The other elders, leaders, judges, and officials presented themselves. Joshua had summoned all Israel to Shechem, where Joseph’s bones had been buried in the tract of land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.
As Caleb watched, unease filled him. Perhaps he should have paid closer attention to what was happening with the other tribes. Since gaining permission to take the hill country, he had concentrated on nothing else. With Hebron now in his hands, he had made plans to put his hand to the plow again and sow crops. Surely it was time.
“The Lord has given us rest from all our enemies.” Joshua spread his hands. “I am an old man now.”
A faint rumbling rose from the men. Caleb frowned, studying Joshua’s face. He seemed distressed, more distressed than he had seen him since the night he had fully realized God had chosen him to lead the people. Caleb turned to the others. “Be quiet. Joshua has called us here on matters of great importance.”
Joshua nodded solemnly. “You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. The Lord your God has fought for you against your enemies.”
As Joshua continued, speaking slowly, with great deliberation, Caleb felt the impatience in those around him. He could almost hear their thoughts: Why is Joshua telling us the same things he has told us countless times before? “So be strong! Be very careful to follow all the instructions written in the Book of the Law of Moses.” Joshua reminded them once again of how God had brought them into the land He had promised them, driven out the enemies before them, how it had not been their swords and bows, but God’s power, that had given them the land in which they now lived, eating from vineyards and olive groves they did not plant.
“Every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!”
When Joshua looked at him, Caleb was caught by the sorrow he saw in his friend’s eyes. There was a deeper purpose for this gathering, a solemn assembly. “I am old,” Joshua had said. Caleb had smiled at that. For he was older still.
“But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things He promised, He will also bring disaster on you if you disobey Him. He will completely wipe you out from this good land He has given you. If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, His anger will burn against you.”
Caleb closed his eyes and bowed his head. Have we sinned, Lord? Is that why You give this warning? Are there some among us who are already turning away?
“So honor the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone.” Joshua’s mouth twisted in derision. “But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live?” His mouth softened and he looked at Caleb again, eyes shining. “But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
“We would never forsake the Lord and worship other gods!”
The others joined in Caleb’s answer.
Hebron rose. “For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt.”
“He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes!”
“As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, He preserved us.”
“It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites . . .”
“. . . and the other nations living here in the land.”
Caleb held out his hands. “So we, too, will serve the Lord, for He alone is our God.” May the Lord hear our words and hold us to them. And may Joshua be comforted. He had never seen Joshua so grim, so tired, so old.
“You are not able to serve the Lord,” Joshua continued, “for He is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and sins.”
“No!”
“If you forsake the Lord and serve other gods, He will turn against you and destroy you, even though He has been so good to you.”
“No!” Caleb cried out in anguish. “We are determined to serve the Lord!”
“You are accountable for this decision.” Joshua spoke in a quiet, fierce voice. “You have chosen to serve the Lord.”
“Yes!” the men cried out. “We are accountable!”
“All right, then—” Joshua clenched his hands—“destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
Shock ran through Caleb. Idols among us? He glanced around. He saw men lower their eyes, others pale. He thought of Achan and how easy it would be for someone to hide an idol among his possessions. He turned back with a fierce anger. If he had to search every household himself, he would do so.
The people heard the message of the Lord and made a covenant there at Shechem. Joshua drew up for them the decrees and laws so that no one could say they did not know what God required of them. Everything was recorded carefully in the Book of the Law of God. Joshua took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near where the Ark of the Covenant rested. “This stone has heard everything the Lord said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.” Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
Caleb lingered. It had been years since he had walked with Joshua. Their steps were slower now, more deliberate. Though their bodies were weakening, their friendship remained strong.
“I am filled with sorrow over the people, Caleb.”
“That they will lose faith?”
“Yes. And resolve.”
“We have given our vow, Joshua.”
Joshua let out his breath and shook his head. He smiled sadly. “Not all men keep their vows as you do, my friend.”
“The Lord will hold them to it.”
“Yes, and they will suffer.”
Troubled, Caleb paused. “Let an old man rest.”
Joshua stood on a knoll overlooking the fertile lands around Shechem. “I feel the seeds of rebellion growing.”
“Where? We will uproot them!”
“The seeds are in the heart of every man.” He gripped his garment in a tight fist. “How do we change that, Caleb?”
“We have the Law, Joshua. That’s why God gave it to us.”
“Is it?”
“Isn’t it?” Caleb wanted to shake Joshua out of his grim reverie. “The Law is as solid as the stones on which God carved it. It is the Law God has given us that will hold us together.”
“Or drive us apart. All men are not as passionate about doing right as you are, Caleb. Most are eager to live in peace, even if that means compromise.” Joshua spoke firmly, not as an old man whining over past days and faint worries of the future.
“What do you want me to do, Joshua? Speak openly.”
“I want you to do what you have always done. Have faith in the Lord. Stand firm. Speak out when you see men weaken.” He gripped Caleb’s arm. “Keep watch! We are still at war, Caleb, though the enemy appears vanquished. We are at war and retreat is impossible.”
Sitting in the shade of his olive tree, Caleb spotted a man running up the road. He felt a deep stirring. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head.
“Where is Caleb?” a breathless voice shouted. “Caleb! I must speak with Caleb!”
Sighing, Caleb rose. “I’m here.”
The young man ran up the hill to him. Caleb knew him well though the years had altered him. “Ephraim, aren’t you?”
“Ephraim’s son, Hirah.”
“I remember when your father was a boy. He followed Joshua around like a pet lamb. We—”
“Joshua is dead!”
Caleb fell silent. He couldn’t take it in, didn’t want to, closed his ears to it. No, not Joshua. Joshua was fifteen years younger than he. Joshua was God’s anointed leader. Joshua!
“Joshua is dead.” The boy dropped to his knees, hunched over, and wept.
Anguish filled Caleb and he u
ttered a loud cry, then tore his garments.
Oh, Lord, my friend, my friend! What will happen to Israel now? Who will lead these stubborn people? Who, Lord?
Even as the thoughts came to him, shame filled him. Who else but the Lord had led them? Who else but God Himself could be king over such a nation as Israel?
Forgive me, Lord. After all these years, I should know better than to ask such questions. Forgive me. Help me stand firm.
Caleb put his hand on the boy’s head. “Rise up, Hirah. Tell me everything.”
Joshua had been buried at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. The boy bore other grievous news. Eleazar, son of Moses’ brother, Aaron, was ailing at Gibeah.
Caleb took Hirah to his home and gave him food and drink. “How have the tribes taken the news?”
“With confusion. No one knows what to do now that Joshua is dead.”
Caleb scowled. “We do what the Lord has told us to do. We cleanse the land of idol worshipers and keep our covenant with Him.” It had not been that many years since they had made the covenant with Joshua at Shechem. Had they forgotten everything he had said to them already?
“We are preparing to travel to Shechem for Passover. The Lord will make His will known to us. Go now, in peace.”
Caleb’s sons made preparations for the journey, including in the provisions plunder they had collected from the hill country villages they had conquered. Caleb wondered if they were more interested in trade than in worship. When they arrived, there was sorrow mixed with jubilation. Joshua and Eleazer were well remembered, but as the council met and men talked, Caleb realized now much work there was yet to do. Why had it been so long left undone? The tribes had received their inheritances, and still they failed to drive all the Canaanites from their land. Worse, the tribal elders were in confusion over Joshua’s death.
“Who will be the first to go out and fight for us against the Canaanites?”
“How do we decide?”
What manner of men were they? When had they ever decided anything?
At least Phinehas, son of Eleazar, high priest of Israel, remembered. “The Lord decides!”
Lots were cast and God’s answer came swiftly.
“Judah.” Phinehas stood. “Judah is to go and fight. The Lord has given the land into their hands.”
Once, Caleb would have been exultant. Now, he stood silent, grim with resolve while his sons and the men of Judah shouted their response. Too many in Israel lacked the faith to take and hold their land and keep it purified. Did they think Judah could do for them what God had told them they must do for themselves? Some had allowed the pagans to remain pocketed in fertile valleys or nestled in ravines. The Lord had said these idol worshipers would be like thorns in Israel’s side if allowed to remain. None must remain.
His sons came to him. “We have made an alliance with our Simeonite brothers. If they will come up into the territory allotted to us to fight against the Canaanites, we will in turn go with them into theirs.”
“Did you inquire of the Lord about this alliance?”
“They are our brothers, Father. Hasn’t the Lord said from the beginning that we are to come alongside one another? Didn’t you say—”
“Has every man among you forgotten what happened when we did not inquire of the Lord over the Gibeonites?”
“These are our brothers!” Mesha said.
Caleb raged. “And the Lord said Judah is to go! The Lord has given the land into Judah’s hand.”
They all talked at once, rationalizing and justifying their decision.
“Enough.” They might as well have kicked Caleb in the stomach. Simeon! These brothers used their swords as implements of violence. Even Jacob had said not to enter into their council or be united in their assemblies, for they were cursed because of their anger and cruelty. As was Levi. The Lord had dispersed the Levites among the tribes as priests, but what of the Simeonites? How would the Lord disperse them? And what trouble would arise if Judah aligned with them?
“When will you learn we must heed the Word of the Lord and follow Him only?”
When men made their own plans, disaster was sure to follow.
Judah attacked the Canaanites at Bezek and the Lord was with them. They struck down hundreds, then thousands.
Bloodied by those he had cut down, Caleb spotted the king of Bezek with his circlet of gold. “There is Adoni-bezek.” He hacked his way toward the Canaanite king, and saw the man flee the raging battle. “Don’t let him escape!”
Some of the men of Judah went in pursuit. Caleb did not leave the battlefield, but roused the men of Judah and Simeon to destroy the enemies of God. Ten thousand were cut down before they could scatter in retreat. When Caleb saw Adoni-bezek, he was appalled. The man’s thumbs and big toes had been chopped off. The conquered king stumbled and fell, sobbing in agony.
Caleb raged. “What have you done?”
Shelumiel, leader of the Simeonites, spoke, head high, chin jutting. “What he deserves! We have done to him what he did to the seventy kings who ate scraps under his table.”
Moaning in the dust, Adoni-bezek cried out, “God has paid me back.”
“Kill him,” Caleb ordered. Surely there was more mercy in killing him outright than torturing and mutilating him.
“We will kill him!” Shelumiel looped a rope around the Canaanite’s neck. “When we’re ready.” The men of Simeon laughed at the man’s plight. He was led up the mountain. When he fell, they dragged him. He was given only enough water to keep him alive. When the army arrived before the city of Jerusalem, Adoni-bezek was brought up before the men and stood before the walls. Shelumiel executed him there so the Jebusites could witness his death.
Furious, Caleb ordered them to leave. “Go home. Go back to your own land!” He wanted no part of these men.
“What are you talking about? We’ve come to help you. You can’t destroy these people without us.”
“The Lord said Judah was to go up. Not Simeon! Would you rebel against the Lord with whom you just renewed a covenant?” Caleb looked at Adoni-bezek’s body. The Lord had said to kill the Canaanites, not torture them. “Go south and fight for your land.”
“You made an alliance to help us!”
“We will help you after we have taken Jerusalem.”
The Simeonites departed, but his sons were not pleased. “How are we going to deal with the Jebusites without more men?”
Caleb was angrier with the men of Judah than with the Simeonites. “We do not need more men. The Lord is our strength. Trust in Him. Do not put your faith in men. Our victory does not depend on the number of warriors, or how many horses or chariots, but on the power of the God who delivered us from Egypt!”
Rallied, the men cried out to the Lord to give them help. But Caleb wondered then what the future held.
Joshua had been right in speaking to Israel that last time in Shechem. Joshua had seen the way things were going.
And now, Caleb feared he saw as well.
The gates were breached, the walls scaled, the men on the battlements killed. Screams rent the air, carrying across the narrow valley in which a grove of olives grew. Every man, woman, and child who had not fled before the onslaught of Judah died within the walls. “Burn it!” Caleb commanded, and men ran with torches, setting houses, altars, and piles of wooden household gods on fire.
The army of Judah headed south and joined forces with Simeon. They fought against and defeated the Canaanites. Simeonites settled in Beersheba, Hormah, and Arad.
Judah turned north once again, fighting against the Canaanites who had come back into the hill country during their absence. Judah took the Negev and the western hills, and returned to Hebron in force, destroying the remnant of Anak who attempted to reclaim it.
“They keep coming back!”
“They’re like a plague of locusts!”
Judah’s army drove out the Canaanites from the hill country, killing every one of them they found. Only Cale
b sent his men in pursuit of those who escaped. “The Lord was clear. If you don’t finish them, they will keep coming back. Now, go after them and destroy them completely.”
They obeyed until the winter months and then returned to their homes. They were tired of fighting. They wanted to celebrate their victories and tell tales of their great feats. They praised the Lord, too, but mostly they talked of what they had accomplished over the years of fighting. Areas remained unconquered; enemies hid, plotted, and spread in the recesses of the hill country.
“We will finish the work when spring comes.”
When spring came, the people of Judah planted crops.
“Next year we will finish the job.”
And with each year sin grew.
Triumph gave way to complacency.
The Benjamites failed to hold Jerusalem. The Jebusites poured back into the city and the Benjamites could not dislodge them.
The tribe of Manasseh chose not to drive out the people of Beth-shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo nor the surrounding settlements. Instead, they made the Canaanites forced labor.
The tribe of Ephraim did not succeed in driving out the Canaanites living in Gezer.
The tribe of Zebulun allowed the Canaanites to live in Kitron and Nahalol. They did not follow the example of Manasseh, but made alliances with the people of the land and began adopting their ways.
The tribe of Asher did not drive out those living in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib or Helbah, or in Aphek or Rehob. Asher dwelt among the people of the land.
The tribe of Naphtali left the inhabitants in Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath living in peace, and lived among them.
“We can’t drive them from the plains, Father.”
“You must rely upon the Lord.”
“We have prayed.”
“We have fasted.”
“We have done everything we can think to do. And we cannot drive them out.”