The city of Debir was the Boston of antiquity--a great place for brains
and books.
Caleb wanted it, and he offered his daughter Achsah as a prize to any
one who would besiege or storm and capture that city.
It was a strange thing for Caleb to do; and yet the man who could take
the city would have, at any rate, two elements of manhood--bravery and
patriotism.
Besides, I do not think that Caleb was as foolish in offering his
daughter to the conqueror of Debir as thousands in this day who seek
alliances for their children with those who have large means, without any
reference to moral or mental acquirements.
Of the two evils, I would rather measure happiness by the length of the
sword than by the length of the pocket-book. In one case there is sure to
be one good element of character; in the other, there may be none at all.
With Caleb’s daughter as a prize to fight for, General Othniel rode into
the battle. The gates of Debir were thundered into the dust, and the city
of books lay at the feet of the conquerors.
The work done, Othniel comes back to claim his bride. Having conquered
the city, it is no great job for him to conquer the girl’s heart; for,
however faint-hearted a woman herself may be, she always loves courage in
a man. I never saw an exception to that.
The wedding festivity having gone by, Othniel and Achsah are about to go
to their new home. However loudly the cymbals may clash and the laughter
ring, the parents are always sad when a fondly cherished daughter goes
away to stay; and Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, knows that now is the
time to ask almost any thing she wants of her father.
It seems that Caleb, the good old man, had given as a wedding present to
his daughter a piece of land that was mountainous, and, sloping southward
toward the deserts of Arabia, it was swept by some very hot winds. It was
called “a south land.”
But Achsah wants an addition of property; she desires a piece of land
that is well watered and fertile.
Now, it is no wonder that Caleb, standing amid the bridal party, his eyes
so full of tears because his daughter was going away that he could hardly
see her at all, gives her more than she asks. She said to him: “Thou hast
given me a south land; give me also springs of water.” And he gave her
the upper springs and the nether springs.
That passage occurs in the fifteenth chapter of the Book of Joshua,
nineteenth verse, but I never saw it till a little while ago; and as I
came upon it I said: “If God will give me grace, I shall preach a sermon
on that before long.”
The fact is that, as Caleb, the father, gave Achsah, the daughter, a
south land, so God gives to us His world. I am very thankful that He has
given it to us.
But I am like Achsah in the fact that I am not satisfied with the
portion. Trees, flowers, grasses and blue skies are very well in their
places; but he who has naught except this world for a portion has no
portion at all. It is a mountainous land, sloping off toward the desert
of sorrow, swept by fiery siroccos. It is “a south land”--a poor portion
for any man who tries to put trust in it.