Joshua 14:6-15:19 - Give Me This Hill

How do we keep following the Lord wholeheartedly over time?

In Joshua 14:6-15:19, Caleb remembers the promise God gave forty-five years earlier and asks Joshua for the hill country the Lord had spoken about. The same kind of fortified cities and Anakim that once terrified Israel still stood before him, but Caleb’s faith remained anchored in the Lord who keeps His word.

In this sermon from Metro Life Church’s series Joshua: People of God’s Promise, Pastor Chris Jessee helps us see that wholehearted following is not sustained by human toughness, emotional energy, or favorable circumstances. Caleb’s confidence began with the Lord who gave the promise and kept him alive for the promise. His faith had eyes open to the difficulty, but his heart remained fixed on the faithfulness of God.

This passage speaks to anyone who feels the test of time in the Christian life. Some began with sincere faith, but now feel worn down by delay, responsibility, grief, temptation, or disappointment. Caleb reminds us that faithfulness over time comes from remembering what God has said, recognizing how God has kept us, facing what still stands before us, and receiving what God gives through obedient faith.

This message offers a clear picture of what it means to follow the Lord with an undivided heart. It calls us to remember God’s promises more deeply than we remember the pain of delay. It encourages us to name the hill country without surrendering to it. It reminds us that God’s promises do not make obedience unnecessary, and our obedience does not make God’s promises unnecessary.

Ultimately, Caleb points us beyond himself to Jesus Christ. Caleb was a faithful servant, but Jesus is the faithful Son. Jesus obeyed where we have been half-hearted, trusted where we have feared, endured where we have grown weary, and secured the inheritance we could never earn. In Christ, God’s people receive forgiveness, adoption, the Holy Spirit, resurrection life, and the hope of new creation.

Key Takeaways

Wholehearted following remembers God’s promise.
Caleb carried the word of the Lord for forty-five years. He remembered what God had said more deeply than he remembered the pain of delay.

The Lord keeps His people for what He has promised.
Caleb did not credit his own strength for making it to eighty-five. He testified, “The LORD has kept me alive.” Our faith is sustained by God’s faithful grip on us.

Faith names the hill without surrendering to it.
Caleb did not pretend the Anakim and fortified cities were small. He saw the difficulty clearly, but he trusted that the Lord would be with him.

God gives, and faith takes hold.
Caleb received the inheritance God promised, yet he still had to possess it by obedient faith. God’s promises move His people into trusting obedience.

Jesus secures the better inheritance.
Caleb received Hebron, but Jesus secures an inheritance that cannot perish, spoil, or fade. In Him, we receive grace, rest, belonging, the Spirit, and resurrection hope.