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Joshua 15 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Israel’s land promised by God spanned a great distance in the middle east but they currently occupy a fraction of what should have been theirs. In Joshua 14, I explained that Caleb had to go back to Hebron as an old man in order to wipe out the enemy from the land promised to him by God. Here in Joshua 15, we read the details of that victory…
As the LORD commanded Joshua, part of the territory of Judah was given to Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah. He received Hebron, the city belonging to Arba, father of Anak. 14 Caleb drove the descendants of Anak out of the city—the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 15 From there he went to attack the people living in Debir. (This city used to be called Kiriath Sepher.)
Joshua 15:13-15 GNB
The chapter, however, ends on a somewhat sour note because Israel was unable to conquer Jerusalem.
But the people of Judah were not able to drive out the Jebusites, who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites still live there with the people of Judah.
Joshua 15:63 GNB
The Jebusites were descendants from the third king of Canaan who Joshua had slain after he joined a pact against Gibeon (Joshua 10). They apparently fled to Jerusalem and were able to defend it. Most everyone attributes this to a lack of faith and a presence of fear with the sons of Judah. It was hard to conquer, sitting high on a hill. The truth remained, however, that God had promised it to Israel.
We see a clear line between those who functioned in the courage of the Lord and those who did not. It seems the majority did not. This goes to show that even with strong leaders (Joshua & Caleb), the people under that leadership will not always follow. In the bigger picture, even though God gives life to every human being and gives them every reason to know Him and love Him, many will not follow. This is the sad reality of leadership.