DRIVE OUT your ENEMY through FAITH in GOD!
March 8 Bible
Reading: Joshua Chapters 13-15
DRIVE OUT your ENEMY through FAITH in GOD!
"Now to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he
gave a share among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the
Lord to Joshua, namely, Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron (Arba was the father of
Anak). Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and
Talmai, the children of Anak." (Josh 15:13-14)
When the
85-year old Caleb approached his long time friend Joshua with an unusual
request for a mountain as his inheritance in the Promised Land, he knew very
well what he was asking for (Joshua 14:6-12). This was no ordinary mountain,
but was an enemy territory named as Kirjath
Arba, after Arba the greatest man among the Anakims. The
Anakims or, the children of Anak were men of great stature, and had huge
physical body structures as fighting machines. In fact, these Anakims had
terrified ten of the twelve spies so much that they visualized themselves only
as small grasshoppers in front of these giants (see Numbers 13:32-33).
Thus, Caleb had
asked Joshua for a land property that was under the control and occupation of
the mighty terrible enemy, it is clear that his
trust and faith was on God alone. This was his faith declaration to Joshua:
"It may be that the Lord will be
with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said" (Josh
14:12b). What Caleb was saying here was that if God was with him, he will definitely
be able to drive out his enemy from his inheritance! That was what happened
eventually – Caleb drove out the
three sons of Anak away from the land (15:14) that they had always possessed.
This was done only through his faith and
trust in his Almighty God who had made all things possible for him!
When Jesus
Christ has set us free (John 8:36)
from the bondage of sin and death (Eph. 2:1-2), He made us alive in Him and made us to sit
in the heavenly places in Him
(2:4-7). Jesus has adopted us as His
children and has given us the rights and
privileges that are due to us as His children (John 1:12-13). This includes the abundant life as our inheritance that only He can grant us (John 10:10b).
However, our mortal enemy Satan (Eph. 6:12) still tries to occupy many areas of
our life where we are still weak and susceptible to his repeated attacks.
This is
where Caleb can teach us a very important lesson. Through physically he was an
old man of 85 years; inwardly his faith
in his God was still strong. He knew that his victory over his enemy will
not come from his fighting prowess, but with
the help of God who would strengthen
him (Phil. 4:13). He trusted in God,
and it was his faith in God that ultimately got him his mountain for an
everlasting possession!
If we are
still battling over any area in our life (or, from any kind of addictions), let us draw near to God for strength. As
He has promised in His Word, God will in
turn draw near to us (James 4:8a).
When we humble ourselves and submit ourselves to God, He will give us
more grace and strength to resist Satan who will then flee from us (v. 7). Today,
like Caleb, let us drive out our enemy
through our faith and trust in God!
