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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 every one around you was dead.
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  Speaker 1: Two men heard the voice of destiny while standing in
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  Speaker 1: a land of giants, and the entire nation wanted to
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  Speaker 1: kill them for believing it. This is the prophecy of
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  Speaker 1: Joshua and Caleb, written in blood, tested in wilderness, and
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  Speaker 1: fulfilled 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 prophecies 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 two old warriors one eighty five, still strong
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  Speaker 1: enough to slaughter giants, walked into the land God had
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  Speaker 1: shown them decades before. Their footsteps had been prophesied, their
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  Speaker 1: victory had been written, their faith had outlived an empire
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  Speaker 1: of fear. This is their story. The journey from Egypt
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  Speaker 1: had been long and miraculous. The Israelites had seen the
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  Speaker 1: Red Sea split in two, watched manner fall from heaven
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  Speaker 1: every morning, and heard the voice of God thunder from
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  Speaker 1: Mount Sinai. Now they stood at Kadesh Barnea, right at
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  Speaker 1: the doorway to everything God had promised their ancestor Abraham
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  Speaker 1: hundreds of years before. The land of Canaan was right
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  Speaker 1: there waiting for them. God spoke directly to Moses with
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  Speaker 1: clear instructions in Numbers Chapter thirteen, verse one and two.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord said to Moses, send some men to explore
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  Speaker 1: the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.
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  Speaker 1: From each ancestral tribe, send one of its leaders. This
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  Speaker 1: wasn't a mission to decide whether they should enter the land.
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  Speaker 1: God had already told them it was theirs. This was
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  Speaker 1: a reconnaissance mission, a chance to see what they were
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  Speaker 1: walking into. Moses obeyed immediately. He chose twelve men, one
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  Speaker 1: from each tribe. And these weren't just random people from
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  Speaker 1: the camp. Numbers thirteen, verse three tells us so at
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  Speaker 1: the Lord's command, Moses sent them out from the desert
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  Speaker 1: of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.
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  Speaker 1: These were respected men, tribal heads who carried weight in
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  Speaker 1: their communities. Among the twelve names, two would become legendary.
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  Speaker 1: From the tribe of Ephraim came Hoshea, son of Nune,
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  Speaker 1: and Moses gave him a new name, Joshua, which means
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  Speaker 1: the Lord's Saves. From the tribe of Judah came Caleb's,
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  Speaker 1: son of Jepannah. At this moment, they were just two
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  Speaker 1: names on a list. Nobody knew yet that these two
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  Speaker 1: would be different from all the others. Moses gave the
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  Speaker 1: twelve men their mission. He told them exactly what to
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  Speaker 1: look for, and his instructions in numbers thirteen verses seventeen
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  Speaker 1: through twenty were specific. Go up through the Negev and
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  Speaker 1: on into the hill country. See what the land is like,
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  Speaker 1: and whether the people who live there are strong or weak,
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  Speaker 1: few or many? What kind of land do they live in?
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  Speaker 1: Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do
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  Speaker 1: they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is
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  Speaker 1: the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees
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  Speaker 1: in it or not? Do your best to bring back
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  Speaker 1: some of the fruit of the land. The twelve men
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  Speaker 1: set out together. They entered Canaan from the south and
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  Speaker 1: traveled all the way to the north, covering the entire
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  Speaker 1: length of the land. Numbers thirteen, verse twenty one records
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  Speaker 1: their route. So they went up and explored the land
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  Speaker 1: from the desert of Zinn as far as Riehob toward
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  Speaker 1: leibor Hamath. This was no quick trip around the corner.
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  Speaker 1: They walked through valleys, climbed hills, passed by fortified cities,
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  Speaker 1: and observed everything. The mission took exactly forty days. During
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  Speaker 1: that time, they saw things that amazed them and things
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  Speaker 1: that frightened them. They walked through the hill country and
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  Speaker 1: came to a place called the Valley of Eshkol. What
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  Speaker 1: they found there made their eyes go wide. Numbers thirteen,
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  Speaker 1: verse twenty three describes the moment when they reached the
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  Speaker 1: Valley of Eshkol they cut off a branch bearing a
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  Speaker 1: single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on
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  Speaker 1: 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 a nak Men of enormous size who had
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  Speaker 1: a fearsome reputation throughout the region. Every observation, every sight,
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  Speaker 1: every encounter was being stored in their minds, ready to
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  Speaker 1: be reported when they returned to camp. After forty days,
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  Speaker 1: the twelve spies made their way back to Kadesh Banaya,
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  Speaker 1: where the entire community of Israel waited. The whole camp
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  Speaker 1: gathered to hear what they had discovered. Moses and Aaron
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  Speaker 1: stood there, along with everyone else, eager for the report.
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  Speaker 1: The 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 thirteen, verse twenty
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  Speaker 1: seven records their initial report 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 thirteen,
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  Speaker 1: verse twenty eight 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 imp possibility
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  Speaker 1: of 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 thirteen Verse thirty 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, and more certain than
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  Speaker 1: any obstacle. We can certainly do it. Five words that
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  Speaker 1: separated faith from fear. Five words that showed what Caleb
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  Speaker 1: was made of. He wasn't speaking from arrogance or foolish optimism.
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  Speaker 1: He was speaking from a deep trust in the God
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  Speaker 1: who had brought them out of Egypt, who had parted
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  Speaker 1: the Red Sea, who had defeated Pharaoh's army, who had
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  Speaker 1: promised them this land. But the ten other spies weren't
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  Speaker 1: having it. They counted immediately, and their response is recorded
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  Speaker 1: in Numbers thirteen, verses thirty one through thirty three. But
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  Speaker 1: the men who had gone up with him said, we
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  Speaker 1: can't attack those people. They are stronger than we are.
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  Speaker 1: And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about
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  Speaker 1: the land they had explored. They said, the land we
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  Speaker 1: explored devours those living in it. All the people we
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  Speaker 1: saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephelim there,
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  Speaker 1: the descendants of a nak come from the Nephelim. It
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  Speaker 1: seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked
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  Speaker 1: the same to them, grasshoppers. That's how they saw themselves,
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  Speaker 1: not as the people of the Living God, not as
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  Speaker 1: the nation that had witnessed miracle after miracle, but as
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  Speaker 1: insects compared to the inhabitants of Canaan. And the problem
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  Speaker 1: wasn't just how the giants saw them, it was how
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  Speaker 1: they saw themselves. The bad reports spread through the camp
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  Speaker 1: like wildfire. What started as murmuring became loud complaints, and
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  Speaker 1: what started as complaints became open rebellion. That night was
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  Speaker 1: one of the darkest in Israel's History Numbers fourteen opens
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  Speaker 1: with the scene that night all the members of the
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  Speaker 1: community raised their voices and wept aloud, an entire nation
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  Speaker 1: crying in despair, men, women, children, Everyone was gripped by
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  Speaker 1: fear and hopelessness. The sound of weeping filled the camp
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  Speaker 1: under the desert stars. But the crying didn't last long
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  Speaker 1: before it turned in to something worse. Numbers fourteen, Verses
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  Speaker 1: two and three show us how quickly things spiraled. All
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  Speaker 1: the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole
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  Speaker 1: assembly said to them, if only we had died in
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  Speaker 1: Egypt or in this wilderness, Why is the Lord bringing
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  Speaker 1: us to this land only to let us fall by
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  Speaker 1: the sword. Our wives and children will be taken as plunder.
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  Speaker 1: Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?
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  Speaker 1: Read that again. They wished they had died in Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: the place where they had been slaves, where their baby
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  Speaker 1: boys had been thrown into the nile, where they had
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  Speaker 1: been beaten and forced to make bricks without straw. They
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  Speaker 1: wished they had died in the wilderness instead of entering
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  Speaker 1: the land God had promised them. They actually believed God
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  Speaker 1: had brought them all this way just to destroy them.
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  Speaker 1: The rebellion went even deeper. Numbers fourteen, verse four records
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  Speaker 1: their plan, and they said to each other, we should
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  Speaker 1: choose a lad and go back to Egypt. They were
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  Speaker 1: ready to elect a new leader, to reject Moses and
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  Speaker 1: Aaron completely, to turn their backs on everything God had
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  Speaker 1: done for them, and march straight back into slavery. This
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  Speaker 1: wasn't just fear talking. This was complete rejection of God's promise,
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  Speaker 1: God's power, and God's plan. After everything they had witnessed,
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  Speaker 1: after all the miracles, they were ready to throw it
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  Speaker 1: all away because of a bad report from ten frightened men.
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  Speaker 1: Moses and Aaron were so overwhelmed by what was happening
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  Speaker 1: that they fell face down in front of the entire assembly.
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  Speaker 1: They had no words, but Joshua and Caleb did. The
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  Speaker 1: two faithful spies did something dramatic. Numbers fourteen, verse six
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  Speaker 1: tells us Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jaffuna,
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  Speaker 1: who were among those who had explored the land, tore
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  Speaker 1: their clothes. This was a sign of deep anguish and distress.
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  Speaker 1: They weren't just upset, they were heart broken that their
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  Speaker 1: people were about to make the worst decision of their lives.
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  Speaker 1: Then they addressed the whole community, their words in numbers fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: verses seven through nine, ring with passion and truth. The
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  Speaker 1: land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If
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  Speaker 1: the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us
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  Speaker 1: into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey,
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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 fourteen, verse ten 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 every one. The rocks
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  Speaker 1: dropped from their hands, the shouting stopped. Suddenly they weren't
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  Speaker 1: dealing with just Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb any more.
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  Speaker 1: They were standing before the Living God, and he had
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  Speaker 1: something to say. God spoke to Moses, and his words
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  Speaker 1: were heavy with anger and disappointment. Numbers fourteen, Verses eleven
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  Speaker 1: and twelve reveal his heart. The Lord said to Moses,
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  Speaker 1: how long will these people treat me with contempt? How
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  Speaker 1: long will they refuse to believe in me? In spite
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  Speaker 1: of all the signs I have performed among them? I
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  Speaker 1: will strike them down with a plague and destroy them,
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  Speaker 1: but I will make you into a nation greater and
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  Speaker 1: stronger than they. God was ready to wipe them out
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  Speaker 1: and start over with Moses. He had every right to.
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  Speaker 1: They had seen the plagues in Egypt, the parted red sea,
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  Speaker 1: the pillar of cloud and fire, the manner from heaven,
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  Speaker 1: water from a rock, his presence on Mount Sinai. And
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  Speaker 1: still they refused to believe him. Still they treated him
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  Speaker 1: with contempt. But Moses interceded. He pleaded with God, reminding
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  Speaker 1: him of his reputation among the nations, his character, his promise,
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  Speaker 1: and God listened. Numbers fourteen verses twenty and twenty one
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  Speaker 1: record God's response. The Lord replied, I have forgiven them
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  Speaker 1: as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live, and
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  Speaker 1: as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the
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  Speaker 1: whole earth. God forgave them. He didn't destroy the entire nation.
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  Speaker 1: But forgiveness doesn't mean there are no consequences. God's judgment
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  Speaker 1: came next, and it was specific and severe. Numbers fourteen
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  Speaker 1: verses twenty two and twenty five t three lay out
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  Speaker 1: the sentence, not one of those who saw my glory
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  Speaker 1: and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness.
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  Speaker 1: But who disobeyed me and tested me ten times, not
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  Speaker 1: one of them will ever see the land I promised
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  Speaker 1: on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated
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  Speaker 1: me with contempt will ever see it. Every person twenty
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  Speaker 1: years old or older who had grumbled against God would
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  Speaker 1: die in the wilderness. They would never set foot in
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  Speaker 1: the promised land. They would wander in the desert until
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  Speaker 1: the last one of them had fallen. But then God
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  Speaker 1: made an exception. Numbers fourteen, verse twenty four singles out
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  Speaker 1: one man. But because my servant Caleb has a different
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  Speaker 1: spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into
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  Speaker 1: the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
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  Speaker 1: Caleb had a different spirit. While everyone else saw obstacles,
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  Speaker 1: he saw opportunities, while everyone else saw giants, he saw God.
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  Speaker 1: While everyone else chose fear, he chose faith. And God noticed.
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  Speaker 1: God honored it. God promised that Caleb would enter the land,
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  Speaker 1: and though it's not mentioned in this exact moment, Joshua
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  Speaker 1: too was spared from the judgment. These two men the
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  Speaker 1: only two of the twelve spies who believed God would
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  Speaker 1: be the only ones of their generation to cross into Canaan.
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  Speaker 1: The people were sentenced to forty years in the wilderness,
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  Speaker 1: one year for each day the spies had explored the land.
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  Speaker 1: Numbers fourteen, verse thirty four makes it clear, for forty
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  Speaker 1: years one year for each of the forty days you
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  Speaker 1: explored the land, you will suffer for your sins and
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  Speaker 1: know what it is like to have me against you.
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  Speaker 1: As for the ten spies who spread the bad report,
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  Speaker 1: they didn't even make it through the night. Numbers fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: verse thirty seven records their fate. These men who were
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  Speaker 1: responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were
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  Speaker 1: struck down and died of a plague before the Lord
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  Speaker 1: the judgment was set. The sentence was final. An entire
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  Speaker 1: generation would perish in the wilderness because they chose to
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  Speaker 1: believe ten frightened men instead of the God who had
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  Speaker 1: never failed them. Only Joshua and Caleb would live to
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  Speaker 1: see the promise fulfilled. The ten spies who had spread
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  Speaker 1: fear throughout the camp didn't live to see another sunrise.
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  Speaker 1: God's judgment came swiftly and decisively. Numbers fourteen, verse thirty
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  Speaker 1: six and thirty seven record what happened. So the men
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  Speaker 1: Moses had sent to explore the land who returned and
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  Speaker 1: made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a
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  Speaker 1: bad report about it. These men who were responsible for
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  Speaker 1: spreading the bad report about the land were struck down
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  Speaker 1: and died of a plague before the Lord. Just like that,
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  Speaker 1: they were gone. The same men who had stood before
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  Speaker 1: the assembly the day before convincing everyone that entering Canaan
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  Speaker 1: was impossible, now lay dead. But Joshua and Caleb Numbers fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: verse thirty eight makes their fate clear. Of the men
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  Speaker 1: who went to explore the land, only Joshua, son of
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  Speaker 1: Nun and Caleb, son of Jaffuna survived. When Moses told
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  Speaker 1: the people about God's judgment that they would wander for
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  Speaker 1: forty years until every adult among them had died in
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  Speaker 1: the wilderness, the camp was filled with mourning. Numbers fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: verse thirty nine says when Moses reported this to all
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. The reality of what they
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: had done crashed down on them like a heavy weight.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: They had thrown away their future because of fear. The
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: sentence was clear and mathematical. Numbers fourteen, verses thirty three
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: and thirty four laid it out. Your children will be
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness for
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: forty years. One year for each of the forty days
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: you explored the land, you will suffer for your sins,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: and know what it is like to have me against you.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: Forty 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, whom 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 too, they suddenly
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: decided they wanted to go after all, but now it
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: was too late. Numbers fourteen, verse forty 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
• 21:59
  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
• 22:12
  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
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: words in Numbers fourteen, verses forty one through forty three
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: were direct and urgent. But Moses said, why are you
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: disobeying the Lord's command? This will not succeed. Do not
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: go up because the Lord is not with you. You
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: will be defeated by your enemies. For the Amalekites and
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: the Canaanites will face you there because you have turned
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: away from the Lord. He will not be with you,
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: and you will fall by the sword. The warning couldn't
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: have been clearer. God was not with them any more
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: for this mission. Going up to fight now would be suicide.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: But they didn't listen. Numbers fourteen, verse forty four tells
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: us what they did. Nevertheless, in their presumption, they went
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: up toward the highest point in the hill country, though
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord's Covenant moved
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: from the camp. Notice that Moses stayed in the camp.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: The Ark of the covenant, the symbol of God's presence
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: stayed in the camp. The people went alone, powered by
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: their own strength and determination, not by God's command or blessing.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: The result was exactly what Moses predicted. Numbers fourteen, verse
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: forty five records the disaster. Then the Amalekites and the
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: attacked them and beat them down all the way to Horma.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: It was a complete defeat, a crushing blow that proved
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: what should have been obvious. Without God, they were nothing.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: In one day, the people had shown both sides of disobedience.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: First they refused to go when God God said go.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: Then they insisted on going when God said stop. Both
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: were rebellion. Both ended in death. While the nation began
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: its long journey through the wilderness. Joshua's role became increasingly clear.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: He wasn't just another Israelite waiting out the forty years.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: He was being prepared for leadership, shaped and trained under
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: the greatest leader Israel would ever know. Joshua had been
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: moses Aid from early on, back in Exodus twenty four,
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: when Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet with God
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: and receive the law. Joshua went part way up the
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: mountain with him. Exodus twenty four, verse thirteen 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
• 24:56
  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 thirty two, Verses
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: seventeen and eighteen show us Joshua's devotion. When Joshua heard
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: there 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 thirty three. After the golden calf incident, Moses set
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: up a tent of meeting outside the camp, where he
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: would go to speak with the Lord. Exodus thirty three,
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: verse eleven gives us a remarkable insight. The Lord would
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: speak to Moses face to face, as once speaks to
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: his young aide, Joshua, son of Nune, did not leave
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: the tent. Everyone else came and went. Moses himself would
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: return to the camp after meeting with God, but Joshua stayed.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: He lingered in the presence of God. He didn't want
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: to leave. This wasn't just duty or service. This was
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: hunger for God, a desire to be near him that
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: went beyond what was required. Through all those wilderness years,
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Joshua learned from Moses. He watched how Moses led, how
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: he interceded, how he handled conflict, how he sought God's face.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Every lesson, every experience, every crisis was preparing Joshua for
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: the day when he would have to lead alone. While
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Joshua remained close to Moses in the center of Israel's leadership,
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: Caleb's story during the wilderness years is quieter. The Bible
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: doesn't give us many details about what Caleb did during
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: those forty years, but his silence speaks volumes. Caleb went
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: back to his tribe. He lived among the people who
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: were under the same judgment as everyone else, watching the
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: years pass by, watching his generations slowly die off. He
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: had been forty years old when Moses sent him to
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: spy out the land. Now he would have to wait
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: until he was eighty five to see God's promise fulfilled.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Think about what that required. Caleb had stood before the
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: entire nation and declared, we should go up and take
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: He had been ready, he had been willing, he had faith,
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: and then God said, not yet, you have to wait
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: forty years because of everyone else's unbelief. That could have
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: made Caleb bitter. He could have spent those decades complaining,
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: reminding everyone that he had been right, that they should
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: have listened to him. He could have become angry at
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: God for making him suffer the consequences of other people's sin,
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: but we don't see any record of that. What we
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: do see much later in the story is Caleb's own
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: testimony about these years. In Joshua fourteen, verse ten, when
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: Caleb finally claimed his inheritance. He said something important. Now then,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: for forty five years since the time he said this
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: here I am today, eighty five years old. The Lord
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: kept him alive through all those years of wandering, through
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: 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 on
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: to it in silence and strength. Caleb's faithfulness wasn't loud
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: or showy during these years. It was steady, patient, enduring.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: He believed God would keep his word, and he was
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: willing to wait as long as it took. The forty
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: years of wandering were marked by one constant reality, death.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: Every one who had been twenty years old or older
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: at Kadesh Barnaya, everyone who had grumbled against God and
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: refused to enter the promised land, would die before the
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: journey ended. Only Joshua and Caleb were exempt. The Israelites
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: moved from place to place throughout those years. They camped
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: at different locations, faced various challenges and watched as funeral
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: after funeral took place. Numbers thirty three lists many of
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: the places they traveled during the wilderness period, Kadesh, Mount How,
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: and numerous other stops as they wandered through the desert.
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: Even MOSE's own family wasn't spared from the judgment. Aaron,
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: the high priest and Moses's brother, died on Mount Haw.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: Numbers twenty Verses twenty five through twenty eight describe what happened.
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: Get Aaron and his son Eliazar, and take them up
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: Mount Haw. Remove Aaron's garments and put them on his
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: son Elizar. For Aaron will be gathered to his people.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: He will die there. Moses did as the Lord commanded.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: They went up Mount Haw in the sight of the
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: whole community. Moses removed Aaron's priestly garments and put them
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: on his son Eliezer, and Aaron died there on top
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: of the mountain. Aaron had been eighty three years old
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: when he and Moses first confronted Pharaoh. He had witnessed
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: every plague, walked through the Red Sea, seen God's glory
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: on Mount Sinai. But he too had failed at Kadesh.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: When he stood with Moses and didn't honor God as
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: wholly before the people. He died in the wilderness, never
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: entering the promised land. Miriam, Moses's sister, who had watched
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: over baby Moses in the Nile and led the women
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: in song after crossing the Red Sea, also died during
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: the wilderness. Wandering Numbers twenty. Verse one simply states in
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. Their Miriam
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: died and was buried. Year after year, the older generation
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: passed away. Children grew into adults who had never known Egypt,
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: who had been born in freedom, who had learned to
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: trust God in the wilderness. The camp was constantly changing
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: as the condemned generation diminished and a new generation rose
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: to take their place. By the time the forty years
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: were complete, only two men remained from those who had
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: left Egypt as adults, Joshua and Caleb. They had outlived everyone.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: They had watched an entire generation die because of unbelief.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: They stood as living proof that faith is rewarded and
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: that God keeps his promises, both his warnings and his blessings.
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: Before the incident at Kadesh Barnea. Before the spies were
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: sent into Canaan, Joshua had already proven himself as a
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: military commander. This happened earlier in the journey at a
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: place called Rephidim, and it was Joshua's first major test
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: in battle. The Israelites had been complaining about the lack
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: of water, and God had provided by having Moses strike
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: a rock. But then a new threat emerged. Exodus seventeen,
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: verse eight introduces the conflict. The Amalekites came and attacked
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses immediately turned to Joshua. This
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: is the first time we see Joshua's name mentioned in scripture,
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: and Moses already trusted him enough to put him in
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: charge of the entire fighting force. Exodus seventeen, verse nine
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: records Moses command. Moses said to Joshua, choose some of
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: our men and go out to fight the Amalekites tomorrow.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: I will stand on top of the hill with the
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: staff of God in my hands. Joshua obeyed without question.
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: He selected men, organized them, and led them into battle,
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: while Moses, Aaron and her went to the top of
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: the hill to watch. What happened next was extraordinary and
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: showed Joshua something crucial about victory. Exodus seventeen, verses eleven
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: and twelve describe the strange connection between Moses on the
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: hill and Joshua in the valley. As long as Moses
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When moses
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Her
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: held his hands up, one on one side, one on
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: Joshua was down in the valley, sward in hand, leading
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: the troops, fighting with everything he had, But the real
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: 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 Her had to support Moses's arms until the sun
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: went down. The outcome is recorded in Exodus seventeen, verse thirteen.
• 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 seventeen, verse fourteen. 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 sit sure that Joshua hears it,
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: because I will completely blot out the name of Amelek
• 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
• 35:12
  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
• 35:41
  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
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: it would be. Numbers twenty seven. Verses fifteen through seventeen
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: show us moses concern for the people and his request
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: to God. Moses said to the Lord, may the Lord,
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: someone over this community to go out and come in
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: before them, one who will lead them out and bring
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: them in, so the Lord's people will not be like
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: sheep without a shepherd. God's response was immediate and clear.
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: Numbers twenty seven, verse eighteen says, So the Lord said
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: to Moses, take Joshua, son of Nune, a man in
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: on him. God didn't say Joshua had potential or that
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: he might work out. God confirmed that the spirit was
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: already in Joshua. He was ready. Moses followed God's instructions exactly.
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: Numbers twenty seven, Verses nineteen through twenty one described the
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: public ceremony. Have him stand before Eliezar, the priest and
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. Give
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: him some of your authority, so the whole Israelite community
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: will obey him. He is to stand before Eliaza, the priest,
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: urim before the Lord. At his command, he and the
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: his command they will come in. This wasn't a private moment,
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: This was a public transfer of leadership done before the
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: whole community. Moses laid his hands on Joshua, passing on authority,
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: and Eliza the priest stood there representing God's guidance for
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: the future. Everyone could see that Joshua was now the
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: leader who would take them forward. Later in Deuteronomy, as
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: Moses prepared for his death, he spoke directly to Joshua
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: in front of all Israel. Deuteronomy thirty one, Verses seven
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: and eight record Moses's charge. Then Moses summoned Joshua and
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: said to him, in the presence of all Israel, be
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: strong and courageous, for you must go with this people
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: to give them, and you must divide it among them
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: will be with you. He will never leave you nor
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged,
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: Be strong and courageous. These words would echo in Joshua's
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: ears for the rest of his life. Moses said them publicly,
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: so every one would know that Joshua had been chosen
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: and blessed. The commission was complete. Joshua was no longer
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: just Moses aid. He was the leader of Israel. The
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: forty years were over. The wilderness generation had died, just
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: as God said they would. A new generation stood ready,
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: and they had traveled to the plains of Moab, right
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: across the Jordan River from Jericho. The promised land was
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: right there in front of them, so close they could
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: see it. Moses gathered the people for his final words.
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: The Book of Deuteronomy records his farewell speeches, where he
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: reminded them of everything God had done, reviewed the law,
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: and warned them to stay faithful. He knew his time
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: was ending. Deuteronomy thirty one, verse fourteen describes God's summons
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: to Moses. The Lord said to Moses, now the day
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: at the tent of meeting, where I will commission him.
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: tent of meeting. God spoke to Joshua directly confirming what
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: Moses had already told him. Deuteronomy thirty one, verse twenty
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: three records God's words. The Lord gave leave this command
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: to Joshua, son of Nun. Be strong and courageous, for
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: them on oath, and I myself will be with you.
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: Then Moses did something remarkable. He climbed Mount Nebo across
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: from Jericho, and God showed him the entire promised land.
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: Deuteronomy thirty four, Verses one through four described the moment.
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: to the top of Pisga, across from Jericho. There the
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: Lord showed him the whole land from Gilead to Dan,
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: the land of Judah, as far as the Mediterranean Sea,
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: the Negev, and the whole region from the valley of Jericho,
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: the city of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: Lord said to him, this is the land I promised
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When I said
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: I will give it to your descendants. I have let
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: you see it with your eyes, but you will not
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: cross over into it. Moses saw it all every corner
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: of the land, but he couldn't enter, and there on
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: Mount Nebo, Moses died. Deuteronomy thirty four, verses five through
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: seven record his passing, and Moses, the servant of the Lord,
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Bethpeore, but
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: to this day no one knows where his grave is.
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died,
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: yet his eyes were not weak, nor his strength gone.
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: The people mourned for Moses for thirty days, and then
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: the morning ended and reality set in. Joshua was now
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: in charge. Deuteronomy thirty four, verse nine confirms it. Now Joshua,
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: son of None was filled with the spirit of wisdom
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: commanded Moses. The Israelites stood at the edge of the Jordan.
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: Behind them were forty years of wandering, a generation buried
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: in the wilderness, and the memory of Moses. Ahead of
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: them was the promised land, filled with fortified cities and
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: powerful enemies. And leading them was Joshua, with Caleb somewhere
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: among the tribes, both of them the last survivors of
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: those who had left Egypt as adults. The promise was
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: about to be fulfilled. Joshua now stood as the leader
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: of Israel, and God wasted no time giving him instructions.
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: The Jordan River was at flood stage, swollen and dangerous,
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: flowing between the Israelites and the land God had promised them.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: But God had a plan that would remind every one
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: of what he had done at the Red Sea forty
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: years earlier. Joshua one verses one and two recalled God's
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: first words to the new leader after the death of Moses,
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: the servant of the Lord. The Lord said to Joshua,
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: son of Nune, Moses' aid, Moses, my servant is dead. Now,
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: then you and all these people get ready to cross
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: the Jordan River into the land I am about to
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: give to them, to the Israelites. God repeated his promise
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: to Joshua personally. Joshua one verses five and six contain
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: words that would sustain Joshua through every battle ahead. No
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: one will be able to stand against you all the
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: days of your life. As I was with Moses, so
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: I will be with you. I will never leave you
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: lead these people to inherit the land I swore to
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: their ancestors to give them. Joshua immediately took action. He
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: commanded the officers to tell the people to prepare provisions
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: because in three days they would cross the Jordan and
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: take possession of the land. Then he sent two spies
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: secretly to scout out Jericho, learning from the past, but
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: this time keeping the mission quiet. When the spies returned
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: with good news that the people of the land were
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: terrified of Israel, Joshua prepared for the crossing. Joshua three
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: verses fourteen and fifteen described the moment. So when the
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. Now,
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, what
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: happened next was a miracle that marked the beginning of
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: the conquest. Joshua three, verse sixteen continues. The water from
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: great distance away at a town called Adam in the
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: vicinity of Zarathan, while the water flowing down to the
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: sea of the Araba, that is, the Dead Sea, was
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: The entire nation crossed on dry ground, while the priests
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: holding the ark stood firm in the middle of the
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: river bed. When every one had crossed, Joshua commanded one
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: man from each tribe to take a stone from the
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: middle of the Jordan where the priests had stood. These
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: twelve stones were set up at Gilgal as a memorial.
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: Joshua four verses twenty one through twenty four explains the purpose.
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: He said to the Israelites in the future, when your
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: descendants ask their parents, what do these stones mean? Tell
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: them Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground, adieu for
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: the Lord, your God dried up the Jordan before you
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: until you had crossed over. The Lord, your God did
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: to 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 God. The crossing was complete, Israel was finally
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: in the Promised Land. The first obstacle in Canaan was Jericho,
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: a heavily fortified city with massive walls. Joshua six, verse
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: one describes the situation. Now, the gates of Jericho were
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: and no one came in. The city was locked down
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: tight prepared for a siege. But God had a battle
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: plan that made no military sense at all. He appeared
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: to Joshua as the commander of the army of the
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: Lord and gave him specific instructions. The Israelites weren't going
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: to build siege equipment or scale the walls. They were
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: going to march around the city. Joshua six Verses three
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: and four lay out God's unusual strategy. March around the
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: city once with all the armed men. Do this for
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: six days. Have seven priests carried trumpets of rams horns
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: Joshua gathered the priests and the fighting men and told
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: them exactly what to do. For six days, they marched
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: around Jericho once each day in complete silence except for
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: the sound of the trumpets. The armed guard went ahead,
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: then came the seven priests blowing their rams horns, then
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant, then the rear guard. 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 six verse fifteen tell
• 48:00
  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 six verses sixteen and
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: seventeen described the climactic moment the seventh time around, when
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army shout,
• 48:29
  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,
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: and the impossible happened. Joshua six verse twenty records it
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: when the trumpets 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
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: took the city. The walls of Jerik 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: Aye because of a Shaan's sin. He had taken devoted
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: things from Jericho that we was supposed to be destroyed.
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: Once the sin was dealt with, Joshua attacked i again,
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: this time successfully using an ambush strategy that God approved.
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: Word of Israel's victories spread terror throughout Canaan. The kings
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: of the region began forming alliances to fight against Israel,
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: but one group took a different approach, the Gibeonites. They
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: tricked Joshua into me making a peace treaty with them
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: by pretending to be from a distant country. When Joshua
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: discovered the deception, he honored the treaty, but made the
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for Israel. This treaty triggered
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: a major conflict. Five Amorite kings, the Kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmouth, Lakish,
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: and Eglon, formed a coalition and attacked Gibeon for making
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: peace with Israel. The Gibionites sent an urgent message to
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: Joshua asking for help. Joshua responded immediately. Joshua ten verses
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: six and seven describe his quick action. The Gibionites 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
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: the best fighting men. God encouraged Joshua before the battle.
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: Joshua ten verse eight 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 ten verses ten and eleven 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 Horoon and cut
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: them down all the way to Azeka and Makidah. 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,
• 51:48
  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 and Israel's swords did. But Joshua needed
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: more time to complete the victory. The day was ending
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: and the enemy forces were still fleeing. So Joshua did
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: something that has amazed people ever since. Joshua ten verses
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: twelve and thirteen record his bold prayer and what happened
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: on the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel.
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: Joshua said to the Lord, in the presence of Israel,
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: sun stands still over Gibeon, and you moon over the
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: valley of Ajalon. So the sun stood still and the
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: moon stopped till the nation avenged itself on its enemies.
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: As it is written in the Book of Jashar, the
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: suns stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: going down about a full day. God answered Joshua's prayer
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: and extended the day so Israel could finish the battle.
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: The five kings tried to hide in a cave at Makadah,
• 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 ten verses forty through
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: forty two summarized the conquest of the South. So Joshua
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev,
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: the western foothills, and the mountain slopes, together with all
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: had commanded. Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza,
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. All
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: because the Lord, the God of Israel fought for Israel.
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: Then Joshua turned his attention to the north. The King
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: of Hazor heard about Israel's victories and assembled a massive coalition.
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: Joshua eleven, verse four describes the size of this army.
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: They came out with all their troops and a large
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: number of horses and chariots, a huge army, as numerous
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: as the sand on the sea shore. God told Joshua
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: not to be afraid, and once again Joshua attacked suddenly
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: Joshua eleven verses seven and eight record the victory. So
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: the waters of Merim and attacked them, and the Lord
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: Misery foth Mime, and to the valley of Mizpah on
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: the east, until no survivors were left. Joshua captured Hazor
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: and burned it to the ground. The conquest continued until
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: the major resistance in Canaan was broken. After years of warfare,
• 54:48
  Speaker 1: Joshua had aged considerably. The major battles were won, the
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: power of the Canaanite kings was broken, but the conquest
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: wasn't entirely finished. Large areas still to be taken, and
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: it was time to shift strategy. Joshua thirteen, verse one
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: marks this transition when Joshua had grown old. The Lord
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: said to him, you are very old, and there are
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: still very large areas of land to be taken over.
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: God listed the regions that remained unconquered, the territory of
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: the Philistines, the land of the Geshurites, areas in Lebanon,
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: and various other pockets of resistance. But instead of waiting
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: until every last enemy was defeated, God told Joshua to
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: proceed with dividing the land among the tribes. Each tribe
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: would receive their inheritance and would be responsible for driving
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: out the remaining inhabitants from their assigned territory. Joshua thirteen,
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: verse seven contains God's instruction and divide it as an
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: inheritance among the nine tribes and half of the tribe
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: of Manassa. The division of the land was a massive undertaking.
• 55:58
  Speaker 1: Reuben Gad and the half tribe of Manassa had already
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: before Moses died. Now the remaining nine and a half
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: tribes needed their portions. Joshua fourteen, verse one describes the process. Now,
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: in the land of Canaan, which Elizar, the priest Joshua,
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: son of Nun, and the heads of the tribal clans
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: of Israel allotted to them. The distribution was done by
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: casting lots before the Lord, ensuring that God determined each
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: tribe's location, not human preference or politics. Some territories were
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: given based on size and population. Joshua seventeen verses fourteen
• 56:45
  Speaker 1: through eighteen record a conversation with the tribes of Joseph,
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: Ephraim and Manassa, who complained that their allotment was too small.
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: Joshua told them to clear the forested hill country if
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: they needed more space, and to drive out the Canaanites
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: who had iron chariots, even though it would be difficult.
• 57:06
  Speaker 1: The tent of meeting was set up at Shiloh, making
• 57:09
  Speaker 1: it the central place of worship. Seven tribes still hadn't
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: received their inheritance, and Joshua challenged them in Joshua eighteen
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: verse three, how long will you wait before you begin
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: to take possession of the land that the Lord, the
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: God of your ancestors, has given you. He sent men
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: to survey the remaining land and divide it into seven parts,
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: then cast lots at Shiloh to determine which tribe got
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: which section. The land distribution was systematic and fair, overseen
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: by Joshua and Elizar with the tribal leader's help. Six
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: cities of refuge were designated, three on each side of
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: the Jordan, where someone who accidentally killed another person could
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: flee for protection. The Levites received towns scattered throughout all
• 57:59
  Speaker 1: the tribal territories, since they had no land inheritance of
• 58:02
  Speaker 1: their own. Just as Moses had commanded. During the distribution
• 58:07
  Speaker 1: of the land, something remarkable happened. An old man stepped
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: forward to claim a promise that had been made to
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: him forty five years earlier. Caleb, now eighty five years old,
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: came to Joshua at Gilgal. Joshua fourteen, verse six introduces
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: the moment. Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal,
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: and Caleb's son of Jeoffuni, the Kenesite, said to him,
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: you know what the Lord said to Moses, the man
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. Caleb
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: was reminding Joshua of their shared history of the day
• 58:43
  Speaker 1: when they stood together against an entire nation's fear. Caleb
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: recounted his story. Joshua fourteen, verses seven and eight record
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: his words. I was forty years old when Moses, the
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to
• 58:59
  Speaker 1: ex blow the land, and I brought him back a
• 59:02
  Speaker 1: report according to my convictions. But my fellow Israelites who
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: went up with me made the hearts of the people
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: He reminded Joshua of moses promise. Joshua fourteen, verse nine
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: quotes what Moses had sworn. So on that day, Moses
• 59:23
  Speaker 1: swore to me, the land on which your feet have
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever,
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. Then
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: Caleb testified to God's faithfulness over the decades. Joshua fourteen,
• 59:41
  Speaker 1: verses ten and eleven contain his powerful declaration. Now, then,
• 59:46
  Speaker 1: just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive
• 59:49
  Speaker 1: for forty five years since the time he said this
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So
• 59:56
  Speaker 1: here I am today, eighty five years old. I'm still
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 1: as strong to day as the day Moses sent me out.
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 1: I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 1: as I was then, eighty five years old and still strong.
• 1:00:11
  Speaker 1: Caleb hadn't weakened or given up. He had waited patiently,
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: watched every one else die in the wilderness, and now
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: stood ready to claim what God had promised him. But
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: he wasn't asking for easy land or a comfortable retirement spot.
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: Joshua fourteen, verse twelve reveals what Caleb wanted. Now give
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 1: me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 1: You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there, and
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 1: their cities were large and fortified. But the Lord helping me,
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: I will drive them out, just as he said. Caleb
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: was asking for hebron the very place where the giant
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: Anakites lived, the descendants of anak who had terrified the
• 1:00:55
  Speaker 1: Ten Spies forty five years earlier. While those ten Spies
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: had said the Anakites made them feel like grasshoppers, Caleb
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: had said, we can certainly take the land. Now at
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: eighty five, he was ready to prove it. Joshua responded
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: to Caleb's request with blessing and approval. Joshua fourteen, verse
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: thirteen says, then Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Ja'fanna, 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 fifteen, verse fourteen 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
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 1: spy report as the reason the land couldn't be taken. Now,
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: an eighty five year old man drove them out. Caleb's
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 1: strength hadn't diminished, and his faith had only grown stronger.
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 1: Through the years of waiting, Caleb continued his conquest beyond
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: just Hebron. Joshua fifteen, verse fifteen tells us from there
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: he marched against the people living in Debier, formerly called Kiriathsifa.
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 1: He didn't stop with one victory. He kept pressing forward.
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: Caleb made an interesting challenge regarding Debier. Joshua fifteen, Verses
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 1: sixteen and seventeen describe it, and Caleb said, I will
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 1: give my daughter Axa in marriage to the man who
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: attacks and captures kiriath Sifa. Othniel's, son of Kena's, Caleb's brother,
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: took it. So Caleb gave his daughter Axa 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 fourteen, verse fourteen. So
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: Hebron has belonged to Caleb's son of Jaffuna, the Kenezite
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 1: ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 1: Israel wholeheartedly. It wasn't just about a promise kept. It
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 1: was about a man whose wholehearted devotion to God never
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 1: wavered through forty five years of waiting Joshua fourteen. Verse
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 1: fifteen adds a final note. Hebron used to be called
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 1: kiriath Aba, after Aba, who was the greatest man among
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 1: the Anakites. Then the land had rest from war. The
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: place named after the greatest of the giants now belonged
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: to the man who trusted the greatest God. The process
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 1: of dividing the land continued until every tribe had received
• 1:03:59
  Speaker 1: its Judah received a large territory in the south. Ephraim
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: and Manasse, the two sons of Joseph, each received significant
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: areas in the central region. Benjamin's small but strategic territory
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 1: lay between Judah and Ephraim. The northern tribes Zebulun, Issakar, Asher,
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 1: and Naftali received their inheritances in Galilee and the surrounding regions.
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 1: Dan received territory in the west, though they later struggled
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: to 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,
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 1: received no territorial inheritance. Instead, they were given forty eight
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 1: towns scattered throughout all the other tribes lands. Joshua twenty one,
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 1: Verses forty one and forty two summarized their allotment. The
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 1: were forty eight in all together with their pasture lands.
• 1:05:08
  Speaker 1: Each of these towns had pasture lands surrounding it. This
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 1: was true for all these towns. When the entire distribution
• 1:05:15
  Speaker 1: was complete, the Israelites gave Joshua his own inheritance. Joshua nineteen,
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: Verse forty nine and fifty record this. When they had
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 1: finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 1: gave Joshua, son of nune An inheritance among them, as
• 1:05:35
  Speaker 1: the Lord had commanded. They gave him the town he
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 1: asked for, Timnath Syrah in the hill country of Ephraim,
• 1:05:42
  Speaker 1: and he built up the town and settled there. Joshua
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 1: had led them across the Jordan, directed the conquest, overseen
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 1: the distribution of the land to everyone else, and only
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 1: at the very end did he receive his own town.
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: He rebuilt Timnath Syrah and made it his home. Joshua
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 1: twenty one, Verses forty three through forty five 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 they took possession of it and
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: 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 their inheritance, and now it was time to
• 1:07:02
  Speaker 1: prepare them for life without him. He gathered all Israel,
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 1: their elders, leaders, judges, and officials for a final address.
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 1: Joshua twenty three, verse two sets the scene. Then Joshua
• 1:07:15
  Speaker 1: summoned all Israel, their elders, leaders, judges, and officials, and
• 1:07:19
  Speaker 1: said to them, I am very old. He didn't waste words.
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 1: He reminded them of everything the Lord had done, how
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 1: God had fought for them and given them the land
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 1: Joshua twenty three Verses six through eight contain his charge
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 1: to them, be very strong, be careful to obey all
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 1: that is written in the book of the Law of Moses,
• 1:07:44
  Speaker 1: without turning aside to the right or to the left.
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 1: Do not associate with these nations that remain among you.
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: Do not invoke the names of their gods or swear
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: by them. You must not serve them or bow down
• 1:07:57
  Speaker 1: to them. But you are to hold fast to the
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 1: Lord your God, as you have until now. He warned
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: them about the dangers of mixing with the pagan nations
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 1: and adopting their practices. He reminded them that just as
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 1: every good promise from God had been fulfilled, so would
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 1: every warning come true if they turned away from him. Later,
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 1: Joshua gathered the people again at Checham for another assembly.
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: This time, he reviewed Israel's entire history from Abraham's call
• 1:08:28
  Speaker 1: to their current settlement in Canaan. Then he issued his
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 1: famous challenge Joshua twenty four, verse fourteen and fifteen record
• 1:08:35
  Speaker 1: his words, Now, fear the Lord and serve him with
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 1: all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 1: the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 1: But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then
• 1:08:51
  Speaker 1: choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 1: the gods your ancestors serve beyond the Euphrates or the
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 1: gods of the Amores, in whose land you are living.
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 1: But as for me and my household, we will serve
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 1: the Lord. Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: Joshua put the decisions squarely before them. He wasn't forcing them,
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 1: wasn't manipulating them. He was calling them to make a
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: conscious choice, and then he declared his own choice. As
• 1:09:22
  Speaker 1: for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 1: The people responded enthusiastically, pledging their loyalty to the Lord.
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 1: Joshua warned them that serving God was serious, and that
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 1: God was holy and jealous, but they insisted, so Joshua
• 1:09:38
  Speaker 1: made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem
• 1:09:41
  Speaker 1: Joshua twenty four Verses twenty six and twenty seven describe
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 1: what he did, And Joshua recorded these things in the
• 1:09:48
  Speaker 1: Book of the Law of God. Then he took a
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 1: large stone and set it up there under the oak,
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 1: near the holy place of the Lord. See, he said
• 1:09:58
  Speaker 1: to all the people, this stone be a witness against us.
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 1: It has heard all the words the Lord has said
• 1:10:04
  Speaker 1: to us. It will be a witness against you if
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: you are untrue to your God. Then Joshua sent everyone
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 1: home to their inheritances. Shortly after his life ended. Joshua
• 1:10:17
  Speaker 1: twenty four verses twenty nine and thirty 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 one hundred and ten,
• 1:10:29
  Speaker 1: and they buried him in the land of his inheritance
• 1:10:32
  Speaker 1: at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 1: of Mount Gush. Joshua died at one hundred and ten
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 1: years old. He had been Moses's aid, had stood with
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 1: Caleb against the nation's fear, had waited forty years in
• 1:10:46
  Speaker 1: the wilderness, had led Israel across the Jordan, had conquered
• 1:10:50
  Speaker 1: the land, and had seen God fulfill every promise. He
• 1:10:54
  Speaker 1: was buried in his own town, in the land God
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 1: had given him. The Bible adds one more important detail.
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: Joshua twenty four, verse thirty one says Israel served the
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders
• 1:11:09
  Speaker 1: who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord
• 1:11:12
  Speaker 1: had done for Israel. As long as the generation that
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: saw God's mighty works remained alive, Israel stayed faithful. Caleb's
• 1:11:21
  Speaker 1: death isn't recorded in scripture with the same detail, but
• 1:11:25
  Speaker 1: he had received his inheritance at Hebron and had lived
• 1:11:28
  Speaker 1: to see his descendants established in the land of the Giants.
• 1:11:31
  Speaker 1: Two men who had believed when everyone else doubted, who
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 1: had waited when everyone else died, who had entered when
• 1:11:38
  Speaker 1: everyone else was buried in the wilderness. Their story was complete.
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: If this story strengthened your faith and reminded you that
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 1: God keeps his promises, subscribe to this channel so you
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: never miss another powerful Biblical story that can transform your perspective.
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: Share this video with someone who needs to hear that
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 1: waiting on God is never wasted, that faith always outlasts fear,
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 1: and that what God promises, he delivers no matter how
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 1: long it takes hit that like button. If Joshua and
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: Caleb's courage inspired you to trust God more deeply, your
• 1:12:17
  Speaker 1: share might be exactly what someone needs to hold on
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: to their promise for one more day.