It
may take us with violence
but it advances to conquer. And the saints shall
judge the world!” (Edward N. Packard.)
.
Introduction
to chaps. 15-19
The law of distribution
We come now in earnest to the distribution of the land. The
narrative looks very bare
but important principles and lessons underlie it.
These lists of unfamiliar names look like the debris of a quarry--hard
meaningless
and to us useless. But nothing is inserted in the Bible without a
purpose--a purpose that in some sense bears on the edification of the
successive generations and the various races of men.
1. There is something to be learned from the maintenance of the
distinction of the twelve tribes and the distribution of the country into
portions corresponding to each. In some degree this was in accordance with
Oriental usage; for the country had already been occupied by various races
dwelling in a kind of unity--the Canaanites
Amorites
Hittites
Hivites
Jebusites
Perizzites
and Girgashites. What was peculiar to Israel was that
each of the tribes was descended from one of Jacob’s sons
and that their
relation to each other was conspicuously maintained
though their
dwelling-places were apart. As in the case of the separate states of North America
or the separate cantons of Switzerland
it provided for variety in unity; it
gave a measure of local freedom and independence
while it maintained united
action; it contributed to the life and vigour of the commonwealth without
destroying its oneness of character or impairing its common purpose and aim. It
promoted that picturesque variety often found in little countries
where each
district has a dialect
or a pronunciation
or traditions
or a character of
its own; as Yorkshire differs from Devon
or Lancashire from Cornwall;
Aberdeenshire from Berwick
or Fife from Ayr. As in a garden variety of species
enlivens and enriches the effect
so in a community variety of type enriches
and enlivens the common life. In the case of the Hebrew commonwealth the
distinction of tribes became smaller as time went on
and in New Testament
times the three great districts Judaea
Samaria
and Galilee showed only the
survival of the fittest. A larger individuality and a wider variety would
undoubtedly have prevailed if a good spirit had continued to exist among the
tribes
and if all of them had shown the energy and the enterprise of some. But
the wrong spirit came in
and came in with a witness
and mischief ensued. For
distinctions in race and family are apt to breed rivalry and enmity
and not
only to destroy all the good which may come of variety
but to introduce
interminable mischief. For many a long day the Scottish clans were like
Ishmael
their hand against every man and every man’s hand against them; or at
least one clan was at interminable feud with another
and the country was
wretched and desolate. Among the twelve tribes of Israel the spirit of rivalry
soon showed itself
leading to disastrous consequences. Many arrangements of
our modern civilisation that conduce to our comfort when in good order become
sources of unexampled evil when they go wrong. The drainage of houses conduces
much to comfort while it works smoothly; but let the drains become choked
and
send back into our houses the poisonous gases bred of decomposition
the
consequences are appalling. The sanitary inspector must be on the alert to
detect mischief in its very beginnings
and apply the remedy before we have
well become conscious of the evil. And so a vigilant eye needs ever to be kept on
those arrangements of Providence that are so beneficial when duly carried out
and so pernicious when thoughtlessly perverted. What a wonderful thing is a
little forbearance at the beginning of a threatened strife! What a priceless
blessing is the soft answer that turneth away wrath!
2. Again
in the allocation of the tribes in their various
territories we have an instance of a great natural law
the law of
distribution
a law that
on the whole
operates very beneficially throughout
the world. In society there is both a centripetal and a centrifugal force; the
centripetal chiefly human
the centrifugal chiefly Divine. Men are prone to
cluster together; God promotes dispersion. In the early ages they clustered
about the plain of Shinar; the confusion of tongues scattered them abroad. And
generally
in any fertile and desirable spot
men have been prone to multiply
till food has failed them
and either starvation at home or emigration abroad
becomes inevitable. And so it is that
in spite of their cohesive tendency
men
are now pretty well scattered over the globe. And when once they are settled in
new homes
they require adaptation to their locality
and begin to love it. It
is a proof of Divine wisdom that a world that presents such a variety of
climates and conditions has
in all parts of it
inhabitants that enjoy their
life. The same law operates in the vegetable world. Everywhere plants seem to
discover the localities where they thrive best. There is always a place for the
plant
and a plant for the place. And it is so with animals
too. The elephant
in the spreading forest
the rabbit in the sandy down
the beaver beside the
stream
the caterpillar in the leafy garden. Some of the great deserts that our
imagination used to create in Africa or elsewhere do not exist. Barren spots
there are
and “miry places and marshes given to salt
” but they are not many.
The earth has been replenished
and the purpose of God so far fulfilled. And
then there is a distribution of talents. We are not all created alike
with
equal dividends of the gifts and faculties that minister in some way to the
purposes of our life. We depend more or less on one another; women on men
and
men on women; the young on the old
and sometimes the old on the young; persons
of one talent on those of another talent
those with strong sinews on those
with clear heads
and those with clear heads on those with strong sinews; in
short
society is so constituted that what each has he has for all
and what
all have they have for each. The principle of the division of labour is brought
in; and in a well-ordered community the general wealth and well-being of the
whole are better promoted by the interchange of offices than if each person
within himself had a little stock of all that he required. The same law of
distribution prevails in the Church of Christ. It was exemplified in an
interesting way in the case of our Lord’s apostles. No one of these was a
duplicate of another. And throughout the history of the Church the distribution
of gifts has been equally marked. Chrysostom and Augustine
Jerome and Ambrose
Bernard and Anselm
were all of the same stock
but not of the same type. At
the Reformation men of marked individuality were provided for every country.
The missionary field has in like manner been provided for. India has had her
Schwartz
her Carey
her Duff
and a host of others; China her Morrison
Burmah
her Judson
Polynesia her Williams
Africa her Livingstone. The most
unattractive and inhospitable spots have been supplied. Greenland was not too
cold for the Moravians
nor the leper-stricken communities of India or Africa
too repulsive. And never were Christian men more disposed than to-day to honour
that great Christian law of distribution--“Go ye into all the world and preach
the Gospel to every creature
” It was a great providential law
therefore
that
was recognised in the partition of the land of Canaan among the tribes.
Provision was thus made for so scattering the people that they should occupy
the whole country
and become adapted to the places where they settled and to
the pursuits proper to them.
3. Still further
in the allocation of the tribes in their various
territories we have an instance of the way in which God designed the earth to
minister most effectually to the wants of man. We do not say that the method
now adopted in Canaan was the only plan of distributing land that God ever
sanctioned; very probably it was the same method as had prevailed among the
Canaanites; but it is beyond doubt that
such as it was
it was sanctioned by
God for His chosen people. It was a system of peasant proprietorship. The whole
landed property of the country was divided among the citizens. The extremes of
wealth and poverty were alike checked and discouraged
and the lot eulogised by
Agur--a moderate competency
neither poverty nor riches--became the general
condition of the citizens. It is difficult to tell what extent of land fell to
each family. The portion of the land divided by Joshua has been computed at
twenty-five million acres. Dividing this by 600
000
the probable number of
families at the time of the settlement
we get forty-two acres as the average
size of each property. For a Roman citizen
seven acres was counted enough to
yield a moderate maintenance
so that even in a country of ordinary
productiveness the extent of the Hebrew farms would
before further subdivision
became necessary
have been ample. When the population increased the
inheritance would of course have to be subdivided. But for several generations
this
so far from an inconvenience
would be a positive benefit. It would bring
about a more complete development of the resources of the soil. The great rule
of the Divine economy was thus honoured--nothing was lost. We in this country
after reaching the extreme on the opposite side
are now trying to get back in
the direction of this ancient system. All parties seem now agreed that
something of the nature of peasant proprietorship is necessary to solve the
agrarian problem in Ireland and in Great Britain too. It is only the fact that
in Britain commercial enterprise and emigration afford so many outlets for the
energies of our landless countrymen that has tolerated the abuses of property
so long among us--the laws of entail and primogeniture
the accumulation of
property far beyond the power of the proprietor to oversee or to manage
the
employment of land agents acting solely for the proprietor
and without that
sense of responsibility or that interest in the welfare of the people which is
natural to the proprietor himself. It is little wonder that theories of
land-possession have risen up which are as impracticable in fact as they are
wild and lawless in principle. Such desperate imaginations are the fruit of
despair--absolute hopelessness of getting back in any other way to a true land
law--to a state of things in which the land would yield the greatest benefit to
the whole nation.
4. In the arrangements for the distribution of the land among the
twelve tribes we may note a proof of God’s interest in the temporal comfort and
prosperity of men. It is not God that has created the antithesis of secular and
spiritual
as if the two interests were like a see-saw
so that whenever the
one went up the other must go down. Things in this world are made to be
enjoyed
and the enjoyment of them is agreeable to the will of God
provided we
use them as not abusing them. In ordinary circumstances God intends men to be
fairly comfortable; He does not desire life to be a perpetual struggle
or a
dismal march to the grave. The very words in which Christ counsels us to
consider the lilies and the ravens
instead of worrying ourselves about food
and clothing
show this; for
under the Divine plan
the ravens are comfortably
fed and the lilies are handsomely clothed. The characteristic of a good man
when he enjoys a share of worldly prosperity
is
that he does not let the
world become his idol--it is his servant
it is under his feet; he jealously
guards against its becoming his master. His effort is to make a friend of the
mammon of unrighteousness
and to turn every portion of it with which he may be
entrusted to such a use for the good of others that when at last he gives in
his account
as steward to his Divine Master
he may do so with joy
and not
with grief. (W. G. Blaikie
D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》