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February, 1945
What was possible for Caleb, by the grace of God, is possible for every believer. A second and concluding article will appear toon .
edge of great redeeming, sanctifying truths, but satisfying heart experience of their benefits and blessings. We see Caleb in the wilderness like a pure lily rising out of a putrid pond.
Caleb was absolutely assured that in His own time and way God would perform and perfect that which con cerned him (cf. Psa. 138:8). Caleb reached out for his inherit ance by faith. “And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy chil dren’s for ever, because thou hast Wholly followed the Lord my God” (Josh. 14:9). During all the forty years of wilder ness wandering, Caleb lived in the promised land through anticipatory, appropriating faith. He lived above the wilderness by living in the prom ised land. The love of Hebron add the assurance of one day actually inheriting it sustained and strength ened him in the midst of all the vicis situdes of the wilderness life. He had once crossed the Jordan. He had been in Hebron, and Hebron had gotten into him. From that hour his heart and his eyes were steadfastly fixed upon Hebron. The children of Israel might look backward to Egypt and hanker after its onions, leeks, and garlic, but not he. Above all other desires in Caleb’s heart wa\ the desire for his inherit ance in Hebron. Therefore his one passion was God Himself. Consequent ly He deliberately turned his eyes away from circumstances, from peo ple, even from himself, and fixed them steadily upon God and upon Canaan. His one concern was to keep his life up to standard, wholly following the Lord, in order that God might con tinually delight in him and So fulfill the desire of his heart. Caleb relied upon God's keeping power. While all the children of Israel who murmured and rebelled wasted away and died in the wilderness, Caleb was not only kept alive, but with undiminished strength (cf. Josh. 14:10, 11). God’s power was vouch safed to him until God’s promise was fulfilled in him, and God’s purpose accomplished through him. That rare spirit of the overcomer which had been manifested in him at Kadesh-bamea remained in him un perturbed and unchanged all through the wilderness wanderings. Amid *all the mufmurings, jealousies, and re bellions of the wilderness environ ment, Caleb maintained his purpose to do only the will of God, to listen only to the voice of God, to please God alone. The remembrance of God’s promise to him; the consciousness of God’s presence with him, and the assurance of God’s delight in him sustained and strengthened Caleb. Working in obedi ence to God, he had fellowship with God. So he had the rest of Canaan in his heart, before he had it in his life. This was not sterile head knowl
Dr. Talbot's Ques t ion Box
Questions for answer in this depart ment should be sent to the Editorial Department, THE KING'S BUSINESS, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif. QUE. : Is the Lord Jesus crowned now, or will He wear a crown after the church is raptured? Can we take Psalm 8:5 and Hebrews 2:9 as meaning literal crowns? Nothing is said in Scripture to prove that Christ is wearing a crown at the present time.. We know that “ God hath highly exalted,him” (Phil. 2:9); but whether this exaltation includes a crown, we do not know. However, we do know that “crowns” are awards for service rendered to God (1 Thess. 2:19, 20; 2 Tim. 4:8; Jas. 1:12; 1 Pet 5:4); and that Christ has already re ceived a crown of. glory and honor, or will receive it in the future (Psa. 8:5; Heb: 2:9). This crown, or award, is for His suffering on Calvary’s cross for man’s sin. , We read in Revelation 19:11, 12 that at His second coming Christ will have “many crowns.” These we take to be literal,"visible diadems. From the Hebrew origin of the word "crowned” (Psa. 8:5), and the same word in the Greek (Heb. 2:9), we learn that this act is “to adorn with an honorary wreath” (The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, by James Strong).' That Job was a veritable personage is proved in the words found in Eze kiel 14:20, “Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it.” In this reference, pro phetic of the destruction of Jerusalem, God classifies Job with two other heroes of the Old Testament whose re ality of existence is unquestionable. Just as’ surely as Noah lived and “found grace in the eyes of the Lord,” and Daniel became God’s representa tive in the midst of His nation’s cap tivity, so Job became the one whom God trusted in a great exhibition to Satan of the fidelity of God’s child in the midst of the loss of all earthly riches and loved ones (cf. Job 1:21). QtJE.: Is the Book of Job an allegory?
When exhorting the Christians to be patient in enduring suffering and dis appointment, and in reminding them that this attitude of trust results in blessing from the Lord, James says, “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord” (5:11). Referring to the Book of Job, C. I. Scofield says: "The book sheds a re markable light on the philosophic breadth and intellectual culture of the patriarchal age.” Bible teachers who accept the in spiration of the Scriptures agree that Job actually lived and that his expe riences are historical facts—blessed examples dealing with the problem of why the godly suffer. QUE.: I have accepted Christ as my personal Saviour; but I often sin, particularly in losing my tem per. Am I truly born again? The assurance with which you speak of having accepted Christ as your Saviour is a good testimony. Since you are confident of having performed that act, you may be sure of having been born again: the latter is an im mediate result of the former. The Holy Spirit graciously enters the heart" of the redeemed one the moment that person says “yes” to Christ. “ After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise” are the words of Paul to the Ephesians (1:13; cf. 2 Cor. 1:21, 22). The entrance of the Holy Spirit into the Christian’s heart is instantaneous, and not progressive. His presence there is a divine provi sion for the believer, but the scope of His influence is limited to the permis sion and submisson. of the one in whose heart He dwells. In this truth may lie the secret of your occasional anger. Have you submitted your “ tem per” to the rulership of the One who is willing to keep you at all times the poised Christian you would like to be? Every Christian can join you in that regrettable admission, “ I often sin.” Victorious living is gloriously possi ble as we yield completely to Him, our divine Comforter, Companion, and Guide. (Read-John 14:16, 17; 16:13; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19),
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