Day 85

Joshua 12:7–15:19. “Slaying Giants”

The theme for this week is “living as foreigners.”  In John 17:14, Jesus says that we who are His followers are not of this world.  We are going to explore some of the ways in which Israel’s early years living in the Promised Land parallels our experience of living as God’s children in a broken and sinful world that is not our home.

         45 years after giving a positive report on the Promised Land, Caleb finally has his opportunity to conquer the land that God had promised to him (Numbers 14:24).  In chapter 14 Caleb senses his opportunity to ask permission to take this land.  It is not a simple task, though, since the Anakites (a race of giants) live there.  However, Caleb’s faith at 85 years old is still as strong as it was at 40, and he knows he will conquer if the Lord is with him.
         Caleb did not fear the giants that stood between him and God’s blessings.  He knew that his Lord is a mighty warrior and greater than the Anakites.
         What are the ‘giants’ in your life that must be defeated in order for you to experience the fullness of God’s blessing?  Maybe it is lust or pride or selfishness that has you defeated.  Caleb had faith that when the Lord was with him there was no enemy too great.  We can approach our ‘giants’ in the same way.

General Questions for each day:
Summarize the day’s Bible passage in your own words.
What thoughts, actions, attitudes or beliefs are addressed in the passage?
How is the Holy Spirit leading you to apply this passage to your life today?