“Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.” (Joshua 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.” (Joshua 14:7).
Caleb conquered the city just because it was in the part of the country that the Anakim dwelt (see Joshua 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 just because he wanted to prove what he had told everyone 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, there was Caleb.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
This Week’s Reading: Joshua 7-14; Psalm 24; Proverbs 24 This year, #Biblebites are looking at lessons from the history of the Old Testament. Each week reads a section of history with a Psalm to meditate on and a dash of Proverbs to dwell upon. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2024-vision