Joshua 14:12–13: “‘Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.’ And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.”

April 4th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The background of Caleb’s name is probably important since we’ve seen before that people’s and place’s names usually have spiritual significance. Caleb simply means dog. Dogs were of no value in that culture, and so to call someone a dog was a terrible thing to say about them. One can’t help but wonder what kind of parents Caleb had that they would name their child that way.

If we trace Caleb’s lineage in 1 Chronicles, we find that he was adopted into a family within the tribe of Judah as a proselyte to Judaism. Gentile converts to the Jewish faith were folded directly into the nation and became members of one of the twelve tribes. It seems probable that Caleb was an abandoned, unwanted child who was providentially folded into the family of God. Before his adoption into Israel, he probably didn’t have a family that he could be proud of but God sovereignly placed him into the tribe of Judah, where he became a member of aristocracy, because it was from Judah that the great spiritual, political, and military leaders of the nation came.

Just as Caleb was adopted as an alien into the people of God, so also each one of us, through faith in Jesus, has been adopted into His spiritual family forever. There is a beautiful statement about Jesus in Hebrews 2:11 stating that Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters. When you consider Caleb’s origins and all the things he had going against him as a child, the fact that he lived out his faith with such gusto, vitality, enthusiasm, and whole-heartedness is inspiring. Caleb refused to be victimized by his past or to be a prisoner of his own life script. So in Joshua 14, at the age of 85, this tough, old warrior came to Joshua to claim his inheritance. He went from being adopted into the tribe to being the spokesman for the rest of the tribe Judah. He had become a prince of Judah, an honored leader in the largest, most prominent tribe in the nation.

“LORD, make us warriors for Your Kingdom this day. Thank You for adopting us into Your family.”