Joshua 13:1-14:15
We don’t see a lot of Caleb throughout the Exodus story but he was a constant present and, as the leader of Judah, an important one. Three things about him that I really like are 1) He never seems to have lost his vigour for the Lord despite having his hopes delayed for 45 years of hard and punishing work! 2) He humbly submits his request for Hebron to Joshua as his leader despite having previously been Joshua’s peer and despite the fact that as leader of the largest tribe he could have used some political pressure tactics to add weight to his case. 3) He shows that you can never out-give God. Caleb didn’t do a whole lot other than trust God that he could give Israel the land that He promised them but God lavishes on him a long-standing, generous gift of one of the most significant cities in the promised land. Caleb wonderfully illustrates the recurring theme throughout the Old Testament (and the new, and in life today!) that any human attempt at worship and obedience is always completely super-abundantly reciprocated by the recklessly generous God that we serve.
Luke 24:36-53
I must confess that this little nugget of vs45-49 has never caught my eye before. But it is an absolute gem. It pretty much represents Jesus’ summary of history from the point of his birth onwards. Jesus, the Christ - the anointed one - the Messiah - the King of the earth - would be executed but would overcome the grave and, like a tsunami following the earthquake of the resurrection, the message of repentance and forgiveness would spread out from Jerusalem, crashing onto the shores of every nation around the world. We have been born into this history. Our job is to spread the message of repentance and to watch then forgiveness hit. This message of repentance is not a condemning message but a liberating one; it is an appeal for people to turn around and walk towards light and hope and peace. It is an appeal for people to lay down their burdens and let go of their insecurities, to be freed from their wickedness and cleansed in their consciences. And, as with the story of Caleb, such repentance does not end with human activity but is overwhelmingly responded to by our forgiving and giving God. We are not calling people to a detox so that they can try to live more simply and healthily but are informing them of their Heavenly Father who has an embrace so wide that it completely restores you and pockets so deep that they could fund and empower you for ever. This is the message we have received and it is the message we share with the world. That is what the Holy Spirit has been sent for.
Psalm 52:1-9
Unlike David, “I am like an olive tree” is not a thought that has ever popped into my mind.
