In the Old Testament, when the twelve men returned after spying out the Promised Land, ten of them saw giants. Caleb and Joshua saw the faithfulness of YHWH. And because of the bad report of the ten, because of choosing fear over faith, the two spent forty years walking with the unbelievers in circles in the wilderness until the entire generation died out.

            After finally crossing into the land, when Joshua was dividing it between the tribes of Israel, Caleb approached him and said, “You know what YHWH said to Moses...concerning you and me” (Joshua 14:6).

          Caleb had not forgotten. YHWH had promised him an inheritance because he had trusted Him when the others had not. Then he makes a memorable statement. “I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me...My strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming (Joshua 14:10-11).

            Then he uttered these words, “Now therefore give me this mountain” (Joshua 14:12). Not the valley, or the easiest territory, but the mountain. The one where giants remained, the one everyone else would rather avoid.

            Caleb knew giants are never bigger than YHWH.

         In the Scriptures, there is a Hebrew phrase which describes Caleb again and again. It appears in Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua. God said about him, “But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit with him and followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land where he went, and his seed will possess it” (Numbers 14:24 MEV).

            Caleb followed God fully. In Hebrew, it is Mille achar YHWH. The root of the Hebrew word for fully is “male”. It means “to fill,” “to be complete,” “to be full.” Caleb did not follow God halfway; not when it was convenient; not when everyone else agreed with him. He followed fully.

            Could that be said of you and me? Or do we follow only until it becomes uncomfortable, or until giants appear?

            The life of Caleb exposes how easily we settle for partial obedience. Yet Jesus calls us to something greater. “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

            Jesus said daily. Not occasionally, or when we feel like it, but daily.

      Caleb never stopped believing YHWH was still working. Forty-five years later, he said, “...Because the Eternal goes with me, I will drive them out, just as He has said” (Joshua 14:12 VOICE). His confidence is not presumptuous. It is not in himself, but in YHWH’s presence. The same God who sustained him in the wilderness, parted the Jordan, brought down the walls of Jericho, would give him his mountain.

         At eighty-five, Caleb successfully claimed the hill country of Hebron, drove out the giant warriors, settled his family with generous land inheritances, and finished his life as a faithful leader of the tribe of Judah.

        Caleb not only inherited a mountain; he left behind something worth following. He left behind a life that was full, not of accomplishments, but of faithfulness.

            Inspiration for this post came from Yael's Letters, "Beyond the Jordan, Part 6"

Cave of Pan    Picture courtesy of holylandphotos.org 

​              “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’” (Matthew 16:13 NIV).

        Why did Jesus choose Caesarea Philippi as the place where He asked His disciples this question? It was a place Jews would avoid. 

           It sat at the base of Mount Hermon. This is the mountain where, according to Jewish tradition and 1 Enoch, the ‘sons of God’ (angels) descended, as told in Genesis 6, mated with the daughters of humans, and corrupted humanity, resulting in the Nephilim (giants) and violence on the earth. It was the original spot for the ‘Days of Noah.’

            At the foot of Mount Hermon was a huge cave with a bottomless spring. The pagans named it the Gates of Hades. The cave was believed to be an entrance to the underworld, where spirits entered and exited. It was the place of ritual sex, child sacrifice, and the worship of Pan, the goat god.
            No observant Jew went there – ever.

          It was at this place Jesus asked His question. He didn’t ask it in Jerusalem, or at the synagogue, but at hell’s front porch.

      “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:16 NIV). And Jesus replied, “...on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it’” (Matthew 16:18 NIV).

       Many Bible translations say the gates of Hades will not ‘prevail’ against it. Some Bible scholars suggest the best translation of ‘prevail’ in this passage would be ‘withstand’. The Greek word is katischusousin – from kata (against) + ischus (strength, force, power).

        In other words, the gates of Hades are not strong enough to withstand, hold back, or resist the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and His church. Hell is on the defense. Jesus is initiating the offense.

      At the very place where Satan launched his most devastating attempt to corrupt the DNA of humanity, the very place the nations believed was connected to the underworld, Jesus is saying, “Your time’s up. I have come to take it all back - to reclaim the nations, undo the angels' rebellion, and reverse the corruption on the earth.

      Jesus was sounding the war cry. Not long after, demons were panicking, religious leaders were plotting to kill him, and Rome was reacting.

        And the final checkmate? The cross and the resurrection.

      Today, the modern church often hides from the darkness. Jesus taught His disciples to invade it. “Put on your combat boots. Suit up and advance. The enemy can’t stop you.”

     When God’s people walk in His truth, authority, Spirit, and mission, hell can’t keep its territory. That’s because Jesus has broken its door off its hinges!

Inspiration for this post was taken from "Yael's Letters", December 19, 2025