Caleb Caleb stands as an inspiring example of faith in God. He was the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite (Josh 14:6; Num 32:12). The Kenizzites lived in the Negev, the southern desert region of Canaan (see Gen 15:18-21). Jephunneh apparently married into the tribe of Judah a generation before Israel left Egypt. Caleb first appears as one of twelve spies Moses sent to scout out the land of Canaan. Upon returning, all twelve confirmed the land’s magnificence, but ten of the scouts focused on the land’s fearsome inhabitants (Num 13:31-33). Only Joshua and Caleb believed that God would enable Israel to conquer the Canaanites (Num 14:6-9), advising that the Israelites immediately take the land (Num 13:30). Although the people wanted to stone both Caleb and Joshua (Num 14:10), God protected them and punished the people (Num 14:11-38). God ultimately rewarded Caleb and Joshua for their faithfulness: Among all the adults who left Egypt, they were the only ones to enter the Promised Land. After many years in the wilderness, and after fighting many battles, Caleb received his personal inheritance in the land (Josh 14:6-15). Caleb’s faith did not diminish in the intervening forty-five y...

Joshua Joshua, son of Nun, was Moses’ assistant and successor as Israel’s leader. Joshua brought the young nation across the Jordan River into the Promised Land of Canaan, faithfully following God’s leadership. Before Israel reached Mount Sinai, Joshua led Israel’s warriors when Amalek attacked Israel (Exod 17:8-13). Shortly thereafter, he was among the twelve men Moses sent to scout the Promised Land (Num 13:1-16). Against popular opinion, Joshua and Caleb urged Israel to occupy Canaan immediately (Num 13:22–14:9), and as a result, of the twelve spies, only they entered Canaan (Num 14:30, 36-38). God directed Moses to designate Joshua as his successor (Num 27:15-23; Deut 34:9). After Moses died, Joshua led Israel across the Jordan River (Josh 1:1-18; 3:1–4:24) to the conquest of Jericho (6:1-27). When Israel suffered defeat at Ai, Joshua turned to the Lord and followed his instructions to purge Israel of sin (7:1-26); then Israel conquered Ai (8:1-29). Following God’s instructions to Moses (Deut 11:29-32; 27:1–28:68), Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal (Josh 8:30-32) and read the blessings and curses of the covenant (8:33-35). Joshua conducted campaigns against two coali...

Inheriting the Land Is the material world evil? Are spirit, soul, and energy the pure good toward which we are striving on our earthly journey? Will we only be truly spiritual and truly happy when we are finally free from the prison of this earth-bound flesh? The Bible answers these and similar questions with an emphatic “No!” The universe, including this earth and all its bodily creatures, came from the skilled and expert hand of the loving Creator and was considered “very good” (Gen 1:31). As a result of our sin, this material world needs redeeming, and by God’s grace, it will have a share in God’s redemption at the end of time (see Rom 8:19-21). One of the ways Scripture affirms the goodness and relevance of this world is by a prominent theology of land. All land belongs to God. God evicted the Canaanite peoples from the Promised Land because of their wickedness. He brought Israel into that land because of his promises to the patriarchs and because he wants the earth to be under human stewards who are attuned to its Maker. In ancient Israel, this stewardship was facilitated through the allotment of a livable portion of land to each household. Strictly speaking, the a...