Judg 1:13-15 | KingComments | STEP | There is another important aspect to Caleb’s attitude and behavior, and that is that he encourages others to behave in the same way. By his example he wakes this up in others. That’s still how it works. The faithfulness of the individual arouses others to act in this way. The name ‘Caleb’ means, among other things, ‘wholeheartedly’. It always comes down to an undivided heart. Whosoever serves and trusts God with all his heart achieves victories of faith. The spark of this enthusiasm of faith then jumps over to others, as here to Othniel. The name Othniel means ‘lion of God’ or ‘my power is God’. In him we see an example of the heroism of faith. The cause of this lies not in his own power but in the power of God. He relies on that. Caleb’s proposal finds connection with him through the example he saw in Caleb. An additional incentive is the reward that Caleb is promising. He promises that whoever takes Kiriath-sepher will have his daughter Achsah as his wife. This was not said to deaf ears in the case of Othniel.

‏ Judges 1:13-15

Othniel

There is another important aspect to Caleb’s attitude and behavior, and that is that he encourages others to behave in the same way. By his example he wakes this up in others. That’s still how it works. The faithfulness of the individual arouses others to act in this way. The name ‘Caleb’ means, among other things, ‘wholeheartedly’. It always comes down to an undivided heart. Whosoever serves and trusts God with all his heart achieves victories of faith. The spark of this enthusiasm of faith then jumps over to others, as here to Othniel.

The name Othniel means ‘lion of God’ or ‘my power is God’. In him we see an example of the heroism of faith. The cause of this lies not in his own power but in the power of God. He relies on that. Caleb’s proposal finds connection with him through the example he saw in Caleb.

An additional incentive is the reward that Caleb is promising. He promises that whoever takes Kiriath-sepher will have his daughter Achsah as his wife. This was not said to deaf ears in the case of Othniel.

Achsah

Achsah will certainly have been an attractive woman. Nevertheless, Othniel will not have appreciated her primarily for her outer beauty. What kind of woman she is, is apparent from her name, her attitude, and her behavior. Her name means ‘ankle adornment’. This indicates that her walk, her way of life, is to the glory of God. She resembles the woman mentioned in 1 Peter 3 (1Pet 3:1-6). There is talk there about adornment several times. In her walk she is one who lives up to what God has said.

In the New Testament it says of the slaves that they “will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect” (Tit 2:9-10). To be able to adorn ‘the doctrine of God’, that is the teaching that God gives through His Word, we also need to know that doctrine. Achsah is interested in what God has said and promised. This determines her attitude and behavior. It is to be hoped that every Christian woman will follow her example.

This also applies to every Christian man. He may gain profit from what his wife radiates. Not only the Christian woman, but also the Christian man is responsible for adorning ‘the doctrine of God’ with his life. Through our way of life we adorn or disfigure ‘the doctrine of God’. It is about putting into practice what we have learned from God’s Word.

Caleb, Achsah and Othniel all belong to the tribe of Judah, that is, they all belong to the tribe whose name means ‘praiser of God’ or ‘praise’. A walk in faith and trust follows from the praise of God. Whoever is thankful to God for His great goodness will show through his life that that gratitude is real. His life will become, as it were, one great praise to God. He will bring his life more and more into conformity with the Word of God. This is the inevitable consequence in the life of someone whose heart goes out to God and to what He has said.

Achsah Asks for and Gets Springs of Water

Achsah is a beautiful woman, not only because of her outer beauty. This is not only reflected in the meaning of her name. What also makes her so attractive is her mindset, her behavior. This shows her actual, inner beauty. Precisely because of her mindset she is a great complement to Othniel.

Achsah possesses something of her father’s spirit. She is not satisfied with just having a property. She wants it to be a fertile property. The Negev is a land of sunshine and warmth, of fertility and beauty, but she wants to have something in it that enables her to fully enjoy that piece of land and that are springs of water. Caleb gives what she asks for. He gives her the upper springs and the lower springs.

We too can know that we ‘own a piece of land’. With us this is in connection with spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. However, enjoying it is something else than just owning it. An example can be found in the life of the apostle Paul. He speaks of ‘the upper springs’ when he speaks of ‘abundance’. For example, in the letter to the Romans, he speaks of “the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many” (Rom 5:15 ; 20). He also mentions in that letter “that you will abound in hope” (Rom 15:13). In his second letter to the Corinthians, he writes that “our comfort is abundant through Christ” (2Cor 1:5) and later he says: “I am overflowing with joy” (2Cor 7:4).

Grace, hope, comfort, joy, it is all to be found in Christ in heaven. From these springs the believer can always draw, even if for him not everything prospers and grows. Then he knows that in Christ, the upper Spring, there is refreshment to be found that cannot be affected by adversity.

There are also the lower springs. Paul speaks of this when he speaks of ‘suffering need’ (Phil 4:12), of times of trial. An example of this can also be seen in the second letter to the Corinthians when he says: “For when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need” (2Cor 11:9). It is a refreshment when there are brothers who help us in our need. That is a refreshment from a lower spring than the refreshment we receive from the Lord Himself. Yet the result of the refreshment is the same. We experience the blessing of the land when drinking from both springs.

The refreshment we receive from both the upper and lower springs makes the Lord Jesus greater. God is glorified when we ask great and good things of Him. We should not reduce Him to the limitation of our thoughts. He has brought His people into a good land, and it is His desire to bless them there. God has also brought us into a good land and all He wants is to bless us there.

Unfortunately, we see that even in our time only few believers show the interest and commitment for the blessing we see in Achsah. There is an added application. Achsah is the wife of Othniel, who in our time represents an overseer in the church, someone who leads the people of God. Overseers are people who only function properly if they have a wife of the caliber of Achsa at their side. She is someone who encourages spiritual activity.