For Father’s Day this year, my dad asked my sister and I to write him a devotional. It was a precious request. After a hectic weekend of camping and birthday celebrations for my 4 year old, this simple gift was the perfect way to end the evening. We gathered on the back porch while the kids played inside, sharing some sodas while we shared some scriptural truths as an encouragement to our dad and our husbands… sounds kinda perfect, doesn’t it? But before you create an idealistic vision in your head… remember we were doing all of this while tending to the needs of six children six and under, interrupting with questions and settling minor disputes. First, the kids were loudly gallivanting through the room. Next thing you know someone was crying, the one year old disappeared, and finally one of them announced they needed to poop!
At first, I was a little annoyed. We just needed a little peace and quiet… a chance to share these special thoughts we’d prepared.
But then I realized the backdrop of needy children actually reinforced this truth of the devotional below: we come to someone with our needs when we believe they can provide.
THE BOOK OF JUDGES & A FATHER’S PROVISION
Recently, I’ve been studying the book of Judges for our church’s sermon series. The book of Judges shows the cycle of compromise that repeats itself as people forget God – sometimes within a lifetime, often between one generation and the next.
The importance of fathers passing on their faith and building a strong legacy is a lesson to be learned from this book!! Most do not do it well. But some do.
Caleb was one of those fathers. Yes, I’m talking about the same Caleb we think of as the partner to Joshua. He was a great warrior! A wise leader! But we often overlook the fact that he shines as an exemplary father in the first chapter of Judges.
In Judges 1, he is busy winning battles all the while assuring that his daughter finds a good husband who is worthy of her. During a time when women were married with a “bride price”, it’s easy to view marriage arrangements as a negative reality – that women were merely seen as property to be traded. But when we read it through the cultural lense of honor and value, we realize that Caleb’s involvement was in trying to protect his daughter. He wouldn’t marry his daughter to just anyone. He needed them to be a valiant warrior, victorious over the enemy – brave and faithful to complete the mission God had given them.
Judges 1:12 Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.” 13 Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz, was the one who conquered it, so Acsah became Othniel’s wife.”
Who is Othniel? Let’s stop here for a side quest about Othniel. Not only did this man prove that he is faithful driving out the enemy, but he is the very man God chooses to be the first Judge of Israel. Did you realize that? Caleb’s son-in-law is the first judge. Not right away. But his eventual leadership connects the timeline from Joshua and Caleb to Othniel, from the conquest of Canaan into the era of the Judges. It links the older generation with Caleb’s younger nephew, Othniel, who was likely born during the wilderness wandering. Pretty cool! Especially when you consider that Acsah and Othniel come from the Kenizzite clan that was grafted into the tribe of Judah. Caleb and his descendants, representing the Gentiles, show how we are grafted into the blessings of the Promised Land, and not just included… chosen to lead and participate in God’s plan! What an honor!
Let’s continue… “14 When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him[b] to ask her father for a field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What’s the matter?”
15 She said, “Let me have another gift. You have already given me land in the Negev; now please give me springs of water, too.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.”
Notice, she isn’t afraid to ask her father for a blessing. In fact, he had already given her land. But land without a water source is not fertile, so she asks for water. Water would provide the dry parcel of Negev desert with resources for a fertile agricultural stronghold.
She wasn’t just asking for a favor. She was asking for provision.
THE LIVING WATER THAT NEVER RUNS DRY
Here we see a typology of Christ in the Old Testament. Jesus is our Living Water, a source that does not run dry. Jesus uses this same language for himself when he talks to The Samaritan Woman at the Well in John 4. Jesus tells the woman that unlike physical water from a well, which only satisfies temporarily, the water He gives becomes a perpetual “spring of water welling up to eternal life”.
At The Festival of Tabernacles, Jesus says “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. (John 7:37-38).
Water is an image for God throughout Scripture. Jesus says these waters represent the Holy Spirit within us. And in Judges 1, Caleb represents our Father God giving us the Living Water in Christ.
ASKING FOR GOD’S PROVISION
When we ask to share in the blessings in Christ, we must ask humbly and expectantly. Acsah knew her worth and value, not because she was great and mighty but because she knew she would find favor in her father’s eyes. She was not afraid to ask her father for a blessing, and neither should we. She knew the waters would supply a legacy of fruitful land and from that territory, Othniel was able to rule and reign as the first Judge, providing 40 years of peace in Israel.
We can all look at the example of Acsah and be inspired to understand our value in the eyes of God who loves us.
- Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
- James 1:5 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
Fathers can more specifically look to the example of Caleb as a model of fatherhood.
Are your children confident to come before us and ask for what they need? Or do they fear you will begrudge them? Do you work hard to provide for your family’s needs? Or does the well run dry due to your lack of diligence? Will you protect your family’s legacy, ensuring your children marry well and have generational resources? And, most importantly, are you sharing your faith? Pointing them to the spiritual reality of the Living Water that never runs dry?
MY PERSONAL REFLECTION
My father always said my sister and I could pull $100 bills out of your wallet. And though we try not to abuse that privilege toooooo often, we know that it’s true.
He wants to bless us with good gifts and see us prosper. He is invested with his time, his resources, and even his property, taking care of the family land and building a cabin to bless our family with family time.
My own husband works hard to provide as the breadwinner and leader of our home. He is raising children who respect his hand of provision and are confident he loves them and wants what is best for them.
How do I know this is true?
Because they aren’t afraid to ask. When a child appears needy, it is because they believe you can meet their needs.
When a child appears needy, it is because they believe you can meet their needs.
Ashley Giovannucci | A Father’s Provision
How wonderful that my father, like Caleb, assured my sister and I married men who were worthy of our hand in marriage, men who fight for their territory and drive out the enemies of greed, selfishness and a weak-will that prevail in our culture today.
Thank God for fathers who love their children and faithfully provide!
- Philippians 4:6 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
- Matthew 7:11: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
- James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Every good thing we experience is a gift that God has given us. When we realize how much He loves us, we realize that we lack nothing because it is already ours in Christ Jesus, the Living Water that provides!
