Sons of Encouragement

by Francine Rivers

  Reaching out, he rested his hand gently on Mesha’s shoulder. “Let them see this pride of lions show humility.”

  Caleb dreamed again of the hill country. Hunkering down, he took a handful of soil and rubbed it between his fingers, letting it sift and drop. Above him was Kiriath-arba with its high gates and fierce warriors.

  Let me have them, Lord. Let me vanquish them.

  Go, My servant. Take the land.

  Startled awake, Caleb sat up. His heart drummed. A strange prickling sensation made every hair on his body stand up. “Lord,” he whispered. “So be it.” He stood, dressed, and called for his servant. “Rouse my sons and tell them to gather Judah.”

  The men came and stood waiting for his instructions. “We go to Gilgal.” He did not have to say more. The men cheered.

  Caleb led the sons of Judah up the hill. One of the men standing before Joshua’s tent ducked inside. Joshua came out. He moved toward Caleb, and clasped arms with him. He looked past him to the men and then released Caleb. “Speak, my friend. Why have you come?”

  “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave from my heart a good report, but my brothers who went with me frightened the people and discouraged them from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I followed the Lord my God completely. So that day Moses promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your special possession and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’”

  Joshua nodded gravely. “I remember well.”

  Caleb, too, remembered. The memories came with a rush of sorrow. They had been bound together because of their faith, two men against a nation. Had God not stood as a wall between them and the sons of Israel, he and Joshua would have been stoned to death. He remembered the forty days of traveling with Joshua, how they had entered the towns and pretended to be traders, how they had talked to the people of the land, telling them of the plagues of Egypt, the Red Sea opening, the cloud and pillar of fire that sheltered them. They had given warning. None had listened.

  Joshua had been a young man then, untried, eager to serve Moses, never ambitious for the position God would give him. When it had come and Moses had laid his hands upon Joshua’s shoulders and the burden of the people with it, Caleb had seen the fear in his eyes and wondered at God’s choice. But God had been faithful. God had molded Joshua into the leader He had intended him to be. And God had brought them into the land He had promised them.

  It struck Caleb’s heart how much he would miss this man so many years younger than he. They had stood together over the past forty-five years. Now, they must separate and take possession of the land God had given each of them. They must wipe Canaan clean, build homes, establish their sons. They could no longer sit together and talk or walk through the camps after evening sacrifices. Time was a cruel master. Still, they would see one another when the tribes came together for Passover at the place the Lord would establish. Surely their friendship would stand despite the distance.

  O Lord, watch over and protect Joshua. Keep him strong of heart, mind, soul, and body.

  Israel’s captain had aged in the past five years. How much, troubled Caleb. But he could not turn away from what the Lord had called him to do: Take the hill country.

  “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as He promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So I’m asking you to give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the Anakites living there in great, walled cities. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”

  Moisture filled Joshua’s eyes. They both had known this day would come. It had to come. Joshua nodded solemnly. “Kiriath-arba is yours, Caleb.”

  Caleb’s heart quickened with joy.

  Joshua grasped Caleb’s arm and turned him to face the sons of Judah. He raised his voice so that all could hear. “Kiriath-arba belongs to Caleb!”

  Caleb’s sons rejoiced, as did the others. They didn’t understand that they’d face the greatest test of their lives, but the Lord would be with them. The Lord would shine His face upon them and give them victory, if only they stood firm in their faith. For without the Lord, they wouldn’t be able to stand against those who dwelt in Kiriath-arba.

  Joshua clasped Caleb’s hand in a hard grip. “That place has always been yours, and so it always shall be.”

  It had been Kiriath-arba who had set fear in the hearts of the other ten spies and made them feel like grasshoppers.

  Kiriath-arba, the city inhabited by giants.

  “For the Lord!” Caleb raised his sword and Mesha blew the shofar. Caleb and his sons led their warriors against the Anakites, who, brash and arrogant, had mocked the Lord God of Israel and come out against Judah.

  “For the Lord!” Caleb felt the strength flow into him even as the words burst from his lips. He ran with the strength of youth, feeling he could soar on eagle’s wings to the top of those hills. His sword rang as it blocked an Anakite’s swing. Turning, Caleb drove his shoulder hard into the man’s stomach, sending him back just enough that he could drive his sword up beneath the chest armor, straight into his heart. Caleb yanked his sword free as the man crumpled. Stepping over him, he shouted the battle cry again and kept going.

  The cave of Machpelah would no longer be in the possession of idol worshipers and blasphemers. He struck down two more Anakites as they came at him. The burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives would once more be held by Hebrews! He hacked into an Anakite’s thigh, tumbling him, cleaving his skull as he tried to rise.

  The hillsides reverberated with the cry, “For the Lord!” Caleb and his sons and the men of Judah surged up the hill, driving into the Anakites. The warriors who had once made Israel quake and refuse to enter the Promised Land melted in fear and tried to run. Caleb cried out to his sons. “Don’t let them escape the judgment of the Lord!” The Anakites were pursued and cut down until the four hills on which the city stood were strewn with the dead.

  Arba, the king of Kiriath-arba, was hedged in. One by one, the Anakite warriors fell.

  “The king,” Mesha shouted. “We have the king!”

  Caleb came at a run, bursting through the lines. “There is no king but the Lord our God!” He brushed his son aside.

  Mesha tried to block him. “What are you going to do?”

  Caleb saw the fear in his son’s eyes. “I’m going to kill him.”

  “We’ll do it, Father.”

  “Stand aside.”

  Cornered, Arba glared, teeth bared. He held his mighty sword in huge hands, swinging it back and forth, spitting insults and hissing blasphemies.

  Caleb strode toward him. “Lord, give me strength!” At his cry, his sons lowered their swords. The men of Judah held their ground and watched.

  “Come to me.” Arba jerked his chin up. “Come to me, you little red dog.”

  And Caleb came in the strength of the Lord. With one swing, he severed Arba’s sword arm. With the second, he sliced along the base of Arba’s chest armor so the Anakite’s innards spilled out. As Arba fell to his knees, Caleb swung one last time, and sent the enemy of God into the dust.

  “Cleanse the city!”

  The men of Judah poured through the gates, killing every citizen, from the oldest to the youngest. They broke down the pagan altars and burned them. Household gods were put through fire, melting down the gold so the images were destroyed. The best of everything was then set aside to be delivered to Joshua for the Lord’s treasury.

  Caleb stood on the highest of the four hills and surve
yed the land the Lord had given him. This ground on which he stood was rich in history. During his first visit, he had heard that Kiriath-arba was the oldest city in the hill country, an ancient dwelling place for Canaanite royalty, founded seven years before Tanis in Egypt. Somewhere nearby was the cave of Machpelah that served as the burial place for Abraham, who had been called out of Ur by the Lord. With him were buried his wife, Sarah, who had born the son of promise, Isaac, who married Rebekah and fathered Jacob, who had twelve sons and came to be known as Israel—one who contends with God.

  Heart full, Caleb raised his hands to the Lord like a child asking to be lifted up. The strength that had pulsed through him for the battle had waned, leaving in its wake gratitude and praise.

  “This place shall no longer be called Kiriath-arba.” He thought of Abraham, first in faith, and knew the name it should bear. “It shall be called beloved of God.”

  Hebron. Like his grandson.

  “You look well, my friend.”

  Caleb heard the tremor in Joshua’s voice and could say nothing. He grasped his arms. They kissed both cheeks in greeting. Joshua did not look well. Caleb stood to one side. Joshua reached out, gesturing for him to remain close at his side as he always had.

  The other elders, leaders, judges, and officials presented themselves. Joshua had summoned all Israel to Shechem, where Joseph’s bones had been buried in the tract of land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

  As Caleb watched, unease filled him. Perhaps he should have paid closer attention to what was happening with the other tribes. Since gaining permission to take the hill country, he had concentrated on nothing else. With Hebron now in his hands, he had made plans to put his hand to the plow again and sow crops. Surely it was time.

  “The Lord has given us rest from all our enemies.” Joshua spread his hands. “I am an old man now.”

  A faint rumbling rose from the men. Caleb frowned, studying Joshua’s face. He seemed distressed, more distressed than he had seen him since the night he had fully realized God had chosen him to lead the people. Caleb turned to the others. “Be quiet. Joshua has called us here on matters of great importance.”

  Joshua nodded solemnly. “You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. The Lord your God has fought for you against your enemies.”

  As Joshua continued, speaking slowly, with great deliberation, Caleb felt the impatience in those around him. He could almost hear their thoughts: Why is Joshua telling us the same things he has told us countless times before? “So be strong! Be very careful to follow all the instructions written in the Book of the Law of Moses.” Joshua reminded them once again of how God had brought them into the land He had promised them, driven out the enemies before them, how it had not been their swords and bows, but God’s power, that had given them the land in which they now lived, eating from vineyards and olive groves they did not plant.

  “Every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!”

  When Joshua looked at him, Caleb was caught by the sorrow he saw in his friend’s eyes. There was a deeper purpose for this gathering, a solemn assembly. “I am old,” Joshua had said. Caleb had smiled at that. For he was older still.

  “But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things He promised, He will also bring disaster on you if you disobey Him. He will completely wipe you out from this good land He has given you. If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, His anger will burn against you.”

  Caleb closed his eyes and bowed his head. Have we sinned, Lord? Is that why You give this warning? Are there some among us who are already turning away?

  “So honor the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone.” Joshua’s mouth twisted in derision. “But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live?” His mouth softened and he looked at Caleb again, eyes shining. “But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

  “We would never forsake the Lord and worship other gods!”

  The others joined in Caleb’s answer.

  Hebron rose. “For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt.”

  “He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes!”

  “As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, He preserved us.”

  “It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites . . .”

  “. . . and the other nations living here in the land.”

  Caleb held out his hands. “So we, too, will serve the Lord, for He alone is our God.” May the Lord hear our words and hold us to them. And may Joshua be comforted. He had never seen Joshua so grim, so tired, so old.

  “You are not able to serve the Lord,” Joshua continued, “for He is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and sins.”

  “No!”

  “If you forsake the Lord and serve other gods, He will turn against you and destroy you, even though He has been so good to you.”

  “No!” Caleb cried out in anguish. “We are determined to serve the Lord!”

  “You are accountable for this decision.” Joshua spoke in a quiet, fierce voice. “You have chosen to serve the Lord.”

  “Yes!” the men cried out. “We are accountable!”

  “All right, then—” Joshua clenched his hands—“destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

  Shock ran through Caleb. Idols among us? He glanced around. He saw men lower their eyes, others pale. He thought of Achan and how easy it would be for someone to hide an idol among his possessions. He turned back with a fierce anger. If he had to search every household himself, he would do so.

  The people heard the message of the Lord and made a covenant there at Shechem. Joshua drew up for them the decrees and laws so that no one could say they did not know what God required of them. Everything was recorded carefully in the Book of the Law of God. Joshua took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near where the Ark of the Covenant rested. “This stone has heard everything the Lord said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.” Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

  Caleb lingered. It had been years since he had walked with Joshua. Their steps were slower now, more deliberate. Though their bodies were weakening, their friendship remained strong.

  “I am filled with sorrow over the people, Caleb.”

  “That they will lose faith?”

  “Yes. And resolve.”

  “We have given our vow, Joshua.”

  Joshua let out his breath and shook his head. He smiled sadly. “Not all men keep their vows as you do, my friend.”

  “The Lord will hold them to it.”

  “Yes, and they will suffer.”

  Troubled, Caleb paused. “Let an old man rest.”

  Joshua stood on a knoll overlooking the fertile lands around Shechem. “I feel the seeds of rebellion growing.”

  “Where? We will uproot them!”

  “The seeds are in the heart of every man.” He gripped his garment in a tight fist. “How do we change that, Caleb?”

  “We have the Law, Joshua. That’s why God gave it to us.”

  “Is it?”

  “Isn’t it?” Caleb wanted to shake Joshua out of his grim reverie. “The Law is as solid as the stones on which God carved it. It is the Law God has given us that will hold us together.”

  “Or drive us apart. All men are not as passionate about doing right as you are, Caleb. Most are eager to live in peace, even if that means compromise.” Joshua spoke firmly, not as an old man whining over past days and faint worries of the future.
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  “What do you want me to do, Joshua? Speak openly.”

  “I want you to do what you have always done. Have faith in the Lord. Stand firm. Speak out when you see men weaken.” He gripped Caleb’s arm. “Keep watch! We are still at war, Caleb, though the enemy appears vanquished. We are at war and retreat is impossible.”

  Sitting in the shade of his olive tree, Caleb spotted a man running up the road. He felt a deep stirring. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head.

  “Where is Caleb?” a breathless voice shouted. “Caleb! I must speak with Caleb!”

  Sighing, Caleb rose. “I’m here.”

  The young man ran up the hill to him. Caleb knew him well though the years had altered him. “Ephraim, aren’t you?”

  “Ephraim’s son, Hirah.”

  “I remember when your father was a boy. He followed Joshua around like a pet lamb. We—”

  “Joshua is dead!”

  Caleb fell silent. He couldn’t take it in, didn’t want to, closed his ears to it. No, not Joshua. Joshua was fifteen years younger than he. Joshua was God’s anointed leader. Joshua!

  “Joshua is dead.” The boy dropped to his knees, hunched over, and wept.

  Anguish filled Caleb and he uttered a loud cry, then tore his garments.

  Oh, Lord, my friend, my friend! What will happen to Israel now? Who will lead these stubborn people? Who, Lord?

  Even as the thoughts came to him, shame filled him. Who else but the Lord had led them? Who else but God Himself could be king over such a nation as Israel?

  Forgive me, Lord. After all these years, I should know better than to ask such questions. Forgive me. Help me stand firm.

  Caleb put his hand on the boy’s head. “Rise up, Hirah. Tell me everything.”

  Joshua had been buried at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. The boy bore other grievous news. Eleazar, son of Moses’ brother, Aaron, was ailing at Gibeah.

  Caleb took Hirah to his home and gave him food and drink. “How have the tribes taken the news?”