Joshua 14. In this chapter the promised land is being allotted to the tribes of Israel. Caleb, of the tribe of Judah, comes to Joshua and reminds him that 45 years ago, when the Israelites arrived at Canaan for the first time, he and others were sent to spy it out. While the others returned with pessimism and fear and convinced the people that there was no way they could take the land, Caleb did not. He had said there was hope and they should trust in God. It was due to the lack of trust on the part of the other spies and the people who believed them that the Israelites had to wander in the desert for 40 years before returning to capture Canaan. At the time of the first approach and Caleb's faithful testimony, Moses swore that Caleb would one day inherit the land on which they were standing (Hebron). Now, Caleb says, the Israelites have returned and conquered the land. Though he is now 85 years old, Caleb is still strong and able to defend it, so he asks for his promise inheritance. Joshua blesses him and gives it to him, and Hebron becomes the inheritance of Caleb "because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. ... And the land had rest from war."

God always keeps his promises! Moses swore to Caleb that he would one day inherit the land, and now, 45 years later, he has. The lesson for me here is trust and patience (I am not a patient person:)). Caleb, alone of the group of spies, trusted in God's promise and power and knew that God was with them. He knew that they could take the land as God had commanded them to do. The other spies did not trust, and the people were fickle, and scared, and easily convinced not to trust as well. It is so easy to trust God when things are going well, but as soon as we meet a challenge, we often cast off God and seek the advice of men, and we often take what they tell us is the "safer" path. God knows what we need, and it is not necessarily safety! He wants us to be bold and confident in our trust of him so that we can achieve the ultimate good.

But God also uses all things for good. Because the Isrealites were so easily convinced not to try to take Canaan, they were clearly not ready to have it. They had to wander in the desert for 40 years, undergoing all kinds of strife, before returning to try again. What they experienced in this wandering taught them the trust they needed so that they would be ready when they returned. Caleb, though, never lacked trust, yet he had to wander with the rest of them. He, it seems, was being given a lesson in patience. God does always keep his promises, but his time is not our time (look how long we had to wait from the Fall, and God's promise of a Savior, to the coming of that Savior!). We very often do not get what we are promised right away. The waiting and the trials, when borne with trust and patience, make us ready for the fulfilled promises - able to value them, and defend them, as Caleb was able to defend Horeb so that the land would have rest from war.

All of God's creation, ultimately, needs rest from war - rest from strife and upheaval. We need peace. It is our fault that we do not have it now, because we did not trust (hence, the Fall). Humanity, from the time of the Fall, is wandering in the desert of time and history in order to learn to trust enough to attain the promise. We are also each doing this individually in our lives. Trusting God, having patience as his plan plays out, and allowing him to use us to accomplish his plan, are essential lessons we must learn in order to get there!