The Salvation of God and Dog

Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses) was an awesome man. Any words we use to describe his relationship with God and the revelation he received from the Almighty would need to be written and spoken with only the very highest regard of the great teacher and prophet. In fact, if we look at his walk with God and the spiritual authority he carried no one compares with Moshe. However, God told Moshe that a prophet will arise from among Israel and that he would be as Moshe was in power and authority. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." Deuteronomy 18:18-19 This prophet, this great leader of Israel that would follow after Moshe, would need to be obeyed by all; lest God would hold them guilty. Most observant Jews and Christians accept these verses as being Messianic in nature. That is to say, they believe these verses refer to the Messiah, and clearly they do. However, let's look and see if we can find some more Messianic truth through the people who were present in Moshe's life. We'll look at two individuals in particular, Joshua and Caleb. First of all, we must note that Moshe never reached the Promised Land himself. He wasn't able to fulfill the Word of the Lord on his own. That job was to fall upon the leader who followed immediately after him. This man who was able to bring Am Israel into the promised Land of God was named Joshua, the son of Nun. That is how his name is pronounced in English. However, in Hebrew His name is Yeshua, ben Nun. If that name were directly translated into the English language it would well be written as Jesus, the son of Fifty. If you aren't yet excited about this let's continue with the story. The name Joshua is simply another way to write Yeshua which means God is salvation. The fact that Joshua was the son of Fifty carries great revelation. Fifty is the number of the work of the Holy Spirit in scripture. It is the number of Pentecost. The day the Holy Spirit came down to indwell the believers is called 'Pentecost' due to the fact that it is the feast of the 'fiftieth day'; 'Pentecostos' means 'fifty' in Greek. The name of this Joshua, the man who came to lead Israel directly after Moses, is Jesus, the son of Fifty; Jesus, the son of Pentecost; Jesus, the son of the work of the Holy Spirit. Does this remind you of anyone? It should. The fact that Joshua, the son of Nun was the leader who immediately followed Moshe Rabbeinu, and the fact that Joshua was the one to bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land of God is an open clue to the identity of the Messiah who follows Moshe and who will bring Am Israel, and all who believe, into the true Land of Promise, into the Kingdom of Heaven. It is Yeshua/Jesus who was born of the Holy Spirt. Joshua was one of only two of the freed Israelites who actually received the right to inherit the Land. The other was a prince of Judah known as Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. This Caleb, interestingly enough, was't an Israelite by blood. He was, in fact, a Kenizzite. The Kenizzites were foreigners, they were said to be descendants of Abraham from another son and some or all of them had joined themselves to Israel to be as one with the descendants of Jacob. The very name Caleb also indicates that he was of foreign stock. Caleb (Kelev) means Dog in Hebrew and it is an ancient term used to describe outsiders. And, it is used unto this day in many observant circles. We find New Testment examples of the word Caleb/kelev/dog used in reference to foreigners in Yeshua's own words as He was speaking to the foreign woman: Matthew 15:22-28, Mark 7:24-30.

This word Caleb/kelev/dog wasn't intended to be an offensive term, but rather it indicated one born outside of the blessings of Avraham as inherited by Ya'akov. The amazing thing is that this Caleb, this Dog, the naturally born outsider, had risen to become a prince of the royal tribe of Israel. He became a prince of Judah. And, he was one of only two people of the disobedient generation to inherit the Land of Promise. One was Jesus, the son of Fifty (the son of the power of the Holy Spirit) and the other was Dog, the foreign prince of the tribe of Judah. They two lived to bring Israel into its inheritance.They showed their faithfulness unto God and Moses during the report of the twelve spies and both became legend. Let's go back to the time of the twelve spies and see what transpired in that day. Numbers, chapters 13 and 14. Joshua and Caleb were two of the twelve spies. Having explored the land all came back and gave a report of the land's abundance and richness. However, ten of the spies witnessed against the Word of God and stated that Israel wouldn't be able to take the inheritance. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, gave promising reports. In fact, looking at the narrative we see that the outsider, Caleb, was the first of the two to defend Moses and God on that day. The foreigner, Caleb, was most vocal in defence of the Promises of God for Israel. The Dog, Caleb, defended both God and Moses against the accusations of unbelief which ran rampant among all Am Israel. The one who against nature became a prince of the royal tribe, Caleb, is the one who most encouraged Israel to follow God. Only later did Joshua enter the fray to agree with Caleb in the matter (that is how it is in the life of the believer, first you defend God's promises and then Yeshua arises to agree with your testimony). All truth is established by at least two witnesses and in Joshua and Caleb we found our two witnesses to defend the honor of God and the goodness of His promises. Furthermore, in Jewish versions of Numbers 13:22 it reads, "They went up in, the south, and he came to Hebron, and there were Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of the giant..." In Christian versions of the Bible this passage reads, "They went up in the south, and they came to Hebron..." This subtil change of he to they makes a great difference in meaning. The rabbis tell us the "he" referred to here in Numbers is Caleb, the foreigner, the one known as Dog. They say Caleb went to Hebron alone, a town which was infested with giants at the time, but a town sacred to holiness. They say he went there to visit the graves of the Patriarchs, the forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They say he went to pray, to visit with the promises of God made unto the fathers. For Caleb the promises God made about the Land were more important than the land itself. I hope you understood the great significance of that, it is essential to the life of the believer. Caleb may have been an outsider but his love of God, and love for God's promises, saw to it that he was the only one who so cared for the ancient truths that while others were investigating to see whether the land truly was good or not Caleb already knew. He had trust in God. All Caleb was concerned about was the sanctity of the promises of God given to the fathers. No, they weren't his fathers by nature, but they were so very precious to him. He loved them and kept their blessings alive for all Israel. And, when the time came for Israel to finally take the land it was Caleb who took that very same town of Hebron where he had gone some fourty years prior. It was the place where his fathers were buried, the place where the promise of Israel lived holy in his heart. This Caleb, this man called Dog, though eighty five years of age by the time Israel entrered into the land, attacked the giants who were in Hebron. He wouldn't allow the place of the resting promises of God given unto Israel to be defiled under wicked feet. Caleb chased the giants away and sanctified the promises. Thank God for Caleb, a true prince of Judah. "...Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD." Deuteronomy 1:36 And, so it was that God gave Hebron to a man called Dog. "And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak." Judges 1:20 Joshua, meanwhile, brought the entire House of Israel into the land and restored the covenant of circumsicion to the people. Since the time of the desert the nation had not been in proper covenant with God, but Joshua brought them into the Promise and restored them unto God. Joshua did what Moshe could not do, Joshua gave Israel the Promise. Can you see it? Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, represents the body of believers. Though not born Jewish, through faith in Yeshua and love of God's Torah the believer is elevated into a royal position in Judah. The 'Dog' becomes a prince, and so it is our job to hold the promises of God high and holy as we seek to sanctify the Land and bring Israel into the promise Moshe longed to give them. Bring Israel into the Kingdom of Heaven, bring Israel into the Promise. Are there giants in the land? Sharpen your sword and drive them out. The promise is holy, love the fathers and restore the children. It is time we went to Hebron. Joshua represents Yeshua/Jesus and under His leadership Israel will be brought into the fullness of the Land of Promise, the Kingdom of Heaven, and Israel's complete return to God will take place. Yeshua will give Am Israel hearts for the truth and He will renew the covenant of circumcision (of the heart) thus uniting Israel with God once again. And, 'our' people will recieve their inheritance. This is the story of the "Salvation of God" and "Dog". Though the two may sound like complete opposites they share the same heart; to bring Am Israel home.