Daily Devotional · Joshua 14:6–14
Give Me This Mountain
Reflection
Forty-five years had passed since Caleb stood before Moses and declared: "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." For forty-five years, Caleb had wandered in the wilderness while an entire generation died off — all because they had not believed. Now at last Israel was in the land. Caleb came to Joshua with a request — and a memory. "I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly." Caleb was eighty-five years old. He could have asked for a comfortable valley, fertile land, a quiet retirement. Instead: "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." The hill country with the giants. Forty-five years had passed and Caleb still wanted the hardest part. His faith had grown, not shrunk. He remembered the promise and he wanted the promised thing, not an easier substitute. Joshua blessed him and gave him Hebron. Caleb drove out the Anakites.
Background
Caleb was from the tribe of Judah but his genealogy suggests Kenizzite origins — likely a convert or adopted member of the covenant people. This makes his wholehearted devotion even more remarkable: he was not born into the covenant; he chose it. His name in Hebrew (kalev) may mean "dog" — possibly a term of loyal devotion.
Truth
Age does not diminish faith — it deepens it. Caleb at 85 was more confident in God than the 40-year-old version had been. A life of following God wholeheartedly accumulates, not depletes. The faith you exercise today is building the confidence you will have for the mountains ahead.
Application
What "mountain" has God promised you that you have been delaying — waiting until conditions are more favorable, until you are less tired, until the giants seem smaller? Ask God for Caleb's spirit: the willingness to take the hard promise rather than the comfortable substitute.