Have you ever bought an old house and started to renovate it but never been able to finish the job completely?  I certainly have. After nine or so years, Deb and my house still has a few unpainted walls. But that’s nothing, I reckon. Once, I knew a bloke who pulled the ceiling out of his dining room but for years was unable to make time to put in a new ceiling. The family ate meals and entertained friends with nothing but tin above their heads. Some may say he owned a house but hadn’t finished making his family’s home.

Last week Ruth took us through Joshua 10:1-14. It was a somewhat gritty tale, ultimately ending in the Israelites defeating the five southern kings. From this point to the end of chapter 11, further conquests are described involving the defeat of the northern kings. A list of all the defeated kings is set out in chapter 12. And as stated in Chapter 11, Verse 23, by the end of these conquests, Joshua had taken “the entire land, just as the Lord, had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions”.

But, at the beginning of chapter 13, after much time had passed, the Lord said to Joshua, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over”.

At first glance, this is a confusing transition. Ch 11, v 23. states that Joshua had ‘taken’ the whole land, while in Ch 13, we are told large areas of land have still not been ‘taken over’. However, the narrator is drawing a distinction between the rulers of a land being defeated and the actual taking-over of that land by the victors. That is, a distinction between the end of the successful Israelite conquest of the promised land and its actual settlement by the Israelites.

The Israelites have entered the promised land and defeated those who would force them back across the Jordan River but have since failed to take on God’s full promise by settling all across Israel. God has given Joshua and the Israelites a house to renovate, but they haven’t finished making it their true home.

Therefore, the Lord, unsurprisingly, urges Joshua forward by telling him to get on with the task of dividing and allocating the land to the Israelite tribes. God tells Joshua that he will continue to help them by, for example, driving out the Sidonians, but they have a responsibility to not just sit on their hands.

The rest of Chapter 13 sets out the existing land division on the eastern side of the Jordan, and verses 1 to 5 of Chapter 14 discuss land division on the western side of the river. Of note here is that the division involves drawing lots, not a free-for-all land grab. God wants a just distribution, not civil war, amongst the Israelite tribes. Also noteworthy, the Levites get no land allocation. This is because the Levites, as the priestly group, are to spread across the tribes serving God, not be encamped in their land, isolated from the other tribes.

For the rest of chapter 14, the narrator turns to the allotment for Caleb and his tribe, the people of Judea.

Caleb first appears back in the book of Numbers (Ch 13 & 14) as one of the men sent by God through Moses to explore Canaan and determine what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many (Numbers 13:18). All the spies, except Caleb and Joshua, came back quaking in fear over how numerous the people were, how well the cities were fortified, and how big the warriors were. They cried:

We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:33)

Caleb, however, said:

The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.  If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them. (Numbers 14:7-9)

Caleb and Joshua were the only spies who ultimately made it into the promised land. They did so because they did not rebel against God but followed the LORD wholeheartedly (see Deuteronomy 1:36).

Thus, in Joshua, the narrator quotes Caleb, who argues that because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly and remained righteous, the Judeans should be given what God promised: the hill country and Hebron. Joshua agrees and therefore gives the Judeans the land as their inheritance. And in Caleb’s case, his virtues, including courage, faith, and trust, enabled him and his tribe to go forward and settle in their allotment of the promised land. Then, according to the narrator, the Judeans’ land had rest from war.

Caleb and his people successfully moved from conquest to settlement through faith, trust, and a commitment to following all God’s commands. Caleb, with the help of his people and with the help of God, had fully renovated their house and now, at last, had a home.

So, what are we to take from all this?

We are told that Joshua is a history book. Given this, it is essential to note that while all history books are written in a cultural context somewhat foreign to us and by people occupying political, social and gendered positions that shape their writing, the authors of the 1st testament books were inspired by God. This means that despite their partialities, there are profound truths to be found in these texts, especially when we read them through the eyes of Christ.

And speaking of a Christ-centered view, I think the text of our second reading provides a very good looking-glass.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Looking at the universal Christian church, like Joshua and the Israelites, Christians are in the middle of a melee. Our faith is under assault from so many directions. People outside the church, some in ignorance – others with evil intent – call us bigoted and superstitious anachronisms. And sadly, this is being made worse by a noisy few in the church universal who have lost touch with Christ’s 2nd commandment and his call to love not just our neighbours but also strangers and enemies.

Meanwhile, the world is burning, poverty and inequality are growing, and violence against the vulnerable remains ever-present.

It would be easy at this point for us to speak like those Israelite spies back before crossing the Jordan (see Numbers 13:31-33). Like them, we could quake in fear and say the world we inhabit devours those living in it. Claim that our enemies are like the Nephilim, giants to whom we are but grasshoppers. We could give up, circle the wagons, hide behind the battlements, jump in our bunkers, and wait for the apocalypse.

However, we are not like those Israelites. Because of Christ, we have already crossed the Jordan into the promised land – we are saved.

Whilst we may be weary and frightened by what is happening around us, we can lay our burdens before Christ, who will give us rest. Then like Caleb, we can continue to take on God’s yoke; continue working to settle the world we have been given. That is, continue working to turn this falling-down, broken house we call earth into a home where everyone has the chance to know the love of Christ and find true peace for their souls in the now and not yet.

In this context, what is St Luke’s – our church, our community – but our sanctuary where we can lay our burdens, obtain succour from Christ, and learn from him through the Holy Spirit how to gently and humbly go back into the world to create change? Our place is, at its best, a home where love and worship reign, an escape from the vices of envy, jealousy, resentment, and hate. A community where we can rest in the arms of God, away from the struggles against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world, including those evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.

Finally, what can we, as individual Christians, learn from the ending of the Israelite conquest, the division of land across the Israelite tribes, and Caleb’s courage, faith, and trust in God? Here’s what I am thinking, informed somewhat by the figurative approach of the Patristic scholar, Origen.

Before becoming a Christian, many folks, it appears, stumble around, lost in a desert, with little more than a vague knowledge of God written on their hearts. I suspect many of us did this, unaware of God’s promises but with an intense yearning for some meaning in a brutal world. I know I did it for at least forty years. I hunted everywhere for God and pursued many false idols along the way.

Eventually, while already weary and burdened, some people’s lives explode disastrously. And this calamity somehow miraculously opens their eyes, and they finally see the banks of the Jordan river. Tears subside, they cross over into the arms of Christ, and they take on his promise and his forgiving yoke. If you enrol in the Alpha course, you will hear examples of these miracles. For me, the calamity was a very unexpected and devastating mental breakdown. It was only then that Christ, the holy spirit, came to me in the form of the most beautiful woman I have ever met – Deb.

I ran across the Jordan river as fast as my little legs could carry me. I had glimpsed the truth that lies beyond the maelstrom.

But, for many people, there is no end to war at this point; the conquest is just getting started. They are in the promised land and know Christ has saved them, but the battles for their heart continue. Satan doesn’t give up easily. Even though I know the war has ultimately been won because of God’s love and grace, anxiety, fear, depression, and sin still assault me way too much.

I must remind myself to reflect on Caleb’s actions during these personal struggles. We should all read and re-read the stories of Caleb. He carried on with faith, trust, and a commitment to following God’s commands until there was finally an end to war. Quoting Origen: Caleb is everyone who is devoted to divine understandings and who conducts all things wisely and reasonably.

Given that we are on the other side of the cross, each of us can continue to trust God and carry Christ’s yoke, knowing that because of God’s grace and with the help of the holy spirit, we have already won the conquest for our hearts. One day we know there will be an end to the war in our souls, and we will be settled in God’s home. Then we will no longer be weary, no longer burdened. In Christ, we can find true peace.

Let us pray.

Lord, thank you for the book of Joshua. There is so much in it that we can learn and apply to our walk with you in troubled times. And thank you, especially for the example of Caleb. Thank you also, Lord, for your amazing grace. So many of us were lost but found a home in your kingdom. Help us, Lord, to love our neighbours, our enemies, and those who are strangers. And help us, Lord, to fight for the souls of all who remain lost in the wilderness.  Amen.