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"Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?"
Asked the king, and he continued:
"Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt: and the form
of the fourth is like the Son of God" (Dan.3:24,25).
Caleb, who wholly followed the Lord, knew the power of this blessed fellowship. At
the division of the land under Joshua, Caleb came forward and reminded Joshua of what
the Lord had said concerning both himself and Joshua forty-five years earlier:
"Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest
in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fences: if so be
the Lord will be with me, then shall I be able to drive them out, as the Lord said...Hebron
therefore became the inheritance of Caleb" (Josh 14:12-14).
Caleb's one qualification was: "if so be the Lord will be with me". That being
granted, success was certain. The name of the place inherited by Caleb we Kirjath-arba
and was named after Arba, a great man among the Anakims. The name was changed to
Hebron, a word that means fellowship, and therefore enshrines the very thought of the
gracious presence that Caleb so desired.
In His presence is fullness of joy, and that presence includes the promised: "I will not
leave you", "I will not forsake you", and "I will be with you". Thus does the conscious
enjoyment of the presence of the Lord minister to our joy.
"The joy of Thy salvation"
Despite the pressure of circumstances, the depressing effect of ill-health, the
corrosion of care, and the anxieties that pertain to this life, the fact that God so loved the
world as to give His only begotten Son, should lighten our everyday experience with joy.
The wise men from the east exemplify this. They had traveled far in search of the
One that had been born King of the Jews, and, "when they saw the star, they rejoiced
with exceeding great joy" (Matt.2:10). Notice how the inspired narrative emphasizes their
joy. It is not enough to say that "they were glad" or that "they rejoiced". They not only
rejoiced, they rejoiced with joy and, more than that, with exceeding joy, yeah, exceeding
great joy. And all this because the star at length stood over Bethlehem. What therefore
ought to be our state of mind and heart who know not only the grace of Bethlehem, but
the glory of Calvary, the triumph of the resurrection, and that ascension far above all!
Before the wise men found cause for rejoicing, the promise even of the forerunner of
Christ was associated with joy. To Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, the angel
said: "And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth" (Luke
1:14).
When Christ was born, not only did men rejoice, but angels too, were moved to say,
"Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy" (Luke 2:10).