Judges 1:1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, "Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?" NKJV
The Last Man Standing
After the death of general Joshua, a whole new generation of Israel is left to conquer the Promised Land. All of the previous generation that lived in Egypt as slaves, left Egypt under the victorious and redemptive hand of God were now dead! All that is except one and he is literally the last man standing and his name is DOG.
I am a dog lover and I mean real dogs, I mean working dogs, yes I mean of course, Border Collies! These kind of Dog’s are truly man’s best friend, and are chiefly marked by their companionship, their strength and their humble faithfulness. So was Caleb, son of Jephunne of the tribe of Judah. This last man standing is of remarkable spirit. He shines among Israel, his strength being rooted in a personal relationship with the Most High and in his committed and personal holiness. There is life in this old dog and lot’s of it. I look at him now, straining at the leash, his grey haired muzzle straight and true, his eyes focused and fixed on the prize, his feet ready for action, his body stilled in taut and watching expectancy. Revered head of his family, chief of his clan and renowned among his tribe of Judah, when the prayer of direction is offered up to God the answer from the Father’s lips is swift and sure.
Listen: Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, "Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?" And the Lord said, "Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand." Judges 1:1-2
God has not forgotten this old Dog and rewards his strength and courage, ney, watches with smiling glee as the younger hounds hold back against the foe and this old dog chases the biggest and the baddest, up the lofty mountain top and takes it for his own! Caleb might be old, Caleb might be the last man standing, but he has been feeding on the word and friends, that means even at a good old age, he’s as fit as a butcher’s dog. How are you planning to spend your latter years? In a rest home by the sea, sucking humbugs and sipping tea? Or up some mountain, slaying giants and singing nearer my God to thee?
Listen: - As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said." And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. NKJV
Pray:- Lord, I would be an old dog, the mouth of my spirit full of chomping teeth! Not gumsy and limping along crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and maybe bow-legged with nutrient deficient rickets. Let me not get fat and have my belly drag the ground, nor allow my breath to labour or my open mouth to drool over my fur of motley grey, hardly covering the flee eaten flesh, I have long been far too tired to scratch. No, I would rather be an old dog like Caleb! Ready, fit and strong, still straining at the leash even in my later years. Lord give me this special difference of spirit now and so prepare me in my younger days to be an old dog fighting still. Yes, even restore to me the health of those years which the Locusts have eaten. In Jesus name I bark it, Woof and Woof again!
No comments:
Post a Comment