Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

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A Biblical View of Aging Joshua 14:5-15 Promised Land Living in Problematic World Sermon #18   In 1984, then President Ronald Reagan was being challenged for the presidency by former Vice President, Walter Mondale. President Reagan was 73 at the time and his age had become a campaign issue. Walter Mondale was seventeen years younger.   In the first televised debate, Reagan stumbled a few times and did not present himself well. Walter Mondale was clearly the winner of the debate. Many began to question if perhaps Ronald Reagan was just too old for the responsibility as the leader of the most powerful nation in the free world.   During the second debate in Kansas City President Reagan was pointedly asked by one of the reporters on the panel, Henry Trewhitt, “You already are the oldest president in history and some of your staff say you were tired after your most recent encounter with Mr. Mondale. I recall...that President Kennedy had to go days on end with very little sleep during the Cuban missile crisis. Is there any doubt in your mind that you would be able to function in such circumstances?”   Stressing his command of the presidential office, Reagan responded with a classic Reaganesque comeback, “Not at all. And...I want you to know also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”   The crowd roared and the television cameras flashed a shot of even Walter Mondale laughing. Walter Mondale would later say that at that point he knew that he had lost the debate and that he would also lose the campaign for the presidency to Ronald Reagan.   The two heroes of the book of Joshua, the two who accomplished the most, took the greatest risks and the two whom God most powerfully used in this historical account make Ronald Reagan at seventy-three look like a youngster. Joshua and Caleb were both octogenarians. They were both well past eighty, yet these two old heroes accomplished their greatest feats for the glory of God when they were in their twilight years. They did more after they should have been put out to pasture than some accomplish in a lifetime.   This morning with Joshua and Caleb as our prototypes we want to develop A Biblical View of Aging. And I want to challenge you with this, most believers have an unbiblical, even carnal, distorted view of aging. Our view of aging is American but it is not Christian. It is not just unbiblical, it is anti-biblical. While we are retiring much younger (many today retire in their fifties), retirees for the most part evacuate from Christian service and ministry.    During our parenting years we continually instruct our young children to share, to care for others, to be selfless. Yet we accept selfishness and being self-absorbed as an entitlement during our latter years. We rationalize that we have earned it. While we will preach and hammer home Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God‑‑this is your spiritual act of worship” for young people, we slice that verse out our Bibles as inapplicable and inappropriate for older believers.   But no believer, at any age, earns the right to be selfish or to go spiritually AWOL because we are not our own. Whatever our age, whatever our stage in the game of life, we are bought with a price – the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be the Savior’s servants, not servants of self.   Search the Bible for yourself. You will not find our American church concept of spiritual retirement from Genesis to Revelation. Rather, you will find men and women of God being faithful to the King of Kings, grabbing the proverbial brass ring for the sake of the Kingdom until God calls them Home.   While no one would argue that age brings change. It should not bring spiritual weakness or ineffectiveness. Joshua and Caleb powerfully demonstrate for us that old age can be a time of great power – even a time of maximum influence and usefulness.   What do they teach us about A Biblical View of Aging? Why is it that they were so effective even in the golden years? The answer provides insight for all of us, no matter what age we are. If the little gray-haired lady who helped you across the street is your wife, this is for you. If you are young, this is for you, too, because you are going to be there sooner than you think. And you need to get there the right way. Why were these men still effective as octogenarians? Joshua and Caleb understood three timeless facts. 1. God never retires us, though He may redirect us, Joshua 13:1. Spanish composer and cellist Pablo Casals was asked in the final years of his life this question by a reporter, "Mr. Casals, you are ninety‑five years old and the greatest cellist that has ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day? Casals answer, "Because I think I’m making progress."   The Biblical account tells us that at this stage of his life, Joshua “was old and well advanced in years.” It’s possible that Joshua was nearly a century old. The phrase "advanced in years" in Hebrew suggests that he has failing capacities; he's starting to lose it physically. He's not the man he was.   But his life’s work is not yet completed. At a point when Joshua was running out of time and energy, God gives him his greatest responsibility.   Joshua is chosen to divide the rest of the land up among the tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. What’s the old saying, “where there’s a will, there are relatives.” Much of this land had not yet been conquered. It was a potential emotional minefield. If you’ve had the sad experience, following a death in the family, of the squabbles, pettiness and bitterness that can develop when a will is administered, you can begin to relate to the difficulties facing Joshua.    Here was the potential of infighting on a national scale. It needed a man of Joshua’s stature and character to set it in motion. Fighting battles against vicious enemies was easier than dividing up this inheritance. Taking out Jericho was a walk in the park compared to dividing the land among these nine and a half tribes.   God gave Joshua his greatest task as his last. He’s the patriarch, the respected leader and statesman. He’s the one that they would submit to and listen to. If others had attempted this monumental task, it might have resulted in civil war. As it was, not every tribe was satisfied with Joshua’s allocation of the land, (chapter 17).    Just when we think Joshua should have already been given a gold watch and shuffled out the door, God gives him more responsibility. Why do we view the aged as useless? Because our American notion of retirement is unbiblical. The last verse of Psalm 90 says, “Establish the work of our hands for us–yes, establish the work of our hands.” That means (as Scripture repeatedly states) that hands should be busy. Those who remember the chief end of man is "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," still want to have retirement savings for use in the years when they may not have the strength to work full‑time or even part‑time, or when they may want to be full‑time volunteers. But the goal of spending every day on the golf course or out fishing or just sitting around drinking coffee, is an unbiblical one.   My dear friend and mentor, Dr. Jim Grier, who is himself a senior citizen, related to me how grieved he was that his generation were being such poor stewards in their sunset years. He said that they will be accountable for entertaining themselves when God still had so much work for them to do. When they had the time and financial resources, they had now surrendered to carnal self-indulgence.   What an example my quasi-adopted parents, Dave and Mary Cummins, are. Though in their seventies, though he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, they are still serving the Lord in world missions.   Child of God, please write this on your heart – there is no retirement program for the believer on this earth. Our retirement program is heaven. As we near our later years, like Joshua, God may have even greater work and responsibilities for us to accomplish.   History records that many have made some of their greatest contributions after the age of 65. The Earl of Halsburg was 90 when he began preparing a 20‑volume revision of English law. Goethe wrote Faust at 82. Galileo made his greatest discovery when he was 73. At 69 Hudson Taylor was still vigorously working on the mission field, opening up new territories in Indochina. God never intends for us to retire from spiritual activity. The Bible says we can “still bring forth fruit in old age.” As our Lord kept the “best wine” for the last at the wedding in Cana (Jn 2:10), so He seeks to gather the most luscious clusters of the fruit of the Spirit from the fully ripened harvest of our lives.   Do you really believe God would keep you on this earth if He didn’t have a worthwhile ministry for you to accomplish? Joshua’s work was not done and neither is your’s. Friend, keep on serving the Lord until He retires you!   2. God always blesses faith, Joshua 14:5-15. Scripture contains many great little-known men. Caleb was one of those. He’s mentioned just a few times in Scripture. When I picture Caleb, I see some small, wiry tough old bird. His name, “Caleb,” literally means “dog.” Dogs in ancient times were not pets or man’s best friend like today. They were fierce and mean. Picture “meaner than a junkyard dog.” Caleb was a fierce, courageous, aggressive competitor.    In the Caleb narrative we find only the second instance in this book of a blessing, v. 14. Today a blessing has little significance but back then the whole concept of a blessing was a rich one. Remember Jacob tricked his father Isaac so that he could have the family blessing.   God’s blessing upon His people bestowed effective and abundant life upon them. Joshua, as God’s representative, placed God’s blessing on Caleb in response to Caleb’s faith. Wonderfully, it was more than just wishful thinking. It meant that God’s best would be upon Caleb. This blessing tapped into the resources and power of God Himself. And as God placed His blessing upon Caleb, He wants to place His blessing on us.   Do you want to be blessed by God? Caleb had certain character qualities, even at eighty-five, that brought God’s blessing upon his life. Caleb’s faith was demonstrated in these traits. Here was a man that wasn’t ready to retire at eighty-five, much less sixty-five. He still wanted new horizons and new battles. He didn’t look for the easy task but asked for a new challenge. The territory he requests was one of the tougher ones. There were giants living there. Whole tribes had abandoned what Caleb sought to do.   As we examine the character qualities of this seasoned warrior of the faith, please keep in mind two exhilarating truths: First, it is possible for life’s greatest achievement to take place in old age; the other, there is no retiring age in the service of our Heavenly Father.   William Barclay told of receiving a letter that concluded with, “Yours, eighty‑three years old and still growing.” That was Caleb. To him old age didn’t mean petering out, but pressing on to grander attainments; not slowly descending the mountain, but scaling another peak; not senility, but adventure and achievement. His life moved steadily forward, not to termination merely, but to consummation. At every stage of life he towered above his contemporaries. In youth he stood alone. In mid‑life he walked alone. In old age he climbed alone. If we want God’s blessing, like Caleb, we must be Caleb’s kin and follow his path.   a) Caleb was willing to stand alone, 14:8. Forty-five years before when Israel was on the brink of the Promised Land, Moses sent twelve spies in to survey the land. While all of them came back and acknowledged that it was a great land, flowing with milk and honey. Ten of them came back terrified and said that the land was unconquerable, that there were giants in the land. Only Caleb and Joshua returned singing a duet of faith in God, “We can do it, we can do it!” Horribly, the nation believed the ten doubters and were even angry at Caleb and Joshua, ready to stone them. But in spite of the tremendous peer pressure, though he was virtually alone in front of nearly a million, Caleb stood his ground, believed God and urged the nation to trust Him, too.   Spiritual commitment often leads to isolation. If you stand for God, you will often be very lonely. Often we urge our teens to withstand peer pressure, but how are you doing as an adult at withstanding peer pressure? Do you stand alone? Are you righteously different from the lost people that you work with or live near? Do you live by different values? When dirty jokes are being told, do you take a stand? What about when someone is gossiping or backstabbing another employee? Another neighbor? Are you ethical and honest even when others are not? Even when it costs you? Do you stand alone in your view of retirement? Most retirees can’t wait to take care of themselves? Are you different? Do you see retirement as greater opportunity to serve the Lord?   Caleb was going for another mountain when most thought he should be put out to pasture. How about you? Does your Christlikeness make you stand out like Caleb did?   b) Caleb was committed, 14:9. But how could Caleb stand alone when everyone else disagreed with him? How could he trust God against such terrible odds? How could he believe that God would enable him to conquer giants when he was eighty-five? Caleb’s secret is found in that word used to describe him “wholeheartedly.” Six times in the narratives about Caleb we find that he is consistently described as one who followed God “wholeheartedly.” The Hebrew phrase means that he was “filled to the full with God.” Caleb was blessed by God and could stand alone because he was flooded with the very presence of God. There wasn’t room in Caleb’s life for anything else because he was so filled with God. God’s life in Caleb was fulfilled because God filled him. That was the key to his success. To wholeheartedly follow God is another way of saying that you are a disciple. That’s one of the reasons we’ve designed a program called “disciples for life.” Wholeheartedly following God is normative and is the only way to have God’s blessing on your life.   Friend, are you like Caleb? Are you wholeheartedly following God? If you want to be effective in your later years, wholeheartedly follow God today. As your heart and faith grow, as you become more and more Christlike, more and more a person of the Word, then like Caleb – your very best work for the Lord may well come when you are a senior citizen!   c) Caleb claimed God’s promises, “just as the LORD promised” (14:10.) Simply put, God said it and Caleb believed it. God said that He would give Caleb this chunk of land so Caleb cashes in God’s check. Caleb didn’t let what he saw or felt keep him from God’s promises. He was an old man. There were giants on his turf. But he claims the land through the eyes of faith.   I struggle here. While I know what God says and I believe it in my head, my feelings and heart don’t always want to step out in faith. But we will never be blessed as Caleb was until we take God at His Word.   Five times Caleb hammers his point home; his request is for nothing but what God had promised him. That’s the essence of true faith; pleading God’s promises and anchoring oneself upon His Word.   Caleb also pointed out how God had already kept His promise. God promised to keep him alive to enter the land and He kept His promise. As we remember how God already has kept His promises, it shores up our faith to trust Him to continue to keep His promises.   David Adeney testified, “I discovered the power of the Word of God in my own life during a time of depression when I was strongly tempted to give up. Almost in desperation, I turned to John’s Gospel and read it all through in one sitting. God spoke to me through it and I realized again that faith comes through the hearing of the Word of Christ.”  My friend, perhaps you have small faith because you spend so little time in the Word! You cannot claim promises that you do not know!   d) Caleb had vision, 14:11-12. The Anakites were giants, their cities large and fortified. This would have been a great place to live accept for the giants. It was probably one of the nicest pieces of property in Israel. Giants usually live in the nicest places. Giants take it and run everyone else out.   The odds were not in this old warrior’s favor. But Caleb didn’t see the giants, he saw God. What do you see? Do you see the problems or do you see the power of God?   Can I come into your personal space for a moment? What’s the giant in your life? You know what it is. Is it fear? Anger? Some addiction? Is it a financial problem? Your marriage? One of your children?   Are you willing to claim victory over your giant by God’s power? Our natural tendency is to play it safe. To run and hide when the heat is on. God does not want you to be conquered by your giant. I’m not going to tell you the battle will be easy or quick. But I can assure you that, just like Caleb, if you have a vision for what God wants to do with your life and claim His promises, your giants will come tumbling down! God wants you to conquer your giant, not run and hide from it. You must though rely on His power and grace.   Have you ever wondered why God allows giants in our lives? He does it so that we will rely on His strength and power. We tend to take on the little things, the things that we can handle in our own strength. We tend to play it safe. Living by faith and doing God’s will is not about being “safe.” You will never conquer your giant in your own strength. Caleb knew that. He said that he would conquer his giants with “the LORD helping me.” He relied on God’s power and God’s resources. Friend, what do you see? Do you see giants or do you see God?   Are you nearing your retirement years? Perhaps you’re already in them? Do you still have a vision for what God can do through you? Or, do you want to play it safe? Do you realize that Moses did not even start his career until he was eighty? Michelangelo completed his greatest painting, “The Fresco of the Last Judgement” in the Sistine Chapel, when he was almost seventy. At an age when most people just talk about the past, Caleb still lived for the future. Caleb at eighty-five was still going for it – are you?   e) Caleb inspired others, 15:13-17. Not only does Caleb drive out these giants, he is so intent that the land be conquered, he offers the treasure of his life, his daughter, to anyone who takes another city.   Obviously, this is not how we give away our daughters today. Though there was some discernment on Caleb’s part. His daughter would not marry a slacker this way but a man of courage and character. Othniel later became the first judge in Israel and saved the nation from a heathen king (Judges 3).   Not only did Caleb conquer his giants, he inspired the next generation to wholeheartedly follow the Lord. Are you encouraging others to follow the Lord? Do you seek to inspire them to follow the Lord more fully? It’s so sad when older saints are discouragers, rather than encouragers? When they cause others to expire, rather than inspire.   f) Caleb was generous, 15:18-19. When you’ve given your blood and sweat to something, it is tempting to hoard...to even be stingy. Caleb had given his daughter and son in-law a tract of land but apparently it did not have an adequate water supply. It seems to with his daughter, Acsah, that the apple does not fall too far from the tree. Caleb is aggressive and she’s aggressive. And there is nothing wrong with being a little aggressive for good. As God had blessed Caleb, she now asks him for a blessing.   Caleb sees this as a legitimate need and rather than keeping the best for himself, he gives it away. He doesn’t try to get her to take some old swampland. He gives her the best.   Mark it down. You will always find that those who have a heart for God, who follow Him wholeheartedly, are always generous. God is generous and His followers will be generous too. He gave His best and so we in turn will willingly give our best. If you really want to know how wholeheartedly you follow God, ask yourself how generous you are with that which really matters to you. Do you really want to be blessed by God? Then, like Caleb, must be a generous person.   Caleb represents the ideal believer who wholeheartedly follows God and is in turn blessed by God. Friend, are you wholeheartedly following God? While most of the tribes had limited success in driving out the enemy, Caleb was completely victorious. As Hastings writes, “The man who wholly followed the Lord was wholly alone victorious.” God wants to bless us like He did Caleb but we must first wholeheartedly follow Him! 3. God always rewards faithfulness, 19:49-50. In the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, a Japanese gymnast, Shun Fujimoto, was competing in the team competition. Somehow, during the floor exercises, he broke his right knee. It was obvious to all reasonable observers that he would be forced to withdraw from the Games. But they did not count on the determination of a true competitor. On the following day, Fujimoto competed in his strongest event, the rings. His routine was excellent, but the critical point lay ahead–the dismount. Without hesitation, Fujimoto ended with a twisting, triple somersault. There was a moment of intense quiet as he landed with tremendous impact on his wounded knee. Then came thundering applause as he stood his ground. Later, reporters asked about that moment and he replied, "The pain shot through me like a knife. It brought tears to my eyes. But now I have a gold medal and the pain is gone."   Joshua had gone through a lot of pain, tears and bloodshed. He had seen his beloved leader, Moses, die before entering the Land and a whole generation perish in the wilderness. He had faithfully served God and fought battle after battle. Now he has his reward.   What a wonderful example of a gracious, godly leader! Unlike most leaders who claim the first and best for their own, Joshua waits until all the others have been given their inheritance and he lets the people give him his reward. With courtesy and humility he waits until the last. It reminds us of that verse in Matthew 19:30 “many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” No one could accuse Joshua of greed or selfishness. He put others and God’s will before his own needs. But Joshua receives something that no others received, his own city that was not part of his tribe’s territory.   How fitting! The division of the land began with Caleb’s portion and ends with Joshua’s. These two spies were rewarded for their faithfulness. It reminds me of that chorus, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.”   My friend, God always rewards faithfulness! What are you living for? I hope not the temporary passing stuff of this world. Joshua and Caleb were wise. They invested in something bigger than themselves; they invested in eternity!   While we know that heaven does not have a ghetto, I wonder if the smallest rewards, the littlest mansions will be for American believers. Too often we are Christian secularists, living only for this life and foolishly neglecting investing in that which lasts, eternity!   The Puritan, Samuel Rutherford, said “One day in heaven will pay you, yea, overpay your blood, bonds, sorrow, and sufferings; it would trouble an angel's understanding to lay the account of that surplus of glory which eternity can and will give you.” Dear friend, be a Joshua, be a Caleb – invest wisely, invest in eternity!! Conclusion: What do you want on your tombstone? Over the years I’ve done a lot of funerals. It’s very sad to me when all I can relay about a person is that they loved to fish or hunt, had a nice house or lots of cars. For a believer, that is a wasted life.   It is not enough to start well, it’s better to end well. Caleb and Joshua ended well. They finished the race. How about you? How about me? If we want to end well, we must make some tough choices. We must choose between focusing on this temporary life or focusing on eternity.   William Hunt, the noted painter, addressed a stern remark to a pupil one afternoon when the class was painting a glowing sunset. Looking over the boy’s shoulder, the artist noticed to his dismay that the student had ignored the sunset and was busy painting an old red barn with decaying shingles. “Son, son,” he shouted. “It won’t be light long! You haven’t time for both shingles and sunsets. You must choose!”   Friend, you must choose! Will your life count? Will you invest in eternity? Will you pour yourself in to something bigger than yourself? “Only one life will soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last!”    If God is saying to you, “I want you to have an effective life,” then grab onto Caleb’s life, grab onto Joshua’s. Allow them to take you by the hand and draw you up with them so that you will have a perpetual youthful spirit and a willingness to face new challenges, not looking for “Saints’ Rest,” not looking for peace and comfort. Follow them and you will be effective, even at the end of life. Friend, what will you choose?