Inheritance, Initiative, and the Upper Springs Text: Joshua 15:13-19
Introduction: Faith That Fights and Inherits
The book of Joshua is a book about taking possession of God's promises. But we must get this straight from the outset: God's promises are not delivered to us on a silver platter while we recline on a velvet couch. God's promises are received through faith, and the kind of faith the Bible commends is a fighting faith. It is a faith that takes God at His word and then gets up off the couch, grabs a sword, and goes to take what God has given.
We live in an effeminate age that wants the inheritance without the fight. We want the crown without the cross, the victory without the battle, and the promised land without the giants. But that is not how God has structured the world. The story of the conquest of Canaan is given to us as a permanent pattern. The world, the flesh, and the devil are not going to hand over their usurped territory just because we ask nicely. Dominion is taken. And it is taken by faith.
In this brief passage, which can seem like a minor historical footnote about land allotments, we are actually given a compact and potent theology of the Christian life. We see the faithfulness of an old warrior, Caleb, who refused to let his age diminish his zeal. We see the courage of a new warrior, Othniel, who rises to a challenge to win his bride. And we see the wisdom and initiative of a godly woman, Achsah, who understands the nature of her father's heart and the fullness of the blessing he intends to give.
This is a story about covenant succession. It is about one generation's faithfulness creating a platform for the next generation's victories. It is a story about how to fight, how to build, and how to ask for more. It shows us that God's blessings are not just spiritual and ethereal; they are tangible, earthy, and wet. They are upper springs and lower springs. This is a story for all of us who have been given an inheritance in Christ, and who must now, by faith, go in and possess the land.
The Text
Now he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah, according to the command of Yahweh to Joshua, namely, Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). And Caleb dispossessed from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak. Then he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said, “The one who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah my daughter as a wife. Now it happened that when she came to him, she enticed him to ask her father for a field. So she alighted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” Then she said, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
(Joshua 15:13-19 LSB)
The Old Warrior's Faith (v. 13-14)
We begin with the foundation of this entire account, which is the tenacious faith of Caleb.
"Now he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah, according to the command of Yahweh to Joshua, namely, Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). And Caleb dispossessed from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak." (Joshua 15:13-14)
Remember who Caleb is. He was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan forty-five years earlier. Ten of those spies came back with a report of fear. They saw the giants, the sons of Anak, and they saw themselves as grasshoppers. Their unbelief condemned an entire generation to wander and die in the wilderness. But Caleb, along with Joshua, had a different spirit. He saw the giants, but he saw a bigger God. He said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it" (Num. 13:30).
Now, at eighty-five years old, Caleb comes to claim his reward. And what does he ask for? Not some quiet retirement village in the lowlands. He asks for the very place that terrified the other spies. He asks for the hill country, for Hebron, the stronghold of the Anakim. His faith has not grown soft with age; it has been sharpened. He is not looking for a reward he can relax in; he is looking for a fight he can win for the glory of God.
And notice, the text says he "dispossessed" the three sons of Anak. This wasn't a ceremonial transfer of title. This was warfare. Faith is not passive. Caleb believed God's promise for forty-five years, and when the time came, he acted on that promise with force. He drove out the enemies of God from the land God had given him. This is the model of Christian maturity. A mature saint is not one who has ceased from warfare, but one who has gotten better at it. Hebron, which means "fellowship," could only be possessed after the giants were driven out. We cannot have fellowship with God in places where we tolerate His enemies.
Covenant Succession and the Prize of Valor (v. 15-17)
Caleb's personal victory then becomes the basis for a new challenge, extending the work of dominion to the next generation.
"Then he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said, 'The one who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.' And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah my daughter as a wife." (Joshua 15:15-17 LSB)
Caleb understands that his work is not just for himself. He is a patriarch, a father in Israel, and he is thinking about the future. He is thinking about covenant succession. He has a daughter, Achsah, and he desires a worthy husband for her, a man who shares his fighting faith. So he sets a task. The man who can conquer Kiriath-sepher, "the city of the book," will win his daughter's hand.
Our modern sensibilities might recoil at this. It sounds like he is treating his daughter as a prize. But this is to read our own flimsy, romantic notions back into the text. Caleb is not being callous; he is being wise. He is ensuring that his daughter will be married to a man of proven valor, a man who can protect and provide for her, a man who can take dominion. This is biblical patriarchy in action. It is not about oppression; it is about protection and godly order. Caleb is using his authority as a father to secure the best possible future for his daughter and his lineage. He is looking for a man who is a giant-slayer, not a grasshopper.
And a man steps up. Othniel, Caleb's nephew, takes the city. He demonstrates his worthiness not with pretty words or a fat dowry, but with courageous action. And so, Caleb fulfills his promise. The family line is secured and strengthened through a union founded on shared faith and proven courage. This is how a godly culture is built, generation by generation. The faithfulness of the fathers sets the stage for the sons to win their own victories and build their own households.
A Wise Daughter's Initiative (v. 18-19a)
Now the focus shifts to Achsah, and we see that she is very much her father's daughter.
"Now it happened that when she came to him, she enticed him to ask her father for a field. So she alighted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, 'What do you want?' Then she said, 'Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also springs of water.'" (Joshua 15:18-19a LSB)
Achsah is given land in the Negev, the south country, as a wedding gift. This is a generous gift, but she understands the land. The Negev is arid. Land without water is a promise without the power to make it fruitful. So she takes initiative. First, she urges her new husband, Othniel, to ask for more. This is a picture of a godly wife respectfully encouraging her husband to lead well and to seek greater blessing for their family. But then, she takes matters into her own hands.
She gets off her donkey as a sign of respect for her father and approaches him directly. Caleb sees his daughter and knows she has something on her mind. "What do you want?" he asks. This is the question of a good father who is eager to bless his children.
Her request is brilliant. She doesn't complain. She doesn't whine about the dry land. She begins with gratitude and frames her request as a desire for a fuller blessing. "Give me a blessing," she says. "Since you have given me the land... give me also springs of water." She honors what he has already given as the basis for asking for more. She knows her father's character. He is not a stingy giver. He is a warrior who took the hill country, a man of great faith and great heart. She appeals to his generous nature, and she does so with wisdom and respect.
The Abundant Blessing (v. 19b)
Caleb's response to his daughter's wise and bold request is the climax of the story.
"So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs." (Joshua 15:19b LSB)
She asked for springs, plural. He gives her more than she asked for. He gives her the upper springs and the lower springs. This is not just a footnote for agricultural historians. This is a profound theological statement about the nature of God's blessings.
The upper springs represent the blessings that come down from heaven, the rain of God's grace, His spiritual favor. The lower springs represent the blessings that bubble up from the earth, the tangible, material, cultural, and economic fruitfulness that God provides. Achsah understood that for her inheritance to be truly productive, she needed both. And Caleb, as a type of our Heavenly Father, delights to give both.
This is a repudiation of any false spirituality that despises the material world. God is not just interested in saving our souls for a disembodied eternity. He is interested in making our lives, our families, our work, and our land fruitful, here and now. Our inheritance in Christ is not just a "get out of hell free" card. It is the promise of dominion over the earth. It is the promise of upper springs, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and lower springs, the blessing of godly culture, thriving families, and productive work.
Possessing Our Inheritance
This story is our story. In Christ, we have been given an inheritance. As Peter says, we have been born again to a living hope, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:3-4). But like Caleb, we must rise up by faith and dispossess the giants of unbelief, fear, and sin that occupy the land.
Like Othniel, the men among us are called to be warriors, to fight for the kingdom, to build and protect their households, and to be worthy of the wives God gives them. The church is not a social club for nice boys; it is a barracks for soldiers of the cross.
And like Achsah, we must be wise enough to see that the inheritance God gives us needs the water of His Spirit to be fruitful. We must come to our Heavenly Father, not with complaint, but with bold, grateful, and specific requests. "Father, you have given us the land of salvation. Now give us the springs of water. Give us revival. Give us cultural fruitfulness. Give us the upper springs of spiritual power and the lower springs of earthly dominion."
Our Father delights to answer such prayers. He is not a stingy God. He wants His inheritance to be productive. He wants His children to be blessed. He gave His only Son for us; how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? (Rom. 8:32). He is ready and willing to give us both the upper springs and the lower springs. The question is, are we, like Caleb, Othniel, and Achsah, ready to fight for them, work for them, and ask for them?