Joshua 15:1-19.  Yesterdays post was made very late because I was without internet for most of the day.  If you missed it you’ll want to read it.  We learned a little bit about the tribes of Israel and how the land was going to be divided.  The division started with a very enthusiastic old timer from the tribe of Judah, Caleb.   One thing I did not mention about Caleb was why he is calle a Kenizzite. The Bible is very clear that he was descended from Judah.  It was implied in yesterday’s passage (Joshua 14:6) and was clearly stated in Numbers 13:6; 34:19).  The term Kenizzite means descendant of Kenaz.  There is a Kenaz in the Bible who was a grandson of Esau (Jacob’s brother)(Genesis 36:11).  If that was the person who was an ancestor of Caleb then Caleb would not have been from the tribe of Judah.  The was also a Kenaz who was the grandson of Caleb (1 Chronicles 4:15) so we must be careful in not jumping to conclusions Caleb was from the tribe of Judah and he also had an ancestor who was named Kenaz.

Today’s reading starts with a description of the territory given to Judah.  There are a lot of specific places, some of which are unknown today, but they were well known in those days and as I mentioned a couple of days ago are well known to God.  Caleb’s inheritance is repeated in this description along with more detail about his conquest of Hebron.  You might remember from Joshua 11:21 that Joshua killed the Anakim in Hebron, he “utterly destroyed them”.  The problem is that people were always moving around and it would not be impossible that some came back to live in Hebron (or Kiriath-arba as they called it).  We also find out that he fought for other cities as well and that he was a great leader who encouraged others to fight too.  One person that he inspired was his younger brother Othniel (Joshua 15:17, Judges 1:13; 3:9).  As a reward for taking a city Caleb gave his daughter in marriage to Othniel.

Caleb was not the only bold person in his family so was his daughter.  Evidently Othniel was allowed to keep the land around the city which was in the southern hill country (Called the Negev and part of Judah’s portion of the land).  The daughter must have realized the potential of the land if she had access to water so she boldly asked her dad for some land that had springs on it too.   Caleb gave her the water.  This is the first of two specific times in Joshua that a woman gets a portion of the land.  That would have been unheard of in those days (as we will see when we come to the second example).  It is clear that God is not a woman-hater as some people in our day believe.  She did ask he husband first before she asked her dad.  Othniel gave permission and she made the request.  It seems that women get much more respect in the Bible that in many other societies in Old Testament times.  Two things stand out to me today in the reading.  One is boldness and the other is respect.  Caleb, Othniel, and Achash all seem bold to me.  Bold to act on the things they know about God.  On the other hand we see a great deal of respect.  Achash respected her father and her husband.  Othniel respected Caleb and God.  And it seems Caleb respected his daughter.  It also seems that there was quite a bit of benefit because of this.  Another town was taken, Othniel not only got land but a very wise wife also who’s actions would make his land much more productive.  The “blessing” of Jacob n genesis 49:8-12 tells us that Judah would be like a crouching lion, tht he would be a respected leader, and that he would have a life filled literally with milk and fruit.  It seems that is just what we see in this story.  We need to be bold in following God.  We need to trust Him and aact like Caleb did.  We need to inspire others by our actions like Caleb did.  And we need to be bold like his daughter in asking God to bless us, to help us fulfill our destinies what ever they are (Psalms 139:16, Ephesians 2:10).  LORD I know that you have me on a mission, it’s not a five year mission but a lifetime one, you want me to explore new relationships, to share new life, to boldly go wherever you want me to go.  Help me on this trek.  Show me the way.  Give me the wisdom and the word.   Thank you for the privilege of being a part of your journey.  If it pleases you don’t give me a red shirt though, I’d much rather have a firm with a spring.  Your will be done, LORD.  Make me bold, give me peace.