Daughter of Deliverance by Gilbert Morris

them within walled cities, was daunting.
    â€œGod will do it,” Joshua said loudly. Raising his eyes and his hands to the heavens, he entreated, “God, you are the Almighty One. Nothing is too difficult for you, but you must help me, for I am weak.”
    Joshua’s hearing was still keen, and he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Turning, he saw Caleb rapidly striding toward him. Joshua smiled at his old friend, whom he so greatly admired. At the age of eighty-five, Caleb was still tall, lean, and strong. His piercing hazel eyes could see farther than anyone in all the tribes of Israel. Joshua noticed the missing forefinger on his left hand, remembering how it had been bitten off by a bear. Caleb had slain the bear with only a knife but had lost his finger. It was a story Caleb loved to tell to his children and grandchildren.
    â€œGood morning, Joshua,” Caleb said. His voice was high-pitched and could carry for miles, and his face was expectant. “Am I disturbing you?”
    â€œNot at all, old friend,” Joshua replied with a smile, “but we must face up to some facts. The big fact is that Moses is leaving us.”
    Caleb glanced at Joshua’s face and saw the lines that the years had put there. “Are you worried about leading Israel?”
    â€œOf course I am!”
    â€œDon’t be.” Caleb shrugged his shoulders. He had sinewy arms and fingers, and by his side was the sword with which he was an expert. A knife hung on the other side. He was also an expert with a sling, able to bring down a deer at an unbelievable distance. “Jehovah will be with us,” he said.
    â€œHe’ll have to be,” Joshua said grimly. He gazed down again at the camp. “Does it seem strange to you that we are the oldest ones who will enter the Promised Land?”
    â€œYes, I suppose it does. But God commanded that the old generation would have to die off in the wilderness. Only those who were twenty or younger when we came over the Red Sea are left now.”
    â€œExcept for you and me. We’re the old men.”
    â€œI’m as strong as I was when I was twenty, and so are you.”
    â€œWell, you don’t lack confidence.” Joshua dropped his face and studied the ground for a long moment, then said, “I miss those who are gone.”
    â€œSo do I, but I love the new Israel. The men are strong and lean. They’re ready for a battle. It’s not like it was when you and I first brought back the news of the land that is to become ours.”
    â€œI was just thinking about that. We could have already been there for the last forty years if it hadn’t been for the unbelief of the people.”
    â€œWell, that’s all done,” Caleb said with a shrug. “Now what?”
    â€œWhen Moses leaves, we’ll cross over the Jordan, and that’s when the battle will begin.”
    â€œI’m ready for it!” Caleb replied. “We’ll go forward in the power of God and watch Him give us the victory.”
    The two old men stood for a moment, bound by their past history, trusting and loving each other as only warriors who have been in battle together can. Then they turned and walked slowly back down the trail that led to the camp.
    They parted, and Caleb went directly to the section of the camp occupied by Judah, of which he was a member. He found his own tent and his daughter Ariel, and his face brightened as always. Her real name, one given to her by her mother, was Acsah, but Caleb had chosen his own name for her. Legally she might be Acsah, but she was Ariel to him. He paused to study her for a moment, and a rush of pride filled him. She was, to him and to many of the young men of Israel, the fairest woman of all. She was as tall as he was, with a beautiful complexion. Her hair was as black as a raven, and she had almond-shaped, wide-spaced eyes of a peculiar gray color that was sometimes almost green. She had a