Give Me The Hill CountryCampione

After the death of Joshua, many of the people decided to stop fighting and live the simple life, but others decided to keep pressing in until the job of conquering the Promised Land was finished. Caleb, of course, was one of them. This story of how he offers a daughter in marriage to the champion who takes the city may strike our modern sensibilities as barbaric. It’s certainly a good thing that women are not offered as war prizes by the civilized world, although in some parts of our planet that kind of thing still occurs. What is important here is that Caleb, in his cultural context and time, is demonstrating what can happen when a man is noble, brave, and strong. He receives esteem, fulfills his destiny, and “gets the girl.” There was a time when that was viewed as the ultimate happy ending. It is worth noting that the champion who wins his daughter is Othniel, a young man Caleb clearly would have known because this was his nephew. In some way, Othniel had been influenced by Caleb’s example of heroism and duty and now he begins to sense his own destiny. A happy ending for both the bride and groom, because in those days marrying well was much more esteemed than it is now. The Lord is faithful to give us opportunities for good battle, and Caleb’s life demonstrated this repeatedly.