JOSHUA 13 AND 14
In the beginning of chapter 13 Jehovah says to Joshua, “Thou art old, advanced in days, and there remaineth yet very much land to take possession of”. This seems to indicate the weakening of spiritual lead amongst the people of God. We find the contrast in Caleb in chapter 14, and this is very encouraging for us, because, if we have to feel deeply that we have no longer the leading of apostolic power, yet we can see in Caleb a spirit that goes through to the end. I think what is said of Joshua suggests the passing of the energy of spiritual leading found in the apostles. We can see that every power of darkness fell before the apostles; there was then a spiritual power for leading in the Spirit of Christ that nothing could stand against, but it was not God’s way to continue it in the assembly. My impression is that Caleb represents a spirit that would go right through to the end. Paul and Timothy very much illustrate it. Paul was in prison and ready to depart old and advanced in days. That powerful spiritual leading was about to be removed, but Paul’s great exercise was that Timothy should be a true Caleb. It seems to me an implied contrast between the failing strength of Joshua which is clearly suggested, and the undiminished strength of Caleb which was as strong for war as it was forty-five years before. There is an undiminished, undecayed energy in Caleb. It is the Caleb element that we want for the inheritance.
We find afterwards that the people served Jehovah as long as Joshua lived, and as long as the elders that knew him lived. It suggests that there was a preservative power in the assembly in the persons of the apostles, and that power passed away. It left an impression on those conversant with the apostles, but it has passed away and we shall never have it again. There will never be that spiritual energy in the church that there was in the apostles, though we have their ministry in the [p. 63] Scriptures, but it is interesting to see that what does not pass away is the Caleb spirit. Joshua does not fight any more after chapter 11. Now it is a question of taking possession; the power of the enemy has been broken. In a sense we can say it has been broken by the power of the Spirit in the apostles.
Now in the presence of Joshua being old and passing away God calls attention to the dividing of the land by lot. He calls attention to His own determinate purpose, His own purpose in grace, given to the saints in Christ Jesus — that answers to the land being divided by lot. He says to Joshua, “Thou art old and advanced in days and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed of”. Then there is a statement of various parts of the land and then God says, “I will dispossess them before the children of Israel. Only partition it by lot to the children of Israel for an inheritance as I have commanded thee”, verse 6. This shows that what was in the purpose of God for His people comes into prominence at a time when spiritual leadership may be enfeebled so that when Paul writes 2 Timothy he most emphatically calls attention to the purpose of God in Christ Jesus. If Paul was going, the purpose of God was not to be changed, or diminished or defeated; it was to be carried through. Jehovah says here to Joshua, You are going, but I will secure the inheritance for my people. The point in 2 Timothy is that everything is secured on the line of divine purpose. That was brought in to encourage Timothy, who was a comparatively feeble vessel. We see a vessel of extraordinary energy in Paul, but in Timothy a man of tears who needs to be encouraged and exhorted not to be ashamed, exhorted to rekindle the gift that was in him. It seems to suggest that his faith was burning low because of all the conditions around him. Paul encourages and strengthens him, and tells him to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; that goes back to God’s purpose.
Proverbs 16 tells us, “The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole decision is of Jehovah”. If it is a question of lot, Jehovah decides; that is firmly established in chapter 13, and in chapters 14 and 15 God works out His purpose through moral conditions. In Caleb and Achsah his daughter we see moral conditions which are necessary in order that God may effectuate His purposes. God could not consistently with Himself effectuate His purpose except in moral conditions which are suitable.
[p. 64] Think of these two old men standing up before all Israel and talking to one another like this! The principle of the inheritance was secured in Caleb, and Joshua was a chosen warrior. We see the wonderful way in which Jehovah had captured and kept Caleb’s affections. Joshua is a type of spiritual power and the element of spiritual leading among the saints. A true Caleb would not make the heart of the people melt; he wholly followed Jehovah his God — that is what we need now. It is so easy to be disheartening one another; it is easy to see difficulties and to create them when we do not see them. Some are on the line of creating difficulties and disheartening the saints in the path of faith. One would not care to be on that line; Caleb said, I have wholly followed Jehovah my God: he definitely had Jehovah before him in his affections, and he was moving after him with his whole heart. It did not matter to Caleb how many spies brought false reports; it was “a very, very good land” to Caleb, and Caleb had established his title. The inheritance was in Caleb before Caleb was in the inheritance. The other men could tell out what they saw with their eyes, but Caleb says, I told them as it was in my heart. That makes all the difference; we expose ourselves. The light was in Caleb; it is a great thing to have things in us. If there is nothing in us we shall fail and discourage others; if there is something divinely wrought in us, that stands. It is said of Satan that “he abode not in the truth”, he must have been there in a sense, but there was no truth in him. One may be in the truth positionally and not have the truth in us; being in the truth is that it surrounds us, but having the truth in us is another matter. Caleb brought word as it was in his heart; the land was in Caleb’s heart according to the love that had given it. He had Jehovah before him, and Jehovah had given the land in love to His people; therefore it must be a very, very good land. Caleb sees no difficulties; he sees everything to attract and nothing to dismay.
The Lord could say, “Thy law is within my heart”, and He presents Himself to us in Psalm 16 as the One who stood in the inheritance: “The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage”. “Jehovah is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; thou maintainest my lot”. He stood, and was the only One who did ever stand, in the full scope of the inheritance, and all that it was in the purpose of God’s heart to give to man.
[p. 65] I suppose that Judah takes the lead in precedence to Joseph because of the character of Caleb. Caleb was the prince of Judah, and his character was such that he secured for Judah pre-eminence in the allotment of the inheritance. Ephraim and Manasseh should have been first; theirs was the birthright, but Judah comes in first under cover of the prince, Caleb. It shows how one man of faith can secure prominence in the inheritance to his tribe; it is not only his own benefit, but his whole tribe benefits — Caleb was the prince of Judah.
It is profoundly interesting to me that Hebron was the first city to be inherited; it gives us the great element of the inheritance to be secured. Hebron means Company and it suggests the enjoyment together in family conditions of what is given to us of God. It suggests the fellowship viewed from John’s point of view. Kirjath-arba is the city of Arba and we are told he was a great man among the Anakim. It is the great men who have been the hindrance to fellowship in christendom. Hebron is connected with God’s original thought to set His people together in companionship — that is the great thought of God, and it is what Satan has resisted from the outset. He has always been seeking to bring in elements that would oppose the companionship, the family fellowship of the people of God.
In Anak’s three sons (see chapter 15: 14) we see principles that Satan sets up to hinder; and we have to take up in spiritual power the setting aside of man after the flesh. If that man goes, the three sons of Anak go; their execution is secured. I think their names are very suggestive. Sheshai means free; he represents the principle of free thought. Ahiman means brother of man; it is a human brotherhood on the basis of free thought. Talmai means bold or spirited; that is in contrast to the spirit of subjection that marks the people of God. Satan opposes the principle of the companionship of God’s people by bringing in this principle of human brotherhood on the basis of free thought. Your thoughts are not to be cramped or held by the Bible; you must be free, and you must consider for man, be a brother of men. We hear of all such talks of brotherhood today, but they are all of human kind and are marked by insubjection to God — man asserting his rights in a bold and spirited way and boasting of lawlessness. These are sons of Anak, and have to be displaced; the spirit of these [p. 66] things has to be displaced in our hearts if Kirjath-arba is to become Hebron.
Joshua blessing Caleb (verse 13) answers to what has been said of Paul blessing Timothy. Paul passes the inheritance, so to speak, into the hands of Timothy, and leaves him to maintain it. Joshua had been conversant for many years with Caleb and could discern what was suitable about him. He was not one who shrank from difficulties; he asked for a place where there were the greatest difficulties. Do we covet difficulties? Caleb did, and asked for the most difficult place there was.
I think we are too general in our thoughts of the inheritance. We can look at it in a general way as outlined in Numbers 34, but we do not take possession in a general way. When it comes to possession, the inheritance is divided by lot; there is a specific portion for each tribe. That is a very important exercise for us, and, in connection with that, no doubt we have all noticed that the land on the east side of Jordan is never said to be divided by lot.
Division by lot is connected with the sovereignty of divine purpose in Christ Jesus. “In Christ Jesus” is a characteristic of 2 Timothy. It comes in in different connections; it is connected with the sovereignty of God in relation to His anointed Man, the risen and glorified Man; all is secured in Him. This distinctive portion is given to each tribe, but the great exercise is that we should possess it. We are too general; we think of the purposes of God in Christ Jesus in its general aspect as being the portion of all saints, but that is too big for me. The blessing of God in Christ Jesus is for all saints, and all are there, but have I found out what part of “in Christ Jesus” is my portion? I have something distinctive, and the saints in any locality have something distinctive. I am put in companionship locally with the children of God — that is the local company. But Hebron is only one city in Judah. There are a great many cities in Judah, and they are all grouped together as the inheritance of one tribe. There must be something to answer to it spiritually; it is part of the inspired word of God and I must take heed to it, and think how the inheritance is taken up. It is taken up collectively. Divine light comes to us at the present time and would result in our moving on the line of 2 Timothy, because that is the only way in which we can reach divine companionship with the saints. If we try [p. 67] to reach companionship on any other principle, it means the sacrifice of everything that is for God.
Chapter 15 refers to the inheritance of the tribes “according to their families”. Spiritual salvation depends on our taking up in family affections our links with the people of God, not only locally, in the sense of each local assembly, but in a tribal way. In the Songs of Degrees reference is made to the tribes going up to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the place where Jehovah sets His name, and every tribe must come there. Jerusalem represents the universal bond of the people of God; everything was centralised at Jerusalem, and everything is centralised in the Spirit. When we come together locally to break bread there might be things connected with us locally that have to be mentioned; we mention any one commended to us for fellowship, and any local interests of the Lord which stands in relation to His rights in the assembly. But when we have taken the Supper, if the Lord is pleased to manifest Himself to us, He leads us out of what is local, He takes us to Jerusalem; He leads us to what is universal and outside time altogether. That is why we do not care to connect the notices with the latter part of the meeting, because the notices are local. The spiritual worship of the saints is universal and outside time conditions: we sometimes sing, “Eternity’s begun”. If we reach the presence of the Lord, that is not local; that belongs to universal, spiritual privilege. If I am speaking to the Father or to God in a priestly way, we are outside what is local; it is universal. I mention this because there is a spiritual reason for things being done in God’s assembly, and we ought to be exercised, not only to fall in with what is done, but to know why it is done. If we touch the spiritual region we are outside what is local. Brothers and sisters come together as brothers and sisters; that is the outward order of the assembly; we never leave it, we are always brothers and sisters, and sisters must be silent. That is the outward local order, but in the spiritual sphere there are no brothers or sisters, we are all in the same blessed relationship, and the inheritance is outside time. We are not in the inheritance outwardly, it depends on what we are spiritually.
I have my own spiritual constitution like Caleb; that is what I am personally. Then there is what I am locally, what I am in my own meeting, and there is what I am in my own tribe as united with all the people of God within reach. But [p. 68] when we go up to Jerusalem we leave all that and go up to spiritual privilege. We approach the Father in His own circle and circumstances, and we are outside what is personal, what is local; we are in the universal companionship of the whole assembly. That is the universal privilege of the assembly, outside time or locality.
The Lord’s presence with His own does not depend on faith alone. It is “If ye love me” — it is all conditional on that. The Lord says, “And I will pray the Father”, and then He says, “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”. It is all a question of “If ye love me”. He comes to lovers, not to believers only.
We announce the Lord’s death “till he come”. That has a local bearing; it is the public witness. The Lord’s supper has many sides; that is one side, the public witness in the place where He died. We have a few feeble individuals or a greater company who come together to break bread and drink the cup; and it is God’s solemn, public memorial of the death of His blessed Son. It is the most solemn thing in relation to the world; there is nothing so solemn as the saints eating the Supper; it is God’s solemn witness to His murdered Son. If we were true to what the supper is locally, it would be an open door by which we should pass to a spiritual region outside time and locality, where we could truly say, “Eternity’s begun”.