THE PORTION OF CALEB As the land east of the Jordan was divided among the two and a half tribes, Caleb the son of Jephunneh’ asked for the mountain that was promised to him by Moses, for his honesty and faith, when he came to spy the land forty-five years before. He had asked for the mountain before Joshua started to divide the land west of the Jordan. 1- An introduction about the way of division 1 -- 5 2- Caleb asks for his portion 6 -- 9 3- Caleb above time 10 -- 11 4- Caleb the struggler 11 5- Caleb and the holy mountain 12 6- His enjoyment of Hebron 13 -- 15 1- An introduction about the way of division: The scholar Origen believes that it is impossible for the divine Book to care for the exact dimensions of the land allotted to every tribe in detail; just for the sake of knowing the situation of those tribes in the new land. But, as the Jewish rites came, a copy and shadow of the heavenly things (Hebrew 8: 5); the division of the land, names of regions, cities of refuge, cities of the Levites, and the establishing of the temple later on in Jerusalem, etc... these things in their details, carry heavenly secrets, that the Holy Spirit reveals to us. The scholar says: [When you, O, Jew, come to Jerusalem, and find it destroyed, and turned into dust and ashes, do not cry like a child (1Corinthians4: 20). Do not grieve, but seek a city in heaven instead of that which you seek on earth! Lift your eyes up, and you will find the Higher Jerusalem, our mother. Do not get depressed when you see the temple deserted; and do not despair when you find no priest; as in heaven there is an altar, and priests of the coming goods, who walk before the Lord, according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrew 5: 10). It is through the love and mercy of God, that He relieved you of the earthly inheritance, to let you seek the heavenly one] 1. I am not intending to go into much details, but I shall only present some of the spiritual concepts of the division, hoping that the Spirit of God will support and guide you; will turn even what seems to 1 In Jos. hom 17: 1. 193 be something concerning the old land, into what concerns the salvation of the people of God and their eternity. In this chapter, the divine inspiration discerns between three categories of God’s people, as far as the division of the land is concerned (1-3): a- The first category: Those who accepted to inherit the land, they came to have in the days of Moses, namely, through the law; including the two tribes of Reuben, of Gad, and of half the tribe of Manasseh; although this category would not receive their inheritance except through the hand of Joshua. It represents the category of men of the Old Testament, who also lived through the new Joshua. And with some freedom, we can say that this category embraces also those who are in the era of grace, but unfortunately behave as though they are still under the law; literal in their understanding of the law and the word, and narrow in their thoughts. How miserable are those who crossed the Jordan together with Joshua, but, with their life and thoughts, they backslid to what is behind the Jordan, to live spiritually like immature kids; they liken a mentally sick young man who sticks to childish behavior, to play with toys and to drink milk, instead of enjoying solid food and serious behavior. b- The second category: Those who accepted to inherit the land, they got in the days of Joshua; namely, in the era of grace; including nine and a half tribes. They represent someone who was lifted up from under the law, to set forth from the letter to the Spirit. Those, would not inherit, together with the two and a half tribes, the pasture land of Gilead, but would inherit the land that flow of honey and milk; where the believer sets forth from herding sheep, namely, the animal and carnal thoughts, to the everlasting inheritance, where the new food is. C- The third category: These are the Levites who get no portion of land, as the Lord is their portion (Joshua 13: 2); those who could be described as “the category of the perfect”; who live with Joshua, who do not seek land or blessings, even the heavenly ones; but seek the Lord Himself as their portion. If the first category represents those who worship for the sake of worldly blessings (those under the law); and the second category represents those who worship for the sake of spiritual blessings; the third category do not seek but God alone, as their whole life, joy, and crown. The scholar Origen says: [The Levites got their inheritance neither from Moses nor from Joshua, because the 194 God of Israel is their portion ... There might be a great number among the people of God, who have a simple faith in the fear of God; who please God by their good deeds and honest behavior; But few and rare, are those who have got the wisdom and knowledge; who keep their hearts pure, who plant in their souls the best virtues; and who have the possibility to enlighten the way of others ... Those could surely be called Levites and priests, whose portion is the Lord; the Wisdom they have chosen above everything] 1. I wish we become like the Levites and priests, with no portion of the land of inheritance; but to have the Lord Christ as our portion; being “the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1: 30); as He is “our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23: 6; 1 Corinthians 1: 30); “our peace” (Ephesians 2: 14); and “our redemption” (1 Corinthians 1: 30). 2- Caleb asks for his portion: “Then the children of Judas came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the sonof Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: ‘You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land...” (Joshua 14: 6, 7) Before Joshua starts casting lots for dividing the land among the nine and a half tribes, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite approached him to remind him of the promise he received 45 years before, as he returned together with him to Moses after having spied the land, to speak honestly and faithfully about the land of promise, in contrary to the other spies who let the hearts of the people melt with fear. Caleb did not enter into the lot together with the rest of the people, but asked for a special privilege, that he has got from the Lord Himself, on the tongue of the prophet Moses; the secret of that privilege is: a- In our study of the Book of Numbers, we saw that the word “Caleb” means (heart); and that the melding of Joshua with Caleb, is a melding of faith in Christ the Savior, with the practical purity of heart, in order to enjoy the everlasting inheritance2. The scholar Origen believes that “Jephunneh” means (conversion) 3, and that “Kenizzite” means the (despised). We can say that Caleb’s privilege, is because he represents the heart emerging from conversion from despise. By that he preceded 1 Ibid 17: 2. 2 للمؤلف: سفر العدد. 3 In Jos. hom 18: 2, 20: 6.. 195 others in the enjoyment of inheritance; not because he is any better than them, but because he, who is despised, has converted from this life, to lead with a pure heart in the Lord. We are all the children of the Kenizzite, namely of the despised; as, “through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5: 12). But Caleb knows how to replace that one man who brought on him despise and death, by another Man -- our Lord Jesus; to come to have the gift of righteousness, and to enjoy the right of possession. And as the apostle says about that conversion: “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one; much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5: 17). It is as though the apostle says in that chapter (Romans 5): [After having been, because of our father Adam, possessed by death, we came, by our Lord Jesus Christ, to possess life in Him! After having been a subject of inheritance for sin, we came to inherit the everlasting Kingdom. We all, were indeed referred to the ‘Kenizzite’, that is the (despised); yet, in our reference to ‘Jephunneh’, that is the (conversion), we were converted from the physical fatherhood of Adam, to the spiritual fatherhood of God in His Son Jesus Christ, to enjoy the first inheritance. b- The relation between Caleb and Joshua; and we have previously discussed the relation between the heart and the faith; No purity of heart outside the faith in Christ, and no conquest without Him. As we relate, as hearts, with the true Joshua, we are opening up to Him to reign in our inner man, and to sit on the heart as His throne. And just as He reigns in us, we also reign by Him in His eternal inheritance. Let us relate to our Joshua, and deliver our life to Him, to reign in us, and we to reign in Him; and as St. Augustine addresses the Lord, saying:[Receive all my capabilities to possess them completely ... Torestore to me my whole sovereignty] 1. c- Caleb encounter with Joshua had been in Kadesh Barnea; ‘Kadesh’ means holiness. Our encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ, would not truly be, except through holy life. Many assume that they know the Lord, and encounter Him, probably through preaching Him, and probably through performing miracles in His name; Yet, unless they encounter Him in a holy life, He would say to them: “Get way from Me, you cursed; I do not know you.” . 1 مناجاة 18 196 d- Although Caleb had got the promise from God through Moses the representative of the law, yet, the realization of that promise would not be except by Joshua, who alone could grant the reward. The scholar Origen says: [Moses taught Caleb first, and then did Joshua who helped him. Caleb says to Joshua: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God.” (Joshua 14: 6) Nobody could comprehend the word spoken by the Lord to Moses except Joshua only; and nobody has the comprehension of the law like Jesus in His teaching; He is the One who taught us and revealed everything to us. And He is the One who inspired to Paul that “the law is spiritual” (Romans 7: 14)] 1. Our Joshua is the One who knows the commandment, through which we get the reward, not as a personal worthiness on our part, but through our Lord Jesus, who presents to us the commandment, who supports us to observe it, and who grants us the reward for it. e- Caleb realized that in his inheritance, he is a joint heir with Joshua; as he says to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me” . Our true privilege in enjoying the inheritance is that we are “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8: 17); what we get is the inheritance of Christ Himself, and His glories, which we enjoy in Him, namely, through our membership in His body. In ourselves, we have no right of inheritance, but if we abide in Christ, He would grant that right to us. The apostle Paul says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1: 3); confirming that “the glory of His grace by which He has made us accepted, is in the beloved” (Ephesians 1: 6). If Christ is the beloved to God the Father, to whom the glory is; we, being in Him, have got the grace of that glory that is His! In other words, the apostle goes on to say: “in whom also we have obtained our inheritance” (Ephesians 1: 11). f- If Caleb’s inheritance is a fruit of his unity with Joshua, to enjoy the glory by and in him; yet, this does not mean a negativism or negligence on Caleb’s part, in fulfilling the commandment; He says: “But I wholly followed the Lord my God” (Joshua 14: 8). As though he is saying: [From my side, I accepted the commandment of my God, with whom I encounter on a personal level, to become referred to me, as ‘My 1 In Jos. hom 18: 2. 197 God’, and completely observed His commandment. If God’s grace is very rich in giving, yet, it is not given to the negligent in observing the divine commandment]. We finally say, that Caleb is calling God “My God”. Whoever accepts God as a personal God, and referred to him, he is receiving God’s glories, as his own glories, and God’s features, as his own; Getting our inheritance is the fruit of our possession of God, and His possession of us: “I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine” (Song 6: 3). 3 - Caleb above time: “The Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wondered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was on the day that Moses sent me.” (Joshua 14: 10, 11) If the inheritance that the believer enjoys, is the everlasting life which soars above time, an extension of a life lived here by man, it is fitting for us, in order to enjoy that inheritance, to enter now in the circle of eternity, not to attach ourselves to the circle of time, that by its rolling, from time to time, would lift us up and bring us down; and to live, while still on earth, with a heavenly thought, that time can never corrupt or weaken. Caleb got the promise when he was forty years of age, strong in the work of God; and now, he is approaching Joshua, eighty-five years old, and still as strong as he was then. And as we previously said, the believer would never know weak old age; “Even though his outer man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4: 16). The scholar Origen comments on Caleb’s words, “just as my strength was then, so now is my strength” (Joshua 14: 16), saying: [A saint actually bears the same strength as before; in the new, as well as in the old things; in the gospels, as well as in the law; as though he is saying that he bears the same strength in the days of Joshua, as he used to, in the days of Moses; the alert heart apprehends the secrets of the two Testaments, with the same strength] 1. 4- Caleb, the striver: “Just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in” (Joshua 14: 11) 1 Ibid. 198 If Caleb got the promise in the days of Moses, he got it because, in his spiritual strength in the Lord, he says: “I wholly followed the Lord my God” (Joshua 14: 8); he was strong in following the commandment of the Lord; getting the promise increased his spiritual strength; and time could not make his zeal or his arms weaker; but he says: “so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in” (Joshua 14: 11); As though he is saying: [I am not claiming the inheritance while relaxing, but I am spiritually trained to strive, and to fight the forces of darkness; on how to come out of the wilderness, to enter the land of promise. I succeeded when Moses sent me to spy, and now I trust in God, to let me succeed to enter into the place I inherit...]. This trust and this strength is not his own, saying: “For you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”(Joshua 14: 12) Caleb’s strength is consistently strong to go out and to come in; namely, in spiritual war, through which he goes out of the shame of servitude, to enter into the glory of freedom. His life is going out and coming in, as one integral and consistent process; going out of the works of the old man, namely crucifying him, and coming in into those of the new man, namely enjoying his resurrection; a going out of the self (the ego), by crucifying it, and a coming into Jesus Christ, the Grantor of resurrection; A going out of the love of worldly things, and a coming into the heavenly life. 5- Caleb and the holy mountain: “And therefore give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day.” (Joshua 14: 12) The scholar Origen says: [The Saint does not ask for a lowly thing, nor seeks what is in the bottom of lowlands; but asks for a high mountain, on the top of which are great and fortified cities. The Book truly says: “The Anakim are there, and the cities are fortified” (Joshua 14: 12). Therefore, that was his request; He used to know the art of war; according to the Scripture: “A wise man scales the city of the mighty; and brings down the trusted stronghold” (Proverb 21: 22). Do you think that the wise Solomon, intended by that to teach us that the wise man seizes cities, and brings down walls built of stones?! By cities and walls he meant dogmas and claims by which the heathen Philosophers build their defiled thoughts, against the divine law ... What are the cities that 199 the wise bring down, as they raise the word of truth? They are the cities of lies, that should be brought down by truth; according to the saying of the apostle: “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10: 5). Today, the very wise Caleb, stands before Joshua, to promise that he will be strong in war, ready for struggle; asking him for permission to attack the wise of the time, who confirm the lies instead of the truth; to contradict and overcome them, and to cast down all the buildings of their false claims. Seeing his zeal, Joshua, boldly and willingly, “blessed him” (Joshua 14: 13). You too, if you dedicated your life to studying and contemplating on the law of God, with the spirit of wisdom, you would be a heart (Caleb), meditating on God’s law; capable to bring down the great and fortified cities; namely, to cast down the claims of liars; and therefore to be worthy of the blessing of Joshua, and to receive ‘Hebron’ in him] 1. That mountain acquired by Caleb, was the holy Mountain, to be proclaimed at the end of time; “to have all nations (and the righteous) flow to it” (Isaiah 2: 2 – 4); namely, the Lord Christ Himself! This is our true inheritance that we yearn to enjoy! 6- His enjoyment of Hebron: “Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.” (Joshua 14: 13) As we talked in the tenth chapter about the cities that were taken by Joshua, we saw him taking Hebron from its king (Joshua 10: 37); and said that the word ‘Hebron’ means (matrimony); After the soul was attached to the devil as her bridegroom, carrying his evil; features, and sharing his wicked thoughts and works, it became under the law of Joshua, as his bride, united with him, to bear his thoughts and features! That is the reward gained by the honest Caleb in following the Lord; to enter into a state of spiritual matrimony with our Lord Jesus Christ2! The scholar Origen has another comment, saying: [‘Hebron’ means union or matrimony; and that might be the significance of that province. The double cave that was set by Abram, is found in this city, where he and the rest of the fathers together with their wives are buried: Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 23: 19); Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Lea. Therefore Caleb was worthy of gaining the remains of those fathers as inheritance. By his wisdom, his strength that in the days of Joshua, was 1 Ibid 18: 3. 2 Ibid. 200 the same as that he used to have in the days of Moses; he comprehended the meaning of that unity between the fathers and their wives; he comprehended why Sarah alone found rest beside Abraham, while Hagar and Catturah were denied this honor; and why Lea alone rested beside Jacob ... The scholar Origen probably believed that Caleb, with his wisdom, comprehended that by gaining Hebron, he is gaining the everlasting inheritance together with Jesus Christ, on the level of the unity between those fathers and their wives; but with a greater and deeper spiritual concept.
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