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Inheriting Hebron

 

Joshua 14:6-14 “And Caleb…said unto him (Joshua)…I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land whereupon thy feet have walked shall be your inheritance, and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord thy God’…And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb Hebron for an inheritance…Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb unto this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.”

This is such a powerful portion of scripture, that we could spend days dissecting its hidden truths and write volumes on the revelation it bears on showing the condition of the human heart.

Jesus said in Mark 4:8 that the seed that fell on good ground and yielded fruit, that some “brought forth thirty-fold, and some sixty-fold, and some a hundred-fold.”  Wow…think of it!!  This is the seed that fell on the good soil; and even then only a third of them brought forth fruit a hundred-fold.  How can this be, someone might ask?  It’s all based on the condition of the human heart.

Where is your heart really before the Lord today?  How much fruit are you bearing in Him and for Him?  The percentage of the fruit you bear will be indicative of the inheritance you receive.  Caleb inherited the best of the best.  Hebron means “the binding friendship” “the place of intimate friendship” “the land of everlasting fellowship with God.”

You will remember that Abraham left Bethel and went and dwelt in Hebron and built an altar at Hebron.  This is where he lived out the rest of his days.  This is where God brought him after he learned life’s lessons of not backsliding anymore, of trusting God and relying upon Him for everything, of being broken before God and emptied of himself and filled with God.

The deep truth that we can learn from this is how much Caleb’s heart was turned towards the Lord.  Oh, how much he loved God, how much he trusted God, how much he really believed God.  I pray that in that great day it might be said of me that I had a spirit like Caleb.  It says in the book of Daniel that Daniel “was a man of an excellent spirit”.  Yes, I want to be like Daniel; but I really want to be a man of a faithful spirit like Caleb.

Hebron is calling.  Can you hear Hebron calling you?  The more I love God and the more I love His word, the more I find myself living in Hebron; yea, inheriting Hebron.  Caleb fully followed the Lord.  A man can only do this when his heart has been given over completely to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, are there things in your life that are keeping you from “wholly following the Lord?”  Are there things in your life that are hindering you from inheriting the good land?  Then cast it off of you like a moth eaten garment.

These things are so beautiful and so spiritual, that you cannot grasp these things nor understand them with your mind.  2^nd Corinthians 3 says that “when the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is lifted“.  What does a veil do?  It covers, it hides, it disguises.  Paul spoke of an “unfeigned love of the brethren.”  How much more should we have an unfeigned love for God?  That word unfeigned means no masks, no facades, no hidden agendas, and total transparency.

Caleb didn’t try to hide anything from God.  He realized that God saw everything, heard everything and recorded everything.  Caleb’s sole purpose in life was to walk before God holy, perfect, upright and blameless.  Where is your walk before God today?  God has said, “Be ye holy.” God has said, “Be ye perfect.” God has said, “Walk before me blameless.”  God has said, “Only he who has a pure heart and clean hands shall ascend my holy hill.”  Do you measure up to God’s word?

A brother sent me a staggering statistic this morning:  less than 4% of evangelical Christians in America spend time in God’s word or in prayer.  I have news for you brethren.  Jesus’ demands of us are very high indeed.  As a matter of fact, they are so high that many are offended at His commands.  As I posted on Facebook the other day, “When the topic of holiness, righteousness, and living a life free from sin comes up, many will cry “Legalism, Legalism!!” But it is only because either they love their sin, or at the very least it is because it has touched an area of compromise in their conscience. “Be ye holy“…”Be ye perfect“…”Unless your righteousness exceeds that of…”

I do not think people realize how serious these issues are.  I do not think people realize that there is a possibility of them losing it all.  Oh, the coldness, callousness, and complacency of the human heart.  So many are in a spiritual stupor and asleep. “AWAKE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!”  The sun is setting, the day is coming to a close.  Can you see it, can you sense it?

My prayer before God, with many tears, is that like Caleb, I might be very serious and sober in these spiritual matters.  I do not want to miss out!! I do not want to be ashamed at His coming! I do not want to stand before Him naked and undone! I want to be found clothed with Christ and clothed with righteousness.  I want Caleb to be smiling at me at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Brethren, God has set eternity in our hearts.  He has said that we can have days of heaven upon earth…if we will only believe.  Have you lost heart?  Have you lost faith? Find it again in Christ. Find it again in His word.