Joshua 15:18 And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou? :19 Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs.
So we have been looking at the inheritance of the different tribes and chapter 15 deals with Judah's inheritance. We know from the scripture that Caleb's portion was within Judah's land and in the middle of God informing us about the inheritance of Judah it seems He pauses to tell us about Caleb and his daughter Achsah. It is dealing with an inheritance but on a much more personal level. We have been talking about general inheritance or divisions of land that 100's of thousands will inherit but not much is said of personal inheritance's of the individuals making up the masses. So, God pauses to tell us of Achsah's own personal inheritance.
Before we move forward with our thoughts I want to call attention to what a illustration this is for the Christian. See, we all have a general inheritance, if you have been born into the family of God then you and I have received many of the same things. We have received common forgiveness, common mercy, common grace, common redemption and so many other things we have received in our general inheritance from our Heavenly Father. These are things that are laid out plainly in the scriptures for all to see the borders and boundaries of our heavenly inheritance much like the first 12 verses of chapter 15 lays out the information about their common and general inheritance. Now, beyond the things that we share in common lets move to a more personal realization of our particular and unique inheritance that we have received. We may share many things in common but I have a personal walk with my Lord, He whispers things to my heart that are so personal that no one of my brothers or sisters in Christ would understand and I hope the same is true for you. Beyond our personal, private, intimate walk with our Savior we all have personal God given abilities and traits that are unlike our general inheritance we share with brothers and sisters. Some have musical talents, some have organizational skills, some have oratory skill. Then we move to our different personalities, some are quiet and mild mannered, some are loud and boisterous, some are conditioned to follow, some are conditioned to lead. The point I am trying to make is that we have so many things in common because of our Father and on a more personal level we have so many things different, also because of our Father. Our shared inheritance is made up of vastly different people and circumstances. We are all the body, but we may not all have the same function.
Now moving to the second and last thing I want to notice and that was Achsah's request. Notice her request to her father: Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water
She had been part of the general and common inheritance of Judah and her father Caleb and it tells us of her particular inheritance within the general inheritance. She said you have given me a south land, now all the good rednecks that read this will say thank God for the south but this indicated a very dry land because the southern part of Israel was a desert and that is also why she is asking for water. It had been her lot to receive a dry lot, a inheritance that lacked what she felt was necessary for development.
Now let's look now again to our own personal inheritance within our heavenly inheritance. Have you ever felt like you wanted more from your heavenly Father? Has your lot in this life ever seemed dry and thirsty? Have you longed for the presence and power of God in your life? You know you are part of the family but wonder why you feel so dry while it seems others have rivers of living water? If you've never been there then in a way I'm happy for you but on the other hand you've never experienced what it was like when your heavenly father turns your desert into an oasis. When you've felt as if your lot was the driest of all and when you brought your petitions to The Father He gave you the upper springs. There have been months of time time pass when my soul was in pits of despair and my lot was the desert. I ran to my Father and He blessed me with the upper springs. He flooded my once dry and longing soul with rivers of living water and His presence turned my desert into a oasis. With the upper springs I am reminded of the heavenly help that is so personal and so wonderful that it is impossible to explain, only those who have experienced it for themselves can understand.
Not only did she receive the upper springs but the nether springs. There have been times when my lot on this earth was dry. My physical carnal needs were more than my means. I fretted, I worried, I worked overtime, I tried everything in my power to meet the needs but when my failed attempts got the best of me I did like the lady in our verses today. I ran to my Father, told Him my needs and He met my them. Achsah stepped down of her donkey as a sign of submission to her father and He immediately asked her "What wouldest thou?"
When was the last time you told your Heavenly Father of the need you have? Come before the throne of Grace and find help in your time of need. Is your heart in a spiritual desert? He can give you the upper springs and His presence will will saturate and fill every dry place in your soul. Are your carnal physical needs more than your means? Are you faint from all the failed attempts? Go to your father and He can give you the nether springs. He can open doors no man can close, He can close doors no man can open.
Caleb asked his daughter"What wouldest thou?" I'll extend that question to you this morning and leave you with the words of our Savior.
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: :8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. :9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? :10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? :11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Sweet hour of prayer, that saves me from a world of care!!
Onward Christian Soldier!!
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