Joshua 14 … Consider the Word Which He Spoke

Originally posted: 08/31/2019

We have much we can learn from Caleb, the faithful servant of God. In receiving his inheritance, he relied not on man’s decision but on “the word which the Lord spoke.”

Consider the Word Which He Spoke

• The Word Which He Spoke was evident.
  • “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God…” (14:6).

• The Word Which He Spoke was specific for individuals and situations.
  • “…concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea,” (14:6).

• The Word Which He Spoke was His response to faith.
  • “…but I followed the Lord my God fully. ⁹ So Moses swore on that day, saying, “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully,” (14:8-9).

• The Word Which He Spoke was proven.
  • “Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today,” (14:10).

• The Word Which He Spoke instilled strength and faith.
  • “I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. ¹² Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken,” (14:11-12).

How do we respond to the Word Which He Spoke?

Who He Is cannot be separated from His Word; He has revealed Himself and His Word as magnified above all else.

I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name, (Psalm 138:2).

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being, (John 1:1-3).

• The Word Which He Spoke was evident… we are without excuse.
  • …because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse, (Romans 1:19-20).

• The Word Which He Spoke was specific for individuals and situations… we have His guidance specific to our needs.
  • Your word is a lamp to my feet
    And a light to my path, (Psalm 119:105).

• The Word Which He Spoke was His response to faith… we can joyfully accept opportunities to grow in our faith.
  • Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, (James 1:2-4).

• The the Word Which He Spoke was proven… we can trust in His faithful promises.
  • As for God, His way is blameless;
    The word of the Lord is tried;
    He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him, (Psalm 18:30).

• The Word Which He Spoke instilled strength and faith… we can trust and not be afraid.
  • My soul weeps because of grief;
    Strengthen me according to Your word, (Psalm 119:28).
  • Behold, God is my salvation,
    I will trust and not be afraid;
    For the Lord God is my strength and song,
    And He has become my salvation, (Isaiah 12:2).
  • Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, (Ephesians 6:10).

The Word Which He Spoke is His precious and magnificent gift to us. May we treasure every Word, living in gratitude for so marvelous a gift and dependent on His provision for our godliness; that we would grow in our knowledge of Him through the Word Which He Spoke and thereby escape the temptations and corruption of this world.

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: ² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; ³ seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ⁴ For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust, (2 Peter 1:1-4).

Let’s Grow Together!