Sun 9:30a Class; 10:30a Worship; 11:35a Communion
Bible Bites
City of Giants
CITY OF GIANTS
“Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba, for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.” (Josh. 14:15)
So hang with me for a second because this verse is impressive, but you have to know a little history to get there.
Kiriath-arba was named after a guy named Arba. Arba was the greatest Anakim. The Anakim were the people who were gigantic – Goliath was a descendant of the Anakim. So, the greatest man of the greatest people made a city.
And then a Jew came along and conquered the city… but not just any Jew – Caleb. Caleb, the spy who came back with a good report. Caleb, the man who told the people they could conquer the land because he believed in God and simply “brought word back to him [Moses] as it was in my heart.” (Josh. 14:7).
Caleb conquered the city just because it was in the part of the country where the Anakim dwelt (see Josh 14:12). And he did it when he was EIGHTY-FIVE years old!
So, if you are keeping score. An 85-year-old man defeated an entire city of goliaths because he wanted to stand by what he had said when he came back as a spy all those years ago. He waited forty years to give God glory through victory.
Before there was David the giant slayer, there was Caleb the conqueror.
Listen to what Caleb said when he returned from spying out the land…
“If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us--a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." (Numbers 14:8-9)
Put those truths in your heart, and you can be a Caleb, too.
