When the circumcisions were completed, Caleb retired to his tent. Racked with pain, he lay upon his pallet. When fever came upon him, he couldn’t sleep. Now that they had crossed the Jordan, the manna had stopped raining from heaven. His concubines, Ephah and Maacah, knew how to prepare meals from the provisions the land offered, but Caleb missed the manna. Gone was the sweetness God had given them.
Joshua came to see him. “Don’t get up, Caleb.”
Drained by the fever, Caleb remained upon his cushioned pallet. He chuckled bleakly. “You are blessed among men.” Joshua had been circumcised as a baby. Few among the Jews had continued the practice once they were enslaved by the Egyptians. “How are the others faring?”
“Better than you, old friend.”
Caleb grasped Joshua’s extended hand and pulled himself up. “Youth has its advantages.” Wincing, he waved Maacah away and walked . . . slowly . . . tenderly . . . outside. It was the first time in three days that he had been outside his tent. He squinted at the bright sunlight. “The Lord has given you His plan. When and how do we take Jericho?”
“Tomorrow at daybreak . . .” Joshua told him God’s plan.
Astounded, Caleb went over the plan again. “We are to be silent?”
“Yes.”
“No war cry.”
“No one is to speak.”
“And then we march around the city? Nothing more?”
“For six days. The Ark will go before us, followed by seven priests carrying shofars. On the seventh day, they will blow them and we will shout as we march around the city seven times.”
Caleb looked at the walls of Jericho. Not since leaving Egypt had he seen such a well-fortified city. “And God said the walls will collapse?”
“Yes.”
The plan was preposterous. It was ridiculous! No man in his right mind would ever have thought up such a thing. Caleb laughed in praise. “All the world will hear of this. People will talk about what God did at Jericho for thousands of years to come!”
“Then you believe it will happen?”
“Of course I believe it.” Caleb’s laughter died. “You don’t?”
“Yes, I believe. But will the men?”
Caleb understood Joshua’s trepidation. It had not been that long ago when some had gone after other gods at Peor. Twenty-four thousand had died during the plague God sent to discipline them. “They’d better.”
From the time of the Garden of Eden, the seed of rebellion had been planted deep in the hearts of men. It was there the real battle raged.
On the first day of marching, Caleb concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. He throbbed with pain and gritted his teeth, determined to make it around the city and back to his tent with his head high. On the second day, he moved less stiffly and noticed the soldiers on Jericho’s battlements staring out. On the third day, some mocked. By the fifth day, men and women were laughing and shouting blasphemies from the wall. Even children had joined in.
His sons and grandsons did not speak when they returned to camp, but their wrath showed in the way they yanked off their belts and swords. Caleb watched them, smiling secretly, thanking God. The days of suffering from the circumcision were over. Each day renewed and built their strength. And each day the Canaanites added fuel to the fire that would consume them.
Let it build. Hold that anger in. Hold it in until the last day—the day of the Lord!
When the seventh day came, Caleb was at full strength, his blood on fire. The men no longer marched with quiet reserve. They pounded their feet into the ground. Boom! Boom! Boom! Each time around the city, the tension grew. The men on the walls of Jericho stopped laughing. Seven times the army of Israel marched around the city, shofars blowing. And then they stopped and turned inward.
The blast came—long and loud. Caleb’s heart rattled; his blood raced. The air of retribution filled his lungs. He released it with a mighty shout. “For the Lord!” Thousands joined in until the sound was deafening, terrifying.
God’s promise was fulfilled before their eyes. The great walls of Jericho shook with the sounds of the shofars and their battle cries. And as the walls shook and cracked, the Israelites shouted all the louder for the Lord. The walls collapsed, stones and rampart soldiers tumbling, dust rising with the screams.
Raising his sword high, Caleb ran with Joshua, and like a tidal wave, thousands upon thousands came with them, sweeping across the plain, straight for the city. The sword in his hand had once been a scythe, and he swung it to the right and left, cutting down Canaanites like stalks of wheat. Men, women, young and old, cattle, sheep, donkeys—nothing that breathed survived.
Panting, Caleb stood in the center of the vanquished city. “Remember your orders. All the silver, gold, bronze, and iron are sacred to the Lord and must be taken into His treasury. Destroy the rest! Burn the city! Burn everything in it!”
Jericho was still smoldering when Joshua sent spies to Ai, near Beth-aven. It lay to the east of Bethel, where Israel’s ancestor Jacob had seen the ladder into heaven and the angels going up and down. The spies returned within a short time.
“It’s not like Jericho. Not all our people will have to go up against it. Send two or three thousand men to take it. There’s no need to tire the people over the few in Ai.”
Joshua considered and then nodded. “Go and do so.” As soon as the messenger left, Caleb leaned over the maps made from their first sojourn into Canaan forty years earlier. Joshua laid out God’s plan to conquer Canaan.
“The men are returning from Ai.” The breathless messenger looked ashen. “And they’re bringing wounded and bodies!”
Caleb ran out to find his sons. Shobab was wounded. Mesha wept. “We thought it would be so easy after Jericho, but the men of Ai routed us! They chased us from the city gate as far as the stone quarries. The arrow hit Shobab while he retreated to the slopes. We ran!” He sobbed. “Ardon didn’t make it, Father. He’s dead!”
“My son? My son . . .” Caleb wept. How could this happen? How?
Joshua cried out at the news and tore his clothes. He went straight to the Tabernacle and fell facedown on the ground before the Ark of the Lord.
Caleb stood outside waiting, trembling. What had gone wrong?
The people began gathering—a dozen, a hundred, a thousand. Those who had lost sons and husbands wailed and threw dust over themselves.
Joshua came outside within moments, his face ashen. “We have violated the Lord’s covenant.”
Caleb felt cold. “When? How? Who?” Fear gripped him. What would God do to them? What plague would come upon Israel? What retribution for unfaithfulness?
“Someone has stolen things devoted to the Lord and then lied and put these things among their own possessions. Until this is settled, we can’t stand against our enemies.” Joshua’s voice kept rising. “Consecrate yourselves!” he shouted to the people. “Present yourselves before the Lord tomorrow, tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family. The one who is caught with the devoted things will be burned, along with everything that belongs to him!”
Caleb gestured for his sons and grandsons, their wives and his concubines to return to their camp. He studied each one of his sons and grandsons. He looked at his concubines. He hated the feeling of distrust welling within him, the wrath and frustration, the fear of knowing someone who belonged to him may have brought God’s wrath upon the entire nation. But who would dare steal from God? “God will tell us who the guilty man is. And whoever he is, he will die.” Don’t let it be one of my sons or grandsons.
No one said a word, but Caleb saw that his own feelings were reflected in their eyes. They looked at one another, questioning, wondering, afraid. Until the guilty party was found, everyone would be suspect.
No one slept that night. Not one of my sons or grandsons, Lord. Let it not be anyone from Judah.
In the morning, Eleazar the priest stood with Joshua as the tribes came forward one by one. The Reubenites passed by, then the Simeonites. Judah wa
s halted. Caleb wanted to sink into the ground in shame. As the other tribes moved back from them, Judah came forward clan by clan. Caleb went first, followed by his sons, grandsons, and all their wives, concubines, and children. They were not stopped. But Caleb felt no great relief. Judah, oh, Judah. Leader among your brothers! Are you leader in sin as well? The Shelanite clan passed by, then the Perezites.
When the Zerahite clan came before Eleazar and Joshua, they were halted. Joshua commanded them to come forward by families.
Caleb watched Eleazar and knew the moment God revealed the guilty man: Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zimri. Caleb hung his head and wept. Achan and Ardon had played together. They had trained together, laughed together, gone out to battle together.
“It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel.” Achan spoke quickly, pacing and sweating in fear before Joshua and Eleazar, turning to his Judean brothers. “I saw a beautiful robe imported from Babylon, two hundred silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest.”
“Go!” Joshua gestured to two assistants, and they departed. Everyone waited until they returned with the beautiful multicolored, woven, embroidered robe; the silver; and the gold. The silver and gold were given to Eleazar and the priests to spread out before the Lord.
Joshua turned to Caleb, his eyes filled with sorrow. “We must take Achan and all that belongs to him to the valley.”
As head of Judah, Caleb obeyed the command. Achan did not go easily. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do it. I don’t know what got into me! It’s just a robe and some silver and gold. Is that reason enough to kill me and my entire family? Caleb, help me. My grandfather and father were your friends. The council will listen to you. Help me!”
Grief and disappointment fueled Caleb’s rage as he backhanded Achan, who fell to his knees begging. Pity caught at Caleb, but he dragged him up. His son Ardon had died because of this man’s sin. So had thirty-five others! Caleb thought of their widows and children as he propelled Achan ahead of him. He would not listen to Achan’s excuses or his pleas for mercy. He closed his ears to the sobs of Achan’s sons and daughters as others pressed them along after their father. Even the man’s cattle, donkeys, and sheep were driven into the valley, and his tent and all he had were cast down around him.
“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 buildi
ngs 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.”