(Joshua 14:11) As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out and to come in. ~ Yesterday I read Caleb's words in the Book of Joshua: "As my strength was then, so my strength is now!" This is quite interesting, and I've been thinking about it. Why did Caleb have such confidence? Caleb was 40 years old then, and now he's 85 when he said this! Why did Caleb say these words to Joshua? Because Caleb wanted to lead an army to attack the Anakites, who were also giants. From another perspective, we 85-year-olds are just thinking about how to live our retirement lives. How could we possibly lead an army to attack the Anakites? The tribe of Anak was also a Canaanite. Why did God want to destroy the Canaanites? Because the Canaanites disobeyed Jehovah God and committed wickedness throughout the land. So, to put it another way: Even at the age of 85, Caleb was still willing to help God destroy the evil demons. This means that Caleb had a perfect mindset: The demons could never defeat a righteous God! We can ask ourselves: If we were 85, and encountered unjust people, things, or situations, would we have the courage to stand up? I think: we see many people today, let alone those who are 85, who may be around 20, have lost their sense of right and wrong. To modern people, justice is trash! Modern people just want to follow the crowd and live a happy life, believing that what most people say is right! Why did 12 spies enter Canaan to spy, but only 2 of them made it? Why did over 600,000 Israelite men leave Egypt, but only 2 entered Canaan? The stories in the Bible aren't just stories to be read; God uses them to teach us many important truths!

Why did over 600,000 Israelite men die in the wilderness? God is telling us a very important truth: Even if thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of people tell us something is possible, God says: It is not possible, and it will surely fail! We shouldn't obey the words of men; we must uphold God's righteousness. Upholding God's righteousness is the only condition for our survival. Did God command the Israelites to conquer Canaan for His own benefit? Of course not! It was because Canaan was filled with wickedness, so God wanted to purge the wicked and give Canaan to Abraham's descendants. God repeatedly emphasized that the Israelites' possession of Canaan was not due to their righteousness, but rather to the wickedness of the Canaanites! If the Israelites had obeyed God and conquered Canaan, they would have inherited it. This is why obedience is blessing! But the Israelites simply disobeyed God! Except for Joshua and Caleb, every male Israelite believed that the Israelites could never inherit the land of Canaan. They simply believed that Jehovah God wanted the Israelites to die in Canaan! Is this a simple story? The content is simple, but the truth God wants to tell us is anything but simple! We often read the book of Joshua as a story, but we fail to see the true truth! Caleb and Joshua truly teach us that obedience brings blessings! If the Israelites had obeyed God from the beginning and attacked Canaan, would they have died in the wilderness??

Why did the Israelites disobey God? The Israelites had always been disobedient to God! They disobeyed God because they considered the people of Canaan greater than God! That's right! The Israelites had always considered the devil greater than God! The same is true in our evil and rebellious world! Why would we willingly obey the evil devil? Because we believe that "the power of evil is greater than the power of righteousness"! This is why the Israelites would rather obey "evil" than fight for "God's righteousness"! Because the Israelites didn't believe that God's righteousness could triumph over evil! This is quite interesting: Why did Caleb, at the age of 85, still dare to go out and attack the powerful tribe of Anak? Caleb constantly emphasized his unwavering reliance on Jehovah God! We must understand that human lifespans are limited, human physical strength is limited, and human abilities are limited. But is God limited by age, strength, and abilities? This is why, at the age of 85, Caleb still had the courage to fight for Jehovah God! Fighting evil isn't about "age and strength"; it's about whether we truly have the will to fight evil! Many people ask me: How can we distinguish between true and false Gods? We have been deceived by this world, which teaches us to distinguish true from false gods by their names. Is this right? Of course not! The true God is devoid of any "evil"; He is "perfectly righteous"! If a god simply uses wealth to win people's hearts, he is definitely not the "true God"! The "true God" doesn't need wealth to win people's hearts! The "true God" doesn't need wealth! And the "true God" won't do evil for wealth! If all things were created by the Creator, what wealth does He lack? Therefore, this passage teaches us another crucial point: God will completely destroy anyone who is evil or who identifies with evil! Just like the first generation of Israelites, only two entered the land of Canaan: Joshua and Caleb! Joshua and Caleb were willing to eliminate "evil," and therefore, they were qualified to enter the land of Canaan! We also understand 3 important truths from this passage: 1. Obedience is always blessed. 2. God's power is not limited by time, physical strength, or physical ability. 3. God's righteousness will endure, and evil will be completely destroyed! I hope everyone understands these truths, and may we all be blessed as Joshua and Caleb!!