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JOSHUA AND CALEB – The Story of the Two Men Who Entered the Promised Land · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: What if God whispered a promise in your ear that
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't come true until everyone around you was dead? Two
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  Speaker 1: men heard the voice of destiny while standing in a
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  Speaker 1: land of giants, and the entire nation wanted to kill
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  Speaker 1: them for believing it. This is the prophecy of Joshua
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  Speaker 1: and Caleb, written in blood, tested in wilderness, and fulfilled
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  Speaker 1: in conquest. Twelve spies, ten said impossible, two said inevitable.
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  Speaker 1: The choice that day didn't just seal the fate of
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  Speaker 1: a generation. It revealed who would inherit eternity and who
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  Speaker 1: would become dust in the desert. God spoke a terrifying decree.
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  Speaker 1: Every doubter will die. But these two, these two will
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  Speaker 1: live to see my promise fulfilled. Forty years of funerals.
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  Speaker 1: Forty years watching prophecy slowly, methodically come true with every
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  Speaker 1: grave dug in the sand. And then, when the last
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  Speaker 1: doubter fell... The Jordan River split open like the Red Sea,
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  Speaker 1: and two old warriors, 185, still strong enough to slaughter giants,
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  Speaker 1: walked into the land God had shown them decades before.
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  Speaker 1: Their footsteps had been prophesied. Their victory had been written.
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  Speaker 1: Their faith had outlived an empire of fear. This is
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  Speaker 1: their story. The journey from Egypt had been long and miraculous.
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  Speaker 1: The Israelites had seen the Red Sea split in two,
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  Speaker 1: watched manna fall from heaven every morning, and heard the
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  Speaker 1: voice of God thunder from Mount Sinai. Now they stood
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  Speaker 1: at Kadesh Barnea, right at the doorway, to everything God
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  Speaker 1: had promised their ancestor Abraham hundreds of years before. The
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  Speaker 1: land of Canaan was right there, waiting for them. God
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  Speaker 1: spoke directly to Moses with clear instructions. In Numbers chapter
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  Speaker 1: 13 verse 1 and 2, the Lord said to Moses,
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  Speaker 1: Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which
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  Speaker 1: I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe,
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  Speaker 1: send one of its leaders. This wasn't a mission to
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  Speaker 1: decide whether they should enter the land. God had already
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  Speaker 1: told them it was theirs. This was a reconnaissance mission,
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  Speaker 1: a chance to see what they were walking into. Moses
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  Speaker 1: obeyed immediately. He chose twelve men, one from each tribe,
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  Speaker 1: and these weren't just random people from the camp. Numbers
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  Speaker 1: 13 verse 3 tells us, So at the Lord's command,
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  Speaker 1: Moses sent them out from the desert of Paran. All
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  Speaker 1: of them were leaders of the Israelites. These were respected men,
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  Speaker 1: tribal heads who carried weight in their communities. Among the
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  Speaker 1: twelve names, two would become legendary. From the tribe of Ephraim,
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  Speaker 1: came Hoshea son of Nun, and Moses gave him a
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  Speaker 1: new name, Joshua, which means the Lord saves. From the
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  Speaker 1: tribe of Judah came Caleb son of Jephunneh. At this moment,
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  Speaker 1: they were just two names on a list. Nobody knew
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  Speaker 1: yet that these two would be different from all the others.
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  Speaker 1: Moses gave the twelve men their mission. He told them
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  Speaker 1: exactly what to look for, and his instructions in Numbers
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  Speaker 1: 13 verses 17 through 20 were specific. Go up through
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  Speaker 1: the Negev and on into the hill country. See what
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  Speaker 1: the land is like and whether the people who live
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  Speaker 1: there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind
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  Speaker 1: of land do they live in? Is it good or bad?
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  Speaker 1: What kind of towns do they live in? Are they
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  Speaker 1: unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile
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  Speaker 1: or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do
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  Speaker 1: your best to bring back some of the fruit of
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  Speaker 1: the land. The twelve men set out together. They entered
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  Speaker 1: Canaan from the south and traveled all the way to
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  Speaker 1: the north, covering the entire length of the land. Numbers
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  Speaker 1: 13 verse 21 records their route. So they went up
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  Speaker 1: and explored the land from the desert of Zin, as
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  Speaker 1: far as Rehob, toward Lebohamath. This was no quick trip
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  Speaker 1: around the corner. They walked through valleys, climbed hills, passed
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  Speaker 1: by fortified cities, and observed everything. The mission took exactly
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  Speaker 1: 40 days. During that time, they saw things that amazed
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  Speaker 1: them and things that frightened them. They walked through the
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  Speaker 1: hill country and came to a place called the Valley
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  Speaker 1: of Eshcol. What they found there made their eyes go wide.
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  Speaker 1: Numbers 13 verse 23 describes the moment when they reached
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  Speaker 1: the Valley of Eshcol. They cut off a branch bearing
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  Speaker 1: a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it
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  Speaker 1: on a pole between them. along with some pomegranates and figs.
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  Speaker 1: Think about that for a second. One cluster of grapes
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  Speaker 1: so heavy it took two grown men to carry it
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  Speaker 1: on a pole. The soil in this land was incredibly rich.
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  Speaker 1: Everything Moses had told them about a land flowing with
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  Speaker 1: milk and honey was true. They could see it with
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  Speaker 1: their own eyes. They could taste it. But they also
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  Speaker 1: saw the people who lived there. They saw massive fortified
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  Speaker 1: cities with walls that seemed to touch the sky. They
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  Speaker 1: saw warriors who made them feel small. They observed the
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  Speaker 1: descendants of Anak, men of enormous size who had a
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  Speaker 1: fearsome reputation throughout the region. Every observation, every sight, every
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  Speaker 1: encounter was being stored in their minds, ready to be
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  Speaker 1: reported when they returned to camp. After 40 days, the
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  Speaker 1: 12 spies made their way back to Kadesh Barnea where
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  Speaker 1: the entire community of Israel waited. The whole camp gathered
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  Speaker 1: to hear what they had discovered. Moses and Aaron stood
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  Speaker 1: there along with everyone else, eager for the report. The
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  Speaker 1: spies presented the evidence first. They showed the massive grapes,
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  Speaker 1: the pomegranates, and the figs. Then they began to speak,
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  Speaker 1: and at first, everything sounded wonderful. Numbers 13 verse 27
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  Speaker 1: records their initial report. We went into the land to
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  Speaker 1: which you sent us, and it does flow with milk
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  Speaker 1: and honey. Here is its fruit. You could almost hear
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  Speaker 1: the excitement rippling through the crowd. This was it. This
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  Speaker 1: was the land God had promised them. But then came
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  Speaker 1: the word that changed everything. One simple word, but. Numbers
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  Speaker 1: 13 verse 28 continues. But the people who live there
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  Speaker 1: are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.
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  Speaker 1: We even saw descendants of Anak there. They kept going,
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  Speaker 1: listing all the different groups of people who lived in
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  Speaker 1: the land. The Amalekites lived in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites,
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  Speaker 1: and Amorites lived in the hill country. The Canaanites lived
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  Speaker 1: along the coast and near the Jordan River. With each name,
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  Speaker 1: the fear grew thicker in the air. Ten of the
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  Speaker 1: twelve spies had made up their minds. What they had
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  Speaker 1: seen terrified them. and they wanted everyone else to feel
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  Speaker 1: that same terror. They painted a picture of impossibility, of
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  Speaker 1: certain defeat, of suicide if they dared to go forward.
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  Speaker 1: The crowd started to murmur. You could feel the fear
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  Speaker 1: spreading like a disease through the camp. People began to panic,
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  Speaker 1: to question, to doubt, and that's when one voice cut
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  Speaker 1: through all the noise. Caleb stepped forward. He had heard enough.
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  Speaker 1: Numbers 13 verse 30 captures the moment. Then Caleb silenced
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  Speaker 1: the people before Moses and said, We should go up
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  Speaker 1: and take possession of the land, for we can certainly
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  Speaker 1: do it. His voice was strong, confident, certain. He wasn't
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  Speaker 1: denying what they had seen. He wasn't pretending the cities
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  Speaker 1: weren't fortified or that the people weren't powerful. He had
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  Speaker 1: seen exactly what the other spies had seen. He had
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  Speaker 1: walked the same paths, observed the same cities, encountered the
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  Speaker 1: same giants. But Caleb saw something else too. He saw
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  Speaker 1: the promise of God, and that promise was bigger than
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  Speaker 1: any wall, stronger than any giant, more certain than any obstacle.
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  Speaker 1: We can certainly do it. Five words that separated faith
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  Speaker 1: from fear. Five words that showed what Caleb was made of.
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  Speaker 1: He wasn't speaking from arrogance or foolish optimism. He was
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  Speaker 1: speaking from a deep trust in the God who had
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  Speaker 1: brought them out of Egypt, who had parted the Red Sea,
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  Speaker 1: who had defeated Pharaoh's army, who had promised them this land.
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  Speaker 1: But the ten other spies weren't having it. They countered immediately,
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  Speaker 1: and their response is recorded in Numbers 13, verses 31
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  Speaker 1: through 33. But the men who had gone up with
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  Speaker 1: him said, We can't attack those people. They are stronger
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  Speaker 1: than we are. and they spread among the Israelites a
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  Speaker 1: bad report about the land they had explored. They said,
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  Speaker 1: That's how they saw themselves. not as the people of
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  Speaker 1: the living God, not as the nation that had witnessed
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  Speaker 1: miracle after miracle, but as insects compared to the inhabitants
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  Speaker 1: of Canaan. And the problem wasn't just how the giants
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  Speaker 1: saw them, it was how they saw themselves. The bad
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  Speaker 1: reports spread through the camp like wildfire. What started as
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  Speaker 1: murmuring became loud complaints, and what started as complaints became
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  Speaker 1: open rebellion. That night... was one of the darkest in
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  Speaker 1: Israel's history. Numbers 14 opens with the scene. That night,
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  Speaker 1: all the members of the community raised their voices and
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  Speaker 1: wept aloud, an entire nation crying in despair. Men, women, children,
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  Speaker 1: everyone was gripped by fear and hopelessness. The sound of
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  Speaker 1: weeping filled the camp under the desert stars, but the
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  Speaker 1: crying didn't last long before it turned into something worse.
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  Speaker 1: Numbers 14 verses 2 and 3 show us how quickly
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  Speaker 1: things spiraled. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron,
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  Speaker 1: and the whole assembly said to them, If only we
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  Speaker 1: had died in Egypt or in this wilderness— Why is
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  Speaker 1: the Lord bringing us to this land only to let
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  Speaker 1: us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will
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  Speaker 1: be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us
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  Speaker 1: to go back to Egypt? Read that again. They wished
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  Speaker 1: they had died in Egypt, the place where they had
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  Speaker 1: been slaves, where their baby boys had been thrown into
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  Speaker 1: the Nile, where they had been beaten and forced to
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  Speaker 1: make bricks without straw. They wished they had died in
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  Speaker 1: the wilderness instead of entering the land God had promised them.
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  Speaker 1: They actually believed God had brought them all this way
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  Speaker 1: just to destroy them. The rebellion went even deeper. Numbers
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  Speaker 1: 14 verse 4 records their plan. And they said to
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  Speaker 1: each other, We should choose a leader and go back
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  Speaker 1: to Egypt. They were ready to elect a new leader,
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  Speaker 1: to reject Moses and Aaron completely, to turn their backs
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  Speaker 1: on everything God had done for them and march straight
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  Speaker 1: back into slavery. This wasn't just fear-talking. This was complete
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  Speaker 1: rejection of God's promise, God's power, and God's plan. After
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  Speaker 1: everything they had witnessed, after all the miracles, they were
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  Speaker 1: ready to throw it all away because of a bad
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  Speaker 1: report from ten frightened men. Moses and Aaron rejected were
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  Speaker 1: so overwhelmed by what was happening that they fell face
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  Speaker 1: down in front of the entire assembly. They had no words.
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  Speaker 1: But Joshua and Caleb did. The two faithful spies did
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  Speaker 1: something dramatic. Numbers 14 verse 6 tells us, Joshua son
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  Speaker 1: of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among
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  Speaker 1: those who had explored the land, tore their clothes. This
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  Speaker 1: was a sign of deep anguish and distress. They weren't
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  Speaker 1: just upset. They were heartbroken that their people were about
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  Speaker 1: to make the worst decision of their lives. Then they
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  Speaker 1: addressed the whole community. Their words in Numbers 14 verses
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  Speaker 1: 7 through 9 ring with passion and truth. The land
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  Speaker 1: we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the
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  Speaker 1: Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into
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  Speaker 1: that land, a land flowing with milk and honey and
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  Speaker 1: and will give it to us. Only do not rebel
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  Speaker 1: against the Lord, and do not be afraid of the
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  Speaker 1: people of the land, because we will devour them. Their
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  Speaker 1: protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do
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  Speaker 1: not be afraid of them. Listen to what they were saying.
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  Speaker 1: The land wasn't just good, it was exceedingly good. Everything
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  Speaker 1: depended on God's pleasure, not on their military strength. The
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  Speaker 1: inhabitants of Canaan might look powerful, but their protection was gone.
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  Speaker 1: The real question wasn't whether the Canaanites were strong. The
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  Speaker 1: real question was whether God was with Israel, and he was.
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  Speaker 1: Joshua and Caleb flipped the script completely. The other spies
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  Speaker 1: said the land devours its inhabitants. Joshua and Caleb said,
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  Speaker 1: we will devour them. The other spies saw themselves as grasshoppers.
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  Speaker 1: Joshua and Caleb saw the enemy as bread to be eaten.
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  Speaker 1: Same land, same obstacles, completely different perspective. They begged the
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  Speaker 1: people not to rebel against the Lord. They pleaded with
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  Speaker 1: them not to be afraid. They reminded them of the
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  Speaker 1: one fact that mattered most, the Lord is with us.
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  Speaker 1: But their words, as true and powerful as they were,
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  Speaker 1: fell on deaf ears. The response to Joshua and Caleb's
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  Speaker 1: plea was terrifying. These two men had just given the
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  Speaker 1: people the truth. They had encouraged them, reminded them of
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  Speaker 1: God's presence, urged them to trust and move forward. And
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  Speaker 1: how did the assembly respond? Numbers 14 verse 10 gives
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  Speaker 1: us the chilling answer. But the whole assembly talked about
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  Speaker 1: stoning them, not just rejecting their words, not just ignoring them.
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  Speaker 1: The people wanted to kill them. They wanted to pick
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  Speaker 1: up rocks and stone Joshua and Caleb to death for
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  Speaker 1: telling them to trust God. Think about that moment. Two
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  Speaker 1: men standing before thousands, maybe millions, of angry people who
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  Speaker 1: are ready to execute them. Their crime? Believing God's promise,
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  Speaker 1: their offense, having faith when everyone else chose fear, they
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  Speaker 1: were about to be murdered for telling the truth. This
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  Speaker 1: is what happens when an entire community gives itself over
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  Speaker 1: to fear and rebellion. Logic disappears. Gratitude vanishes. People turn
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  Speaker 1: violent against the very ones trying to save them. Joshua
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  Speaker 1: and Caleb stood there, knowing that at any second the
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  Speaker 1: first stone could fly through the air. But just as
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  Speaker 1: the crowd was ready to act, something stopped them in
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  Speaker 1: their tracks. The same verse continues. Then the glory of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all
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  Speaker 1: the Israelites. God himself intervened. His glory, visible, unmistakable, powerful,
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  Speaker 1: appeared right there in front of everyone. The rocks dropped
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  Speaker 1: from their hands. The shouting stopped. Suddenly they weren't dealing
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  Speaker 1: with just Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb anymore. They were
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  Speaker 1: standing before the living God, and he had something to say.
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  Speaker 1: God spoke to Moses, and his words were heavy with
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  Speaker 1: anger and disappointment. Numbers 14 verses 11 and 12 reveal
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  Speaker 1: his heart. The Lord said to Moses, How long will
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  Speaker 1: these people treat me with contempt? How long will they
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  Speaker 1: refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the
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  Speaker 1: signs I have performed among them? I will strike them
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  Speaker 1: down with a plague and destroy them, but I will
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  Speaker 1: make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.
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  Speaker 1: God was ready to wipe them out and start over
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  Speaker 1: with Moses. He had every right to. They had seen
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  Speaker 1: the plagues in Egypt, the parted Red Sea, the pillar
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  Speaker 1: of cloud and fire, the manna from heaven, water from
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  Speaker 1: a rock, his presence on Mount Sinai, and still they
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  Speaker 1: refused to believe him. Still they treated him with contempt.
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  Speaker 1: But Moses interceded. He pleaded with God, reminding him of
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  Speaker 1: his reputation among the nations, his character, his promise. And
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  Speaker 1: God listened. Numbers 14 verses 20 and 21 record God's response.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord replied, I have forgiven them as you asked. Nevertheless,
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  Speaker 1: as surely as I live, and as surely as the
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  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, God forgave them.
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  Speaker 1: He didn't destroy the entire nation. But forgiveness doesn't mean
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  Speaker 1: there are no consequences. God's judgment came next, and it
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  Speaker 1: was specific and severe. Numbers 14 verses 22 and 23
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  Speaker 1: lay out the sentence, Not one of those who saw
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  Speaker 1: my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and
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  Speaker 1: in the wilderness, but who disobeyed me and tested me
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  Speaker 1: ten times, not one of them will ever see the
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  Speaker 1: land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one
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  Speaker 1: who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.
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  Speaker 1: Every person twenty years old or older who had grumbled
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  Speaker 1: against God would die in the wilderness. They would never
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  Speaker 1: set foot in the promised land. They would wander in
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  Speaker 1: the desert until the last one of them had fallen.
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  Speaker 1: But then God made an exception. Numbers 14 verse 24
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  Speaker 1: singles out one man. But because my servant Caleb has
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  Speaker 1: a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring
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  Speaker 1: him into the land he went to, and his descendants
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  Speaker 1: will inherit it. Caleb had a different spirit. While everyone
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  Speaker 1: else saw obstacles, he saw opportunities. While everyone else saw giants,
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  Speaker 1: he saw God. While everyone else chose fear, he chose faith.
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  Speaker 1: And God noticed. God honored it. God promised that Caleb
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  Speaker 1: would enter the land. And though it's not mentioned in
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  Speaker 1: this exact moment, Joshua too was spared from the judgment.
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  Speaker 1: These two men, the only two of the twelve spies
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  Speaker 1: who believed God, would be the only ones of their
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  Speaker 1: generation to cross into Canaan. The people were sentenced to
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  Speaker 1: forty years in the wilderness... One year for each day
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  Speaker 1: the spies had explored the land. Numbers 14 verse 34
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  Speaker 1: makes it clear. For 40 years, one year for each
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  Speaker 1: of the 40 days you explored the land, you will
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  Speaker 1: suffer for your sins and know what it is like
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  Speaker 1: to have me against you. As for the 10 spies
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  Speaker 1: who spread the bad report, they didn't even make it
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  Speaker 1: through the night. Numbers 14 verse 37 records their fate.
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  Speaker 1: These men who were responsible for spreading the bad report
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  Speaker 1: about the land were struck down and died of a
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  Speaker 1: plague before the Lord. The judgment was set. The sentence
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  Speaker 1: was final. An entire generation would perish in the wilderness
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  Speaker 1: because they chose to believe ten frightened men instead of
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  Speaker 1: the God who had never failed them. Only Joshua and
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  Speaker 1: Caleb would live to see the promise fulfilled. The ten
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  Speaker 1: spies who had spread fear throughout the camp didn't live
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  Speaker 1: to see another sunrise. God's judgment came swiftly and decisively.
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  Speaker 1: Numbers 14 verse 36 and 37 record what happened. So
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  Speaker 1: the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned,
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  Speaker 1: and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading
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  Speaker 1: a bad report about it, these men who were responsible
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  Speaker 1: for spreading the bad report about the land were stricken
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  Speaker 1: down and died of a plague before the Lord. Just
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  Speaker 1: like that, they were gone. The same men who had
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  Speaker 1: stood before the assembly the day before, convincing everyone that
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  Speaker 1: entering Canaan was impossible, now lay dead. But Joshua and Caleb,
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  Speaker 1: Numbers 14 verse 38, makes their fate clear. Of the
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  Speaker 1: men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son
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  Speaker 1: of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived. When Moses
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  Speaker 1: told the people about God's judgment, that they would wander
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  Speaker 1: for 40 years until every adult among them had died
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  Speaker 1: in the wilderness, the camp was filled with mourning. Numbers
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  Speaker 1: 14 verse 39 says, When Moses reported this to all
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  Speaker 1: the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. The reality of what they
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  Speaker 1: had done crashed down on them like a heavy weight.
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  Speaker 1: They had thrown away their future because of fear. The
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  Speaker 1: sentence was clear and mathematical. Numbers 14 verses 33 and
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  Speaker 1: 34 laid it out. Your children will be shepherds here
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  Speaker 1: for 40 years, suffering for your unfaithfulness until the last
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: of your body's lies in the wilderness. For forty years,
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: one year for each of the forty days you explored
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: the land, you will suffer for your sins and know
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: what it is like to have me against you. Forty
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: days of exploration had cost them forty years of wandering.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: An entire generation would never see the land their parents
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: had left Egypt to claim. The children who they feared
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: would be taken as plunder would be the ones to
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: inherit the promise instead. the people's response to God's judgment
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: was as foolish as their initial rebellion. After spending all
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: night wishing they could go back to Egypt, after refusing
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: to enter Canaan when God commanded them to, they suddenly
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: decided they wanted to go after all. But now it
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: was too late. Numbers 14 verse 40 describes what happened
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: the next morning, early the next morning. They set out
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: for the highest point in the hill country, saying, Now
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: we are ready to go up to the land the
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Lord promised. Surely we have sinned. They acknowledged their sin,
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: but they didn't understand repentance. Real repentance means accepting the
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: consequences and submitting to God's will. They wanted to fix
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: everything on their own terms. Moses warned them clearly. His
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: words in Numbers 14 verses 41 through 43 were direct
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: and urgent. But Moses said, Why are you disobeying the
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: Lord's command? This will not succeed. Do not go up,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: because the Lord is not with you. You will be
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: defeated by your enemies, for the Amalekites and the Canaanites
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: will face you there. Because you have turned away from
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: the Lord, he will not be with you, and you
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: will fall by the sword. The warning couldn't have been clearer.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: God was not with them anymore for this mission. Going
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: up to fight now would be suicide, but they didn't listen.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: Numbers 14 verse 44 tells us what they did. Nevertheless,
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: in their presumption, they went up toward the highest point
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the Ark
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: of the Lord's Covenant moved from the camp. Notice that
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Moses stayed in the camp. The Ark of the Covenant,
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: the symbol of God's presence, stayed in the camp. The
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: people went alone, powered by their own strength and determination,
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: not by God's command or blessing. The result was exactly
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: what Moses predicted. Numbers 14 verse 45 records the disaster.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: hill country came down and attacked them and beat them
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: down all the way to Horma. It was a complete defeat,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: a crushing blow that proved what should have been obvious.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: Without God, they were nothing. In one day, the people
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: had shown both sides of disobedience. First, they refused to
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: go when God said go. Then they insisted on going
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: when God said stop. Both were rebellion. Both ended in death.
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: While the nation began its long journey through the wilderness,
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: Joshua's role became increasingly clear. He wasn't just another Israelite
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: waiting out the forty years. He was being prepared for leadership,
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: shaped and trained under the greatest leader Israel would ever know.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: Joshua had been Moses' aid from early on. Back in
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: Exodus 24, when Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: with God and receive the law, Joshua went partway up
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: the mountain with him. Exodus 24 verse 13 mentions this,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: Then Moses set out with Joshua his aid, and Moses
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: went up on the mountain of God. While the elders
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: stayed below and Moses went to the summit, Joshua waited
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: somewhere in between, closer to the presence of God than
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: anyone except Moses himself. When Moses came down from the
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: mountain after forty days and nights, carrying the tablets of
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: the law, Joshua was right there. Exodus 32 verses 17
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: and 18 show us Joshua's devotion. When Joshua heard the
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, There
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: is the sound of war in the camp. Moses replied,
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: It is not the sound of victory, it is not
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: the sound of defeat. It is the sound of singing
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: that I hear. Joshua had stayed faithful in his post,
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: waiting for Moses while the people below built a golden calf.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: But perhaps the most telling detail about Joshua appears in
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Exodus 33. After the golden calf incident, Moses set up
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: a tent of meeting outside the camp where he would
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: go to speak with the Lord. Exodus 33 verse 11
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: gives us a remarkable insight. The Lord would speak to
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: aide Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: Everyone else came and went. Moses himself would return to
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: the camp after meeting with God. But Joshua stayed. He
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: lingered in the presence of God. He didn't want to leave.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: This wasn't just duty or service. This was hunger for God.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: a desire to be near him that went beyond what
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: was required. Through all those wilderness years, Joshua learned from Moses.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: He watched how Moses led, how he interceded, how he
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: handled conflict, how he sought God's face. Every lesson, every experience,
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: every crisis was preparing Joshua for the day when he
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: would have to lead alone. While Joshua remained close to
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: Moses in the center of Israel's leadership, Caleb's story during
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: the wilderness years is quieter. The Bible doesn't give us
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: many details about what Caleb did during those 40 years,
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: but his silence speaks volumes. Caleb went back to his tribe.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: He lived among the people who were under the same
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: judgment as everyone else, watching the years pass by, watching
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: his generation slowly die off. He had been 40 years
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: old when Moses sent him to spy out the land.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: Now he would have to wait until he was 85
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: to see God's promise fulfilled. Think about what that required.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Caleb had stood before the entire nation and declared, We
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: should go up and take possession of the land, for
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: we can certainly do it. He had been ready. He
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: had been willing. He had faith. And then God said,
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: Not yet. You have to wait 40 years because of
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: everyone else's unbelief. That could have made Caleb bitter. He
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: could have spent those decades complaining, reminding everyone that he
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: had been right, that they should have listened to him.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: He could have become angry at God for making him
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: suffer the consequences of other people's sin. But we don't
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: see any record of that. What we do see, much
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: later in the story, is Caleb's own testimony about these years.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: In Joshua 14 verse 10, when Caleb finally claimed his inheritance,
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: he said something important. Now then, just as the Lord promised,
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: he has kept me alive for 45 years since the
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: time he said this to Moses while Israel moved about
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: in the wilderness. So here I am today, 85 years old.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: The Lord kept him alive through all those years of wandering,
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: through all the deaths, through all the waiting. God preserved Caleb.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: That was enough for him. He didn't need constant recognition
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: or validation. He had God's promise, and he held onto
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: it in silence and strength. Caleb's faithfulness wasn't loud or
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: showy during these years. It was steady, patient, enduring. He
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: believed God would keep his word, and he was willing
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: to wait as long as it took. The 40 years
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: of wandering were marked by one constant reality— death. Everyone
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: who had been twenty years old or older at Kadesh Barnea,
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: everyone who had grumbled against God and refused to enter
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: the Promised Land, would die before the journey ended. Only
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: Joshua and Caleb were exempt. The Israelites moved from place
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: to place throughout those years. They camped at different locations,
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: faced various challenges, and watched and as funeral after funeral
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: took place. Numbers 33 lists many of the places they
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: traveled during the wilderness period. Kadesh, Mount Hor, and numerous
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: other stops as they wandered through the desert. Even Moses'
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: own family wasn't spared from the judgment. Aaron, the high
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: priest and Moses' brother, died on Mount Hor. Numbers 20
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: verses 25 through 28 describe what happened. Get Aaron and
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. Remove
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will die there.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: Moses did as the Lord commanded. They went up Mount
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: Hor in the sight of the whole community. Moses removed
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: Aaron's priestly garments and put them on his son Eliezer,
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: and Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Aaron
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: had been 83 years old when he and Moses first
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: confronted Pharaoh. He had witnessed every plague, walked through the
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: Red Sea, seen God's glory on Mount Sinai, but he
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: too had failed at Kadesh when he stood with Moses
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: and didn't honor God as holy before the people. He
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: died in the wilderness. never entering the promised land. Miriam,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: Moses' sister who had watched over baby Moses in the
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: Nile and led the women in song after crossing the
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: Red Sea, also died during the wilderness wandering. Numbers 20
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: verse 1 simply states, In the first month, the whole
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: Israelite community arrived at the desert of Zin, and they
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. Year
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: after year the older generation passed away. Children grew into
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: adults who had never known Egypt, who had been born
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: in freedom, who had learned to trust God in the wilderness.
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: The camp was constantly changing as the condemned generation diminished
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: and a new generation rose to take their place. By
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: the time the forty years were complete, only two men
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: remained from those who had left Egypt as adults, Joshua
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: and Caleb. They had outlived everyone. They had watched an
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: entire generation die because of unbelief. They stood as living
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: proof that faith is rewarded and that God keeps his promises,
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: both his warnings and his blessings. Before the incident at
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: Kadesh Barnea, before the spies were sent into Canaan, Joshua
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: had already proven himself as a military commander. This happened
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: earlier in the journey, at a place called Rephidim, and
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: it was Joshua's first major test in battle. The Israelites
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: had been complaining about the lack of water, and God
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: had provided by having Moses strike a rock. But then
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: a new threat emerged. Exodus 17 verse 8 introduces the conflict.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: immediately turned to Joshua. This is the first time we
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: see Joshua's name mentioned in Scripture. and Moses already trusted
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: him enough to put him in charge of the entire
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: fighting force. Exodus 17 verse 9 records Moses' command. Moses
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: said to Joshua, Choose some of our men and go
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: top of the hill with the staff of God in
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: my hands. Joshua obeyed without question. He selected men, organized them,
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: and led them into battle while Moses, Aaron, and Hur
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: went to the top of the hill to watch. What
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: happened next was extraordinary and showed Joshua something crucial about victory.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: Exodus 17 says, verses 11 and 12, describe the strange
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: connection between Moses on the hill and Joshua in the valley.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: stone and put it under him, and he sat on it.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on one side,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: one on the other, so that his hands remained steady
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: till sunset. Joshua was down in the valley, sword in hand,
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: leading the troops, fighting with everything he had. But the
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: real battle was being won on the hilltop through Moses' intercession.
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: When Moses' hands were lifted with the staff of God,
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: Israel prevailed. When they dropped, the enemy gained ground. Aaron
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: and Hur had to support Moses' arms until the sun
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: went down. The outcome is recorded in Exodus 17, verse 13.
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Joshua
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: won the battle, but he learned an invaluable lesson. Military
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: skill and courage matter, but victory ultimately comes from God.
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: A commander's strength in battle must be connected to dependence
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: on the Lord. After the victory, God gave Moses a
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: specific instruction in Exodus 17 verse 14. Then the Lord
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: said to Moses, Write this on a scroll as something
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it,
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: from under heaven. God wanted Joshua to know that this
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: enemy would eventually be destroyed completely. It was a promise
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: that would take generations to fulfill, but Joshua needed to
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: hear it and remember it. This battle at Rephidim was
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: more than just a military victory. It was Joshua's introduction
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: to leadership, his first taste of commanding troops, and his
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: first lesson in the relationship between human effort and divine intervention.
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: As the forty years drew to a close, the time
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: came for a transition. Moses himself would not enter the
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: promised land. He had failed to honor God as holy
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: at the waters of Meribah when he struck the rock
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: in anger instead of speaking to it as God commanded.
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: Because of this, God told Moses he would see the
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: land from a distance, but never walk on its soil.
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: Moses needed a successor, and God had already chosen who
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: it would be. Numbers 27 verses 15 through 17 show
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: us Moses' concern for the people and his request to God.
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: Moses said to the Lord, May the Lord... The God
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: who gives breath to all living things appoints someone over
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: this community to go out and come in before them,
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: one who will lead them out and bring them in,
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: so the Lord's people will not be like sheep without
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: a shepherd. God's response was immediate and clear. Numbers 27
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: verse 18 says, So the Lord said to Moses, Take
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him. God
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: didn't say Joshua had potential or that he might work out.
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: God confirmed that the Spirit was already in Joshua. He
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: was ready. Moses followed God's instructions exactly. Numbers 27 verses
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: 19 through 21 describe the public ceremony. Have him stand
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: him in their presence. Give him some of your authority
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: so the whole Israelite community will obey him. He is
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: to stand before Eliezer the priest, who will obtain decisions
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord.
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: At his command, he and the entire community of the
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: Israelites will go out, and at his command they will
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: come in. This wasn't a private moment. This was a
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: public transfer of leadership done before the whole community. Moses
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: laid his hands on Joshua and passing on authority, and
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: Eliezer the priest stood there representing God's guidance for the future.
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: Everyone could see that Joshua was now the leader who
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: would take them forward. Later, in Deuteronomy, as Moses prepared
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: for his death, he spoke directly to Joshua in front
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: of all Israel. Deuteronomy 31 verses 7 and 8 record
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: Moses' charge. Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: in the presence of all Israel, Be strong and courageous,
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: for you must go with this people into the land
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them,
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous.
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: These words would echo in Joshua's ears for the rest
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: of his life. Moses said them publicly so everyone would
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: know that Joshua had been chosen and blessed. The commission
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: was complete. Joshua was no longer just Moses' aid. He
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: was the leader of Israel. The forty years were over.
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: The wilderness generation had died just as God said they would.
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: A new generation stood ready, and they had traveled to
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: the plains of Moab, right across the Jordan River from Jericho.
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: The promised land was right there in front of them,
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: so close they could see it. Moses gathered the people
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: for his final words. The book of Deuteronomy records his
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: farewell speeches, where he reminded them of everything God had done,
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: reviewed the law, and warned them to stay faithful. He
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: knew his time was ending. Deuteronomy 13... 31 verse 14
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: describes God's summons to Moses. The Lord said to Moses,
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, where I
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: will commission him. So Moses and Joshua came and presented
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: themselves at the tent of meeting. God spoke to Joshua directly,
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: confirming what Moses had already told him. Deuteronomy 31 verse
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: 23 records God's words. The Lord gave this command to Joshua,
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: son of Nun. Be strong and courageous, for you will
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath.
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: and I myself will be with you. But then Moses
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: did something remarkable. He climbed Mount Nebo across from Jericho,
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: and God showed him the entire promised land. Deuteronomy 34
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: verses 1 through 4 describe the moment. Then Moses climbed
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: of Pisgah across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: the whole land, from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali,
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: the whole region from the valley of Jericho, the city
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: to him, This is the land I promised on oath
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when I said, I will
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: give it to your descendants. I have let you see
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: it with your eyes, but you will not cross over
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: into it. Moses saw it all, every corner of the land.
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: But he couldn't enter, and there on Mount Nebo Moses died.
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: Deuteronomy 34 verses 5 through 7 record his passing. And
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab,
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab,
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: eyes were not weak, nor his strength gone. The people
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: mourned for Moses for 30 days, and then the mourning
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: ended and reality set in. Joshua was now in charge.
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: Deuteronomy 34 verse 9 confirms it. Now Joshua, son of Nun,
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses. The
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: Israelites stood at the edge of the Jordan River. Behind
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: them were forty years of wandering, a generation buried in
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: the wilderness, and the memory of Moses. Ahead of them
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: was the promised land, filled with fortified cities and powerful enemies,
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: and leading them was Joshua, with Caleb somewhere among the tribes,
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: both of them the last survivors of those who had
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: left Egypt as adults. The promise was about to be fulfilled.
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: Joshua now stood as the leader of Israel, and God
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: wasted no time giving him instructions. The Jordan River was
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: at flood stage, swollen and dangerous, flowing between the Israelites
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: and the land God had promised them. But God had
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: a plan that would remind everyone of what he had
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: done at the Red Sea 40 years earlier. Joshua 1
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: verses 1 and 2 record God's first words to the
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: new leader. After the death of Moses, the servant of
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, son of Nun,
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: Moses' aid, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now then, you
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: River into the land I am about to give to them,
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: to the Israelites. God repeated his promise to Joshua personally.
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: Joshua 1 verses 5 and 6 contain words that would
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: sustain Joshua through every battle ahead. No one will be
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: able to stand against you all the days of your life.
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: Joshua immediately took action. He commanded the officers to tell
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: the people to prepare provisions, because in three days they
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: would cross the Jordan and take possession of the land.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: Then he sent two spies secretly to scout out Jericho,
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: learning from the past, but this time keeping the mission quiet.
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: When the spies returned with good news that the people
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: of the land were terrified of Israel, Joshua prepared for
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: the crossing. Joshua 3 verses 14 and 15 describe the moment.
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan,
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: the Ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: water's edge... What happened next was a miracle that marked
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: the beginning of the conquest. Joshua 3 verse 16 continues,
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: The water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: a heap a great distance away, at a town called
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: down to the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: Dead Sea, was completely cut off. So the people crossed
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: over opposite Jericho. The entire nation crossed on dry ground,
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: while the priests holding the ark stood firm in the
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: middle of the riverbed. When everyone had crossed, Joshua commanded
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: one man from each tribe to take a stone from
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: the middle of the Jordan, where the priests had stood.
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: These twelve stones were set up at Gilgal as a memorial.
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: Joshua 4 verses 21 through 24 explains the purpose. He
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: said to the Israelites, In the future, when your descendants
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: ask their parents, What do these stones mean? Tell them,
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. Adieu, for the
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: when he dried it up before us until we had
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: of the earth might know that the hand of the
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: the Lord your God. The crossing was complete. Israel was
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: finally in the promised land. The first obstacle in Canaan
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: was Jericho, a heavily fortified city with massive walls. Joshua
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: 6 verse 1 describes the situation. Now the gates of
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: went out and no one came in. The city was
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: locked down tight, prepared for a siege, but God had
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: a battle plan that made no military sense at all.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: He appeared to Joshua as the commander of the army
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: of the Lord and gave him specific instructions. The Israelites
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: weren't going to build siege equipment or scale the walls.
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: They were going to march around the city. Joshua 6
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: verses 3 and 4 lay out God's unusual strategy. MARCH
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: AROUND THE CITY ONCE WITH ALL THE ARMED MEN. DO
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: THIS FOR SIX DAYS. HAVE SEVEN PRIESTS CARRY TRUMPETS OF
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: RAM'S HORNS IN FRONT OF THE ARK. ON THE SEVENTH DAY,
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: MARCH AROUND THE CITY SEVEN TIMES WITH THE PRIESTS BLOWING
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: THE TRUMPETS. JOSHUA GATHERED THE PRIESTS AND THE FIGHTING MEN
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: AND TOLD THEM EXACTLY WHAT TO DO. FOR SIX DAYS,
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: THEY MARCHED AROUND JERICHO ONCE EACH DAY IN COMPLETE SILENCE
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: EXCEPT FOR THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPETS. The armed guard
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: went ahead, then came the seven priests, blowing their ram's horns,
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: then the Ark of the Covenant, then the rearguard. They
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: circled the city, returned to camp, and repeated the process
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: the next day. Can you imagine what the people inside
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: Jericho were thinking? They watched this strange procession day after day,
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: probably confused and maybe even more frightened because it was
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: so bizarre. The Israelites didn't attack, didn't shout threats, didn't
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: do anything except walk around their city in silence. On
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: the seventh day, everything changed. Joshua 6 verse 15 tells us,
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: On the seventh day they got up at daybreak and
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: marched around the city seven times in the same manner,
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: except that on that day they circled the city seven times.
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: Seven times they went around that day, and on the
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: seventh lap something different happened. Joshua 6 verses 16 and
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: 17 describe the climactic moment. The seventh time around, when
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, Shout,
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: for the Lord has given you the city. The city
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: and all that is in it are to be devoted
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: to the Lord. The people shouted, the priests blew their trumpets,
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: and the impossible happened. Joshua 6 verse 20 records it.
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: When the trumpet sounded, the army shouted. And at the
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout,
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: the wall collapsed. So everyone charged straight in, and they
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: took the city. The walls of Jericho fell flat. Not partially,
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: not in one section. The entire wall system collapsed, and
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: the Israelites rushed in from every side. They captured the
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: city and devoted it to the Lord... as he had commanded.
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: Only Rahab, the prostitute, and her family were spared, because
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: she had hidden the two spies and helped them escape.
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: Jericho's fall sent a message throughout Canaan. The God of
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: Israel fought for his people, and no wall was thick
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: enough to stop him. After Jericho came a setback at
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: Ai because of Ashan's sin, he had taken devoted things
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: from Jericho that were supposed to be destroyed. Once the
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: sin was dealt with, Joshua attacked Ai again, this time
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: successfully using an ambush strategy that God approved. Word of
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: Israel's victories spread terror throughout Canaan. The kings of the
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: region began forming alliances to fight against Israel, but one
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: group took a different approach, the Gibeonites. They tricked Joshua
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: into making a peace treaty with them by pretending to
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: be from a distant country. When Joshua discovered the deception,
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: he honored the treaty, but made the Gibeonites woodcutters and
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: water carriers for Israel. This treaty triggered a major conflict.
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: Five Amorite kings, The kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish,
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: and Eglon formed a coalition and attacked Gibeon for making
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: peace with Israel. The Gibeonites sent an urgent message to
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: Joshua asking for help. Joshua responded immediately. Joshua 10 verses
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: 6 and 7 describe his quick action. The Gibeonites then
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal. Do
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: save us. Help us, because all the Amorite kings from
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: the hill country have joined forces against us. So Joshua
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: the best fighting men. God encouraged Joshua before the battle.
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: Joshua 10 verse 8 records God's promise. The Lord said
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: to Joshua, Do not be afraid of them. I have
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: given them into your hand. Not one of them will
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: be able to withstand you. Joshua marched all night and
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: launched a surprise attack at dawn. What happened next was extraordinary.
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: Joshua 10 verses 10 and 11 described the battle. The
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: them down all the way to Azekah and Makedah. As
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: Horon to Azekah, The Lord hurled large hailstones down on them,
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: and more of them died from the hail than were
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: killed by the swords of the Israelites. God himself fought
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: for Israel that day, throwing hailstones from heaven that killed
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: more enemies than Israel's swords did. But Joshua needed more
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: time to complete the victory. The day was ending, and
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: the enemy forces were still fleeing. So Joshua did something
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: that has amazed people ever since. Joshua 10 verses 12
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: and 13 record his bold prayer and what happened. On
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel,
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel, Son,
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: stand still over Gibeon, and you moon over the valley
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: of Ajalon. So the sun stood still, and the moon
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: stopped till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: it is written in the book of Jashar. The sun
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: down about a full day. God answered Joshua's prayer and
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: extended the day so Israel could finish the battle. The
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: five kings tried to hide in a cave at Machadar,
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: but Joshua had them trapped there until after the battle,
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: then brought them out and executed them. This southern campaign
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: didn't stop with one battle. Joshua 10 verses 40 through
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: 42 summarize the conquest of the south. So Joshua subdued
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: western foothills, and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings.
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed,
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from
• 53:34
  Speaker 1: the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. All these kings
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign because the Lord,
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: the God of Israel, fought for Israel. Then Joshua turned
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: his attention to the north. The king of Hazor heard
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: about Israel's victories and assembled a massive coalition. Joshua 11
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: verse 4 describes the size of this northern army. They
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: came out with all their troops and a large number
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: of horses and chariots, a huge army, as numerous as
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: the sand on the seashore. God told Joshua not to
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: be afraid, and once again Joshua attacked suddenly. Joshua 11
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: verses 7 and 8 record the victory. So Joshua and
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: his whole army came against them suddenly at the waters
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: of Merom and attacked them, and the Lord gave them
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: them all the way to greater Sidon, to Mizrephoth-Mim, and
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: to the valley of Mizpah on the east, until no
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: survivors were left. Joshua captured Hazor and burned it to
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: the ground. The conquest continued until the major resistance in
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: Canaan was broken. After years of warfare, Joshua had aged considerably.
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: The major battles were won. The power of the Canaanite
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: kings was broken, but the conquest wasn't entirely finished. Large
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: areas still needed to be taken, and it was time
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: to shift strategy. Joshua 13 verse 1 marks this transition.
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him,
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: You are very old, and there are still very large
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: areas of land to be taken over. God listed the
• 55:17
  Speaker 1: regions that remained unconquered, the territory of the Philistines, the
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: land of the Geshurites, areas in Lebanon, and various other
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: pockets of resistance. But instead of waiting until every last
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: enemy was defeated, God told Joshua to proceed with dividing
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: the land among the tribes. Each tribe would receive their
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: inheritance and would be responsible for driving out the remaining
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: inhabitants from their assigned territory. Joshua 13 verse 7 contains
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: God's instruction. and divide it as an inheritance among the
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh. The
• 55:55
  Speaker 1: division of the land was a massive undertaking. Reuben, Gad,
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: and the half-tribe of Manasseh had already received their inheritance
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: on the east side of the Jordan before Moses died.
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: Now the remaining nine and a half tribes needed their portions.
• 56:12
  Speaker 1: Joshua 14 verse 1 describes the process. Now these are
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun,
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: to them. The distribution was done by casting lots before
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: the Lord, ensuring that God determined each tribe's location, not
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: human preference or politics. Some territories were given based on
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: size and population. Joshua 17 verses 14 through 18 record
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: a conversation with the tribes of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh,
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: who complained that their allotment was too small. Joshua told
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: them to clear the forested hill country if they needed
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: more space. and to drive out the Canaanites who had
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: iron chariots. Even though it would be difficult, the tent
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: of meeting was set up at Shiloh, making it the
• 57:09
  Speaker 1: central place of worship. Seven tribes still hadn't received their inheritance,
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: and Joshua challenged them in Joshua 18 verse 3. How
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: long will you wait before you begin to take possession
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors,
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: has given you? He sent men to survey the remaining land,
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: and divide it into seven parts. Then cast lots at
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: Shiloh to determine which tribe got which section. The land
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: distribution was systematic and fair, overseen by Joshua and Eleazar
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: with the tribal leader's help. Six cities of refuge were designated,
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: three on each side of the Jordan, where someone who
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: accidentally killed another person could flee for protection. The Levites
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: received towns scattered throughout all the tribal territories since they
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: had no land inheritance of their own, just as Moses
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: had commanded. During the distribution of the land, something remarkable happened.
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: An old man stepped forward to claim a promise that
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: had been made to him 45 years earlier. Caleb, now
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: 85 years old, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Joshua 14
• 58:22
  Speaker 1: verse 6 introduces the moment. Now the people of Judah
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: Kenizzite said to him, You know what the Lord said
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about
• 58:36
  Speaker 1: you and me. Caleb was reminding Joshua of their shared history,
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: of the day when they stood together against an entire
• 58:45
  Speaker 1: nation's fear. Caleb recounted his story. Joshua 14 verses 7
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: and 8 record his words, I was forty years old
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: Kadesh Barnea to explore the land, and I brought him
• 59:02
  Speaker 1: back a report according to my convictions. But my fellow
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: the people melt. in fear. I, however, followed the Lord
• 59:13
  Speaker 1: my God wholeheartedly. He reminded Joshua of Moses' promise. Joshua
• 59:18
  Speaker 1: 14 verse 9 quotes what Moses had sworn, So on
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: that day Moses swore to me, The land on which
• 59:25
  Speaker 1: your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord
• 59:32
  Speaker 1: my God wholeheartedly. Then Caleb testified to God's faithfulness over
• 59:38
  Speaker 1: the decades. Joshua 14 verses 10 and 11 contain his
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: powerful declaration, Now then, just as the Lord promised, he
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: has kept me alive for 45 years since the time
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: he said this to Moses while Israel moved about in
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: the wilderness. So here I am today, 85 years old.
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: I'm still as strong today as the day Moses sent
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: me out. I'm just as vigorous to go out to
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 1: battle now as I was then. 85 years old and
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: still strong. Caleb hadn't weakened or given up. He had
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 1: waited patiently, watched everyone else die in the wilderness, and
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 1: now stood ready to claim what God had promised him.
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: But he wasn't asking for easy land or a comfortable
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: retirement spot. Joshua 14 verse 12 reveals what Caleb wanted.
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 1: Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: were there, and their cities were large and fortified, but
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 1: the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 1: as he said. Caleb was asking for Hebron, the very
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: place where the giant Anakites lived, the descendants of Anak
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: who had terrified the ten spies forty-five years earlier. While
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: those ten spies had said the Anakites made them feel
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: like grasshoppers, Caleb had said, We can certainly take the land. Now,
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: at 85, he was ready to prove it. Joshua responded
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: to Caleb's request with blessing and approval. Joshua 14 verse
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 1: 13 says, Then Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 1: gave him Hebron as his inheritance. The city that had
• 1:01:24
  Speaker 1: symbolized impossibility and fear now became Caleb's reward for faith.
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 1: But Caleb didn't just receive Hebron as a gift to
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 1: sit back and enjoy. He had to fight for it,
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: and he did. Joshua 15 verse 14 records what happened.
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: From Hebron, Caleb drove out the three Anakites, Sheshai, Ahiman,
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 1: and Talmai, the sons of Anak. These were the very
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: giants that had terrified the spies decades earlier. the Bible
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: had specifically mentioned the descendants of Anak in the original
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: spy report as the reason the land couldn't be taken.
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 1: Now an 85-year-old man drove them out. Caleb's strength hadn't diminished,
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: and his faith had only grown stronger through the years
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: of waiting. Caleb continued his conquest beyond just Hebron. Joshua
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 1: 15 verse 15 tells us, From there he marched against
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 1: the people living in Debir, formerly called Kiriath Sefer. He
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 1: didn't stop. With one victory, he kept pressing forward. Caleb
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: made an interesting challenge regarding Debir. Joshua 15 verses 16
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 1: and 17 describe it. And Caleb said, I will give
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: my daughter Aksa in marriage to the man who attacks
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 1: and captures Kiriath Sefer. Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother,
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: took it. So Caleb gave his daughter Aksa to him
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: in marriage. Even in his old age, Caleb was training
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 1: the next generation of warriors. His nephew Othniel rose to
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 1: the challenge and won both the city and Caleb's daughter.
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 1: This same Othniel would later become the first judge of
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 1: Israel after Joshua's death. The explanation for why Hebron became
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 1: Caleb's inheritance is given in Joshua 14 verse 14. So
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 1: It wasn't just about a promise kept. It was about
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 1: a man whose wholehearted devotion to God never wavered through
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 1: 45 years of waiting. Joshua 14 verse 15 adds a
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 1: final note. Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba,
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: who was the greatest man among the Anakites. Then the
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 1: land had rest from war. The place named after the
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 1: greatest of the giants now belonged to the man who
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: trusted the greatest God. The process of dividing the land
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: continued until every tribe had received its portion. Judah received
• 1:04:02
  Speaker 1: a large territory in the south. Ephraim and Manasseh, the
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: two sons of Joseph, each received significant areas in the
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: central region. Benjamin's small but strategic territory lay between Judah
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: and Ephraim. The northern tribes, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali,
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 1: received their inheritances in Galilee and the surrounding regions. Dan
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: received territory in the west, though they later struggled to
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: hold it and eventually migrated north to conquer another area.
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: Simeon's inheritance was within Judah's territory, since Judah's portion was
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 1: too large for them alone. The Levites, as mentioned earlier,
• 1:04:44
  Speaker 1: received no territorial inheritance. Instead... they were given 48 towns
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 1: scattered throughout all the other tribes' lands. Joshua 21 verses
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 1: 41 and 42 summarize their allotment. The towns of the
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were 48
• 1:05:05
  Speaker 1: in all, together with their pasture lands. Each of these
• 1:05:08
  Speaker 1: towns had pasture lands surrounding it. This was true for
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 1: all these towns. When the entire distribution was complete... the
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: Israelites gave Joshua his own inheritance. Joshua 19 verse 49
• 1:05:23
  Speaker 1: and 50 record this. When they had finished dividing the
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua, son
• 1:05:32
  Speaker 1: of Nun, an inheritance among them, as the Lord had commanded.
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: They gave him the town he asked for, Timnath-serah, in
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: the hill country of Ephraim, and he built up the
• 1:05:43
  Speaker 1: town and settled there. Joshua had led them across the Jordan,
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: directed the conquest, overseen the distribution of the land to
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 1: everyone else, and only at the very end did he
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 1: receive his own town. He rebuilt Timnath-serah and made it
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: his home. Joshua 21 verses 43 through 45 provide a
• 1:06:06
  Speaker 1: summary statement about the entire conquest and settlement. So the
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 1: Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to
• 1:06:14
  Speaker 1: give their ancestors and and they took possession of it
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side,
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 1: just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one
• 1:06:24
  Speaker 1: of their enemies withstood them. The Lord gave all their
• 1:06:27
  Speaker 1: enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord's
• 1:06:30
  Speaker 1: good promises to the people of Israel failed. Every one
• 1:06:33
  Speaker 1: was fulfilled. Every promise God made came true. The land
• 1:06:38
  Speaker 1: that seemed impossible to conquer was now Israel's inheritance. The
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 1: giants that appeared unconquerable were defeated, the walls that looked
• 1:06:47
  Speaker 1: impenetrable had fallen. Everything God said would happen had happened.
• 1:06:52
  Speaker 1: Joshua knew his life was coming to an end. He
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 1: had lived to see the promise fulfilled, had led Israel
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 1: into their inheritance, and now it was time to prepare
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: them for life without him. He gathered all Israel, their elders, leaders, judges,
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 1: and officials for a final address. Joshua 23 verse 2
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 1: sets the scene. Then Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders, leaders, judges,
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: and officials, and said to them, I am very old.
• 1:07:23
  Speaker 1: He didn't waste words. He reminded them of everything the
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 1: Lord had done, how God had fought for them and
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 1: given them the land. Joshua 23 verses 6 through 8
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 1: contain his charge to them. Be very strong. Be careful
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 1: to obey all that is written in the book of
• 1:07:42
  Speaker 1: the law of Moses. without turning aside to the right
• 1:07:46
  Speaker 1: or to the left. Do not associate with these nations
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: that remain among you. Do not invoke the names of
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 1: their gods or swear by them. You must not serve
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 1: them or bow down to them. But you are to
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 1: until now. He warned them about the dangers of mixing
• 1:08:05
  Speaker 1: with the pagan nations and adopting their practices. He reminded
• 1:08:10
  Speaker 1: them that just as every good promise from God had
• 1:08:13
  Speaker 1: been fulfilled... So would every warning come true if they
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 1: turned away from him. Later, Joshua gathered the people again
• 1:08:21
  Speaker 1: at Shechem for another assembly. This time he reviewed Israel's
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 1: entire history, from Abraham's call to their current settlement in Canaan.
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 1: Then he issued his famous challenge. Joshua 24 verse 14
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 1: and 15 record his words, Now fear the Lord and
• 1:08:38
  Speaker 1: serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your
• 1:08:42
  Speaker 1: ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt and
• 1:08:46
  Speaker 1: serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 1: to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 1: will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the
• 1:08:57
  Speaker 1: Euphrates or the gods of the Amalekites. in whose land
• 1:09:01
  Speaker 1: you are living. But as for me and my household,
• 1:09:05
  Speaker 1: we will serve the Lord. Choose for yourselves this day
• 1:09:09
  Speaker 1: whom you will serve. Joshua put the decision squarely before them.
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 1: He wasn't forcing them, wasn't manipulating them. He was calling
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: them to make a conscious choice. And then he declared
• 1:09:20
  Speaker 1: his own choice, as for me and my household we
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 1: will serve the Lord. The people responded enthusiastically, pledging their
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 1: loyalty to the Lord. Joshua warned them that serving God
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 1: was serious and that God was holy and jealous. But
• 1:09:36
  Speaker 1: they insisted, so Joshua made a covenant with the people
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 1: that day at Shechem. Joshua 24 verses 26 and 27
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 1: describe what he did. And Joshua recorded these things in
• 1:09:48
  Speaker 1: the book of the law of God. Then he took
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 1: a large stone and set it up there under the
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 1: oak near the holy place of the Lord. See, he
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 1: said to all the people, this stone will be a
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: witness against us. It has heard all the words the
• 1:10:03
  Speaker 1: Lord has said to us. It will be a witness
• 1:10:06
  Speaker 1: against you if you are untrue to your God. Then
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 1: Joshua sent everyone home to their inheritances. Shortly after, his
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 1: life ended. Joshua 24, verses 29 and 30 record his death.
• 1:10:21
  Speaker 1: After these things, Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 1: the Lord, died at the age of 110, and they
• 1:10:29
  Speaker 1: buried him in the land of his inheritance at Timnath-serah
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 1: in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gash.
• 1:10:37
  Speaker 1: Joshua died at 110 years old. He had been Moses' aide.
• 1:10:42
  Speaker 1: had stood with Caleb against the nation's fear, had waited
• 1:10:45
  Speaker 1: forty years in the wilderness, had led Israel across the Jordan,
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 1: had conquered the land, and had seen God fulfill every promise.
• 1:10:54
  Speaker 1: He was buried in his own town, in the land
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 1: God had given him. The Bible adds one more important detail.
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: Joshua 24 verse 31 says, Israel served the Lord throughout
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 1: the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him,
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.
• 1:11:14
  Speaker 1: As long as the generation that saw God's mighty works
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 1: remained alive, Israel stayed faithful. Caleb's death isn't recorded in
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 1: Scripture with the same detail, but he had received his
• 1:11:26
  Speaker 1: inheritance at Hebron and had lived to see his descendants
• 1:11:29
  Speaker 1: established in the land of the giants. Two men who
• 1:11:32
  Speaker 1: had believed when everyone else doubted, who had waited when
• 1:11:36
  Speaker 1: everyone else died, who had entered when everyone else was
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 1: buried in the wilderness, their story was complete. If this
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: story strengthened your faith and reminded you that God keeps
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 1: his promises, subscribe to this channel so you never miss
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: another powerful biblical story that can transform your perspective. Share
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: this video with someone who needs to hear that waiting
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 1: on God is never wasted, that faith always outlasts fear,
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 1: and that what God promises is He delivers, no matter
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 1: how long it takes. Hit that like button if Joshua
• 1:12:12
  Speaker 1: and Caleb's courage inspired you to trust God more deeply.
• 1:12:17
  Speaker 1: Your share might be exactly what someone needs to hold
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: on to their promise for one more day.