Comfort in Suffering: The Song of Joshua, Caleb, and the Judges
When Israel groaned in the wilderness, warred for Canaan, and was oppressed in the era of the judges, God raised up faithful leaders—whose suffering and triumph become our comfort in affliction today.
Joshua and Caleb Joshua the son of Nun was mighty in war, and was the successor of Moses in prophesying. He became, in accordance with his name, a great savior of God’s elect, to take vengeance on the enemies that rose against them, so that he might give Israel its inheritance. How glorious he was when he lifted his hands and stretched out his sword against the cities! Who before him ever stood so firm? For he waged the wars of the Lord. Was not the sun held back by his hand? And did not one day become as long as two? He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One, when enemies pressed him on every side, and the great Lord answered him with hailstones of mighty power. He hurled down war upon that nation, and at the descent of Beth-hor′on he destroyed those who resisted, so that the nations might know his armament, that he was fighting in the sight of the Lord; for he wholly followed the Mighty One. And in the days of Moses he did a loyal deed, he and Caleb the son of Jephun′neh: they withstood the congregation, restrained the people from sin, and stilled their wicked murmuring. And these two alone were preserved out of six hundred thousand people on foot, to bring them into their inheritance, into a land flowing with milk and honey. And the Lord gave Caleb strength, which remained with him to old age, so that he went up to the hill country, and his children obtained it for an inheritance; so that all the sons of Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord. The Judges The judges also, with their respective names, those whose hearts did not fall into idolatry and who did not turn away from the Lord— may their memory be blessed! May their bones revive from where they lie, and may the name of those who have been honored live again in their sons! Samuel, beloved by his Lord, a prophet of the Lord, established the kingdom and anointed rulers over his people. By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord watched over Jacob. By his faithfulness he was proved to be a prophet, and by his words he became known as a trustworthy seer. He called upon the Lord, the Mighty One, when his enemies pressed him on every side, and he offered in sacrifice a sucking lamb. Then the Lord thundered from heaven, and made his voice heard with a mighty sound; and he wiped out the leaders of the people of Tyre and all the rulers of the Philistines. Before the time of his eternal sleep, Samuel called men to witness before the Lord and his anointed: “I have not taken any one’s property, not so much as a pair of shoes.” And no man accused him. Even after he had fallen asleep he prophesied and revealed to the king his death, and lifted up his voice out of the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.
Sirach 46:1–20 celebrates Joshua, Caleb, the judges, and Samuel as heroes whose faithfulness brought deliverance and whose memory becomes a blessing to God's people in every generation of suffering.