Call to Faith: Week Seven Doing Difficult Things
Joshua 14:6-15 NLT
Caleb Requests His Land
6 A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, 8 but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. 9 So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’
10 “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. 12 So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”
13 So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. 14 Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 (Previously Hebron had been called Kiriath-arba. It had been named after Arba, a great hero of the descendants of Anak.)
And the land had rest from war.
Group Discussion Questions
Take some time to re-read the Joshua 14:6-15. Try to read from different translations. Discuss items that are of interest to you.
What stood out to you as you listened to the sermon and read Joshua 7-8?
How have you seen sin, both your own and others, affect those around you?
What is Joshua’s response to Israel's defeat? How can we learn from his example?
Achan explains the pattern of sin in verses 7:20-21. Do we see a similar pattern anywhere else in scripture? How have you seen that play out in your own life?
Does the death of Achan and all that were with him make you uncomfortable? Why or why not? What does this show us about God?
How does God use the shortcoming of Israel to lead to their victory at Ai? How has He done similar in your life?
How is Israel's faith put on display throughout chapters 7 & 8?
Take some time to pray as a group for the Lord to be near us in the difficult times and that we would be aware of his presence and goodness.
