The Warrior: Caleb (14 page)

“Spare my children!” Achan screamed, weeping. “At least my sons so that my name will . . .”

“Why have you brought trouble on us?” Joshua’s voice carried so that all those standing around the rim of the small valley heard. “The Lord will now bring trouble on you.” He took up a rock. Caleb did likewise, gripping it tightly, palm sweating, tears filling his eyes.

Achan’s screams were abruptly silenced, as were those of his sons and daughters. The animals were not so easily killed. When everything that breathed was dead, the remains and all Achan’s possessions were torched. Then stones were piled up in a heap.

Silent, the people dispersed.

Caleb returned to his tent with his sons and grandsons. Some wept. Others were quiet. Some questioned.

Caleb stood firm. “Achan had to die!”

“Yes, but did his children?” One of the women wept.

Caleb felt every day of his eighty years. “They knew. Don’t you understand? They all knew. Achan buried inside his tent what he stole from God. Do you think his sons and daughters didn’t know about it?” He swept his arms wide. “Could I dig a hole here and my family not see it? No! Achan’s sons and daughters saw what he did and said nothing. They forsook the Word of the Lord and followed their father. They were all guilty!”

“He loved Ardon like a brother.” Shobab shook his head. “They were friends from childhood. You heard what he said. He wasn’t thinking clearly when he took those things. It all happened in the heat of battle. He didn’t mean to sin . . .”

“
Do not pity him!
” Tears streamed down Caleb’s face. “Achan knew he sinned. It took time to smuggle those things out of Jericho. It took time to hide them. He thought he could steal from God and no one would know, and Ardon died at Ai because of him. To show him pity is to rebel against the Lord’s judgment. Think of Ardon and the thirty-five others who died because of one man’s greed. We grieve and suffer now because of Achan. He had herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. His sons rode on donkeys like young princes. God had given him wealth. Was he satisfied? No! Was he thankful? No!” He spit in disgust. “Your brother and the others died because Achan wanted a robe, a few silver shekels, and a wedge of gold!”

For forty years, he had taught and counseled his sons and grandsons. Did they still not understand? “You
must
obey the Lord. Whatever He says, you must do. God gave us the Law to protect us, to teach us how to live righteously before Him. The battle belongs to the Lord. We are to be holy as He is holy!”

“How can we do that, Father?” Hur, the only son of his beloved Ephrathah, leaned forward. “You know we love you and respect you.” He held his hands out. “We all strive to do whatever you ask of us because we know you live for God. But I want to know, Father. How is it possible to be holy like God? How can we keep every law laid upon our backs? I try. God must know I try. But I fail.”

Caleb saw the anguish in his son’s eyes. He saw the others were troubled as well.

“Yes.” He let out his breath slowly. “Yes, we all fail.” He banged his chest with his fists. “But inside, we fight to do what the Lord wills. We must fight our inclinations!” They listened more intently now than they had for a long time. “The battle is not over what’s out there. The battle is within us, always within us.”

Achan had been judged rightly, and now they must forget their sorrow and their losses and move forward. With God!

“If you can only remember one command, my sons, let it be this: Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. If you can do that, God will show you that all things are possible with Him.” Caleb spread his hands. “Say it with me.” And they did. “Say it again.” And they did, louder. “
And again!
” And they shouted it.

“Say it every day for the rest of your lives, and live by your word.” Bowing his head, Caleb prayed a blessing upon them.

“Hide in ambush close behind the city and be ready for action.” Joshua pointed to the map. Caleb studied the markings so he would know where he would hold the men. Joshua straightened. “When our main army attacks, the men of Ai will come out to fight as they did before, and we will run away from them. We will let them chase us until they have all left the city. For they will say, ‘The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.’ Then you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will give it to you.”

“And when we have the city in our hands?”

“Set the city on fire, as the Lord has commanded. You have your orders.”

Caleb led the men by night to their position behind the city. They waited until early the next morning when a messenger reported that Joshua had mustered his men and was on the move. From his position, Caleb could see Joshua’s army approach the city and form in front of it, setting up camp north of Ai, with a valley between them and the city. With Caleb’s five thousand men to the west of the city, the men of Ai would be boxed into that valley with no escape.

Shouting arose as warriors poured from the gates of Ai, chasing Joshua and his army toward the desert. Caleb snapped his fingers and several messengers ducked down beside him. “The men of Ai are in pursuit of Joshua. Alert the men!” The men of Ai raced across the valley, leaving the gates of the city open and unguarded. Spotting Joshua, Caleb waited, teeth gritted, for the sign.

And then it came. Joshua pointed his javelin toward Ai.

“Now!” Caleb shouted and rose up. Those under his command followed him up the slope and in through the city gates. People screamed and ran, but didn’t get far. “Torch the city. Hurry!” Fires were set and the buildings took flame, smoke billowing into the sky. “To the battle!”

Caleb mustered his men. The warriors of Ai were in full retreat into the valley, but they couldn’t escape for five thousand Israelites blocked them. “
For the Lord!
” Sword raised, Caleb ran toward the warriors of Ai. “For the Lord!” Thousands responded.

The valley became like a bowl of blood. Every warrior of Ai died there. Joshua took the king of Ai and hung him on a tree until evening, then ordered his body taken down and thrown on the burning city gate.

They built two altars of uncut stones, one on Mount Ebal and another Mount Gerizim. “Gather the people.” When all the men, women, children, and aliens living among them were brought near, Joshua read the law God had given Moses to write. Not a word was left out.

The blessings and the curses were heard clearly from one mountain to the other. No one would ever be able to say they had not heard the Lord’s warnings of what would happen if men failed to obey Him.

“Who are you?” Caleb narrowed his eyes as he studied the ragged delegation of men, their donkeys loaded with worn-out sacks and cracked and mended wineskins. “Where did you come from?” A long distance from their appearance, for their sandals were patched.

“We are your servants. We have come to make a treaty with you.”

Some of the younger men had gathered around to watch. “They might live near us. How can we make a treaty with them?”

Eleazar raised his hands. “Let them speak!”

Joshua looked them over. “Who are you and where do you come from?”

“We are your servants. We have come from a distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. We heard reports about Him and all that He did in Egypt, and what He did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, Sihon and Og. Our elders told us to take provisions and come and meet with you.” The speaker reached into his pack.

Caleb drew his sword. A dozen others did the same.

The man’s eyes went wide. “I only want to show you what has become of our provisions.”

“Back away.” Caleb stepped forward and looked in the pack.

“That bread was warm and fresh when we left our home.” The man put his hand on the wineskins. “And these new and filled.”

Caleb tore off a piece of bread. After a taste, he spit it out. “Dry. Moldy.” But he still didn’t trust them.

“We’ll make a treaty with you.”

Joshua and most of the elders were in agreement.

Caleb was not so easily convinced. “The Lord said to make no treaties.”

“Yes.” Joshua grew impatient. “But we must not be too quick to judge and wipe out people. The Lord meant no treaties with those of the land. These men are from a distant country. We have no reason to be at war with them.”

“Then why do I feel this unease in my gut?”

Joshua slapped him on the back. “Perhaps it is the bread you just ate.”

Others laughed, friends of old. Overruled, Caleb kept silent.

The delegation left soon after the treaty was made. Three days later, Israelite warriors sent to scout out the land returned, red-faced and raging. “They’re Hivites from Gibeon! Those clothes they wore were a ruse. We did not attack because we signed a treaty with them.”

Caleb exploded in anger. “They made fools of us!”

“Of me.” Joshua was pale with mortification. “I did not inquire of the Lord. I did what I thought was right.”

“Well, you had better pray now, my brother, because we are in trouble. The people are not happy about what we’ve done.”

The people grumbled. “God said not to make a treaty with these people!”

“What were you thinking?”

“They’ll be a thorn in our sides from now on!”

The leaders argued among themselves over what to do.

“
They lied!
”

“We don’t owe them anything!”

The tribe of Simeon was eager for blood. “I say we march on their cities and kill every last one of them!”

Those representing the other tribes were as eager for revenge. “That’s what the Lord told us to do in the first place.”

Joshua shook his head. “We must keep our oath.”

Caleb listened to the others all talk at once. They were afraid, and with good reason. The people were angry and casting blame. “Be still!” He spoke loudly, and the others quieted. “We made a mistake in not asking God who those men were. We must not make another. My heart cries out for vengeance just as yours does, but vengeance belongs to the Lord. Listen to Joshua!”

They waited for God’s chosen to speak.

“We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. If we break our oath, we will bring God’s wrath down upon us.”

“So what do we do about them?”

Joshua called the people to order and told them the way of the Lord.

And then he summoned the Gibeonites. “Why did you lie to us?”

“We did it because we were told that the Lord your God instructed his servant Moses to conquer this entire land and destroy all the people living in it. So we feared for our lives because of you. That is why we have done it. Now we are at your mercy—do whatever you think is right.”

Whatever you think is right.
Caleb seethed. These people knew the oath could not be broken without incurring God’s wrath. The Gibeonites had counted on it.

The people grumbled. A wave of fury could be felt until Joshua reminded them that the Lord would hold the nation to their oath. He faced the frightened Gibeonites. “You are under a curse. From this day forth, you will never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” They bowed before him and departed.

The camp was quiet that night.

God’s enemies would now retain a toehold in the land for generations to come.