“Kalev said: ‘To whoever overpowers Kiryat-Sefer and captures it I will give my daughter ‘Akhsah as his wife.’ Otni’el the son of K’naz, Kalev’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him ‘Akhsah his daughter as his wife. After becoming his wife, she persuaded him to ask her father to give them a field; when she got off her donkey, Kalev asked her, “What do you want?’ She said to him: ‘Give me a blessing: since you gave me land in the Negev, also give me sources of water.’ So Kalev gave her the Upper Springs and the Lower Springs.”-Judges 1:12-15
The next few verses from verse 12 retells the story of Caleb, the clan leader ruling over the tribe of Judah.
Do you remember him?
He was one of the 12 spies who was sent out to reconnoiter the land of Canaan and only one out of a mere 2 who came back with a positive report.
Here we see Caleb assigning Othniel the son of Kenaz the hefty task of conquering Debir.
This Caleb character brings up a couple of interesting points we’d be remiss to overlook.
Do you recall that Caleb is not a pure native born Hebrew?
Nope, he is of Edomite heritage.
Remember, the Edomites were descended from Esau.
Esau was the one who sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup.
Yet over time, Caleb’s ancestors rose to not only become part of the tribe of Judah, Caleb also rose to become the most powerful clan within the tribe of Judah.
This is a point we shouldn’t casually gloss over folks.
Why?
Because it shows how from even a very early point in Israel’s history, being a part of God’s people extended far beyond blood ties.
From the very beginning, Israel was a very ethnically diverse nation.
This is something I witnessed firsthand when I traveled to the Promised Land a couple of years ago.
In a sense, entering Israel was like entering a mini snapshot of civilization itself containing a multitude of different cultures and countries crammed into it with different languages being spoken all over the place (not just Hebrew).
Anyways, back to our text study.
So in exchange for his efforts to take Debir, Caleb agrees to give his daughter’s hand (called Akhsah) in marriage to Othniel.
Bloodwise, Othniel was probably Caleb’s daughter’s uncle.
As part of the bride’s share, we’re told she received land and rights to the water wells.
In a dry desert area like the Negev where water was a precious resource, this would have been essential.
Next, let’s take a look at verse 16.
“Next, the descendants of the Keini, Moshe’s father-in-law, went up out of the City of Date-Palms with the people of Y’hudah into the Y’hudah Desert south of ‘Arad; and they came and settled with the people.”
This is a nice little summation of history referring to Moses’ father-in-law’s clan called the Kenites (or the Keini).
The Kenites are a clan from the tribe of Midian.
Remember, Midian is where Moses fled to after killing the Egyptian guard.
Midian is also the place where Moses had his Burning Bush experience.
And by the way, don’t be confusing the Kenites with the Kennezites.
These are two totally different people groups.
Moses’ wife’s side of the family ended up moving to a territory known as the City of Date-Palms.
There’s a bit of dispute on the precise location of this area.
Some folks say the City of Date-Palms was located dead center inside of Jericho.
However, others insist it was located outside of Jericho to the south.
To close, the takeaway for today is awesome and it is this:
If you are faithful to God, in due time, God will be faithful right back to you.
The story of Caleb is historical evidence of just how true this is.
Caleb was a man, not even an ethnic Hebrew, who went against the majority who made the wrong decision to not attack Canaan after their scouting expedition.
What happened to the unfaithful?
They perished in the wilderness.
But not Caleb.
Not only did God bring him into the Promised Land, but He gave Caleb tremendous influence, power and authority in the Promised Land.
And so shall it be for all those who hold tight to God’s promises, especially during these trying times.
CONNECTING THESE TEACHINGS TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Watch out! Don’t let anyone fool you!
For many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray.
You will hear the noise of wars nearby
and the news of wars far off;
see to it that you don’t become frightened.
Such things must happen,
but the end is yet to come.
For peoples will fight each other,
nations will fight each other,
and there will be famines and earthquakes
in various parts of the world;
all this is but the beginning of the ‘birth-pains.’
At that time you will be arrested
and handed over to be punished
and put to death,
and all peoples will hate you because of me.
At that time many will be trapped
into betraying and hating each other,
many false prophets will appear and fool many people;
and many people’s love will grow cold
because of increased distance from Torah.
But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered.
And this Good News about the Kingdom
will be announced throughout the whole world
as a witness to all the Goyim.
It is then that the end will come.
-Matthew 24:4-14
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