Joshua 14:9-12

9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’ 10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

Today’s title is “Give me this hill country”

Christians should be nice and gentle. We want to be like Jesus who was meek and gentle. Christians should not be greedy. That is true too for we set our eyes on heaven, not on earth. Christians willingly laid down their wealth for the needy and the kingdom of God. Does that mean we Christians do not care for wealth and possessions? Shouldn’t we try to increase our wealth? Absolutely not! The patriarchs of the Bible such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all rich. Job, whom God praised as “the most righteous in the east”, was a man of great wealth. Being rich or having great wealth is very often considered as being blessed in the bible. God’s blessings can very often be material as well as spiritual. Yes, there are times that we should lay down our possessions for the kingdom of God. But there are also times that we have to ask God for possessions and positions for the kingdom of God. God gladly grants the request of His people. Caleb was a very godly person. He was one of the only two scouts who gave good reports on the promised land in faith and obedience to God. He followed the Lord wholeheartedly. Today we see him boldly demanding the hill country of Judaea as Joshua allots the conquered land to the tribes of Israel. We don’t exactly know why Caleb chose the hill country of Judaea. It was not the best land to conquer. The highly combatant Anakites were residing there in the fortified cities. But he is making a bold request of it to Joshua reminding Joshua of the promise of Moses. Joshua gladly grants his request. I believe Caleb’s action shows a good example of active and even aggressive nature of the Christian mind when it is for the kingdom of God. We shouldn't be greedy. But when it comes to the blessings that God has promised, we can and we have to actively lay our request before God. As far as I know, that doesn’t bother God at all. Jacob is not a praiseworthy person by any standard. But God blessed him mightily. Why? He had a strong desire for God’s blessings. He even wrestled with God for it. I believe that’s why God transformed him into Israel with abundant blessings upon his later life and his children. What do you want from God according to His promise? How firmly and strongly are you laying a request for it before God? God never forgets what He has promised. He is not bothered by bold and persistent requests of it. He will happily grant it. He just wants us to be another Caleb who wholeheartedly followed Him through young and old ages alike. Amen!