Joshua 15:19

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"Give me also." Jos 15:19

This was the petition of Achsah, the daughter of Caleb. The father had given his daughter a portion already in the form of a south land, and now she asks him for something more, namely, "springs of water." The emphasis of this text would seem to be on the word "also," if we accommodate it to the temper and desire of our own times. Achsah was not content with the south land; she wanted an addition. Who ever is content with what he has? Does not one possession suggest another? This suggestion may be base and selfish. It may indicate a spirit of greed or covetousness which can never be satisfied. We have a proverb which says "much wants more." Where such a spirit is manifested the possession already in hand is unworthily held. Here is the secret of the amazing disparity between class and class, and the explanation of some of the grossest tyrannies of history. Men should watch their desires in this direction. All getting should be accompanied by corresponding giving. Where there is no outlet there will soon be stagnation. This desire, however, may be one of the noblest aspirations of the human mind. There is a discontentment which is to be religiously encouraged. Say, for example, in the realm of knowledge: we go on from one advancement to another, earnestly desiring the completion of our study: say, for example, in the region of Christian donation; Paul counted himself not to have apprehended, but he resolved his whole life into one action expressed by the attitude of pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus: he urged the Christians of Corinth to "covet earnestly the best gifts:" there is, then, a covetousness which is equivalent to prayer; a desire for more which is a holy aspiration. It is often difficult to distinguish between the legitimate and the illegitimate in human desire. As a broad rule it may be said that all desire for more material possession or personal gratification is wrong; and all desire for more light, clearer insight into truth, and fuller realisation of duty, is right. Every man must determine this for himself. There must be no shrinking from the most penetrating inquiry. When the soul is really anxious to know what its own desires are in the sight of God, there cannot be the slightest difficulty in obtaining the information.