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NUMBERS 13 & 14
Under the leadership of Moses, the people of Israel had completed the long and difficult journey from Egypt to the edge of Canaan. It was finally time to enter and conquer the land God had promised to give them.
The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness. One of those twelve men was a man named Caleb, leader of the tribe of Judah.
When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Look the land over. See what it’s like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Inspect the cities: Are they unwalled or fortified? Examine the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back samples of the fruit of the land.”
So the twelve spies went up and explored the land. They went as far as Hebron, where the descendents of the giant Anak lived. When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes that was so large that it took two of them to carry in on a pole between them! After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to the Israelite camp.
They reported to Moses and the people of Israel what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. Their report was one of good news and bad news. They said, “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! But the people living there are powerful, and their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!
The people began to murmur, but Caleb silenced them. “Let’s go at once and take the land,” he said. We can certainly conquer it!”
Caleb remembered how the Lord had already provided for Israel since they left Egypt—how He had parted the waters of the Red Sea, how He had provided water from a rock, and how He had rained down manna from the sky. Caleb was sure that God would once again help them if they battled against the people of Canaan.
But ten of the twelve men who had explored the land with Caleb disagreed. “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger that we are.” So they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land. They said, “The land we explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw there are huge. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!
The majority measured the giants against their own strength; Caleb measured the giant’s against God’s strength. The majority trembled; Caleb triumphed. The majority saw great giants and a little God. Caleb saw a great God and little giants.
That night all the people of Israel wept aloud. They grumbled against Moses. They said, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or even here in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be carried off as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a new leader and return to Egypt.”
Caleb pleaded with the people: “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. The Lord will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Him. And don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are helpless prey to us! They have no protection because the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them.” But the whole assembly began to talk about stoning them.
Later, the Lord said to Moses, “As surely as I live, not one of them will ever see the land I promised to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he explored, and his descendants will inherit it.”
[The above paragraphs are a paraphrase of a few translations (NIV, NLT, The Message) with a few comments thrown in as well.]
FORTY-FIVE YEARS LATER
Let’s fast forward forty-five years.
Under the leadership of Joshua, the people of Israel are now in the land of Canaan. They have won many battles and are ready to distribute the land to the twelve tribes of Israel.
6Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know that what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’
10“Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said” (Joshua 14:6-14).
13Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel wholeheartedly.
Six times the Bible says that Caleb followed the Lord “wholeheartedly” (Numbers 14:24; 32:12; Deuteronomy 1:36; Joshua 14:8, 9, 14).
Caleb followed the Lord wholeheartedly because he trusted in the promises of God. When he was forty, he believed God’s promise to give Israel the land of Canaan. When he was eighty-five, he believed God’s promise to give him and his descendants Hebron.
FOLLOWING THE LORD WHOLEHEARTEDLY
The person who follows the Lord wholeheartedly:
1. Finds a spiritual FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.
The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. Florida is often said to be its location. (Maybe that’s why so many seniors move to Florida.)
Had Caleb discovered the Fountain of Youth? He said, “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then” (Joshua 14:11). (Perhaps he was exaggerating a bit.) At eighty-five years old, Caleb was ready to fight giants!
Caleb had not found the Fountain of Youth, but he had discovered a source of spiritual renewal: the Lord.
“[The LORD] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31).
God said that Caleb had a “different spirit” (Numbers 14:24). He had a different spirit from the other ten spies, who were defeatists (Numbers 13:31). He had a different spirit from the rest of Israel, who were complainers (Numbers 14:1-2). Many times when people age, they become more negative. They become defeatists and complainers. But Caleb, at eighty-five, remained positive because he trusted in the Lord.
Today, those who trust in the Lord have been given even greater promises than Caleb knew of. We don’t, like Caleb, long for the land of Canaan; we long for heaven. The apostle John wrote of his vision of the heavenly city in Revelation 21:
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (vv. 2-4).
In the midst of great difficulty, the apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Caleb recalled God’s provision for the Israelites in the wilderness and knew that God was on their side. We can go to the Scriptures and read of the cross of Christ and know that God is on our side. Those who put their trust in Jesus have eternal life and the promise of heaven. That hope should renew us day by day.
2. Doesn’t want to go into spiritual RETIREMENT.
It’s tragic that many people reach sixty-five, retire, and wonder if their usefulness is over. So many great things have been accomplished by those who were long past the age of sixty-five:
• Galileo made some of his greatest scientific discoveries at the age of 73.
• John Glenn returned to space at the age of 75.
• Benjamin Franklin was a framer of the U.S. constitution at the age of 81.
• Michelangelo was still producing masterpieces at the age of 89.
• Dr. Jonathan Goforth, the great missionary to China, wrote to his children on his 75th birthday: “You must not wonder at me even at 75, eager to remain here in the high places of the Field, for the opportunities of service were never greater and the outlook for a great harvest never brighter than now.”
• Polycarp, at age 86, refused to deny his Savior and when to the stake, saying, “Eighty and six years have I served Him and He has never failed me. Will I deny Him now?”
• “When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the Lord said to him, ‘You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over’” (Joshua 13:1).
• Caleb, at age 85, said, “Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said” (Joshua 14:12).
“[The righteous] will still bear fruit in old age” (Psalm 92:14a).
Old age doesn’t mean the end of spiritual battles and victories. Caleb wasn’t looking for a life of ease; he was ready to fight!
The NT contains some very important instruction for elderly men and women. The church needs godly men and women serving the Lord in their latter years.
3. FINISHES well.
Caleb followed the Lord in the wilderness, and he continued to follow the Lord in the land of Canaan, forty-five years later. He and his children defeated the Anakites and settled in the land God had promised to him. He finished well.
It’s a shame when a person doesn’t finish well. Babe Ruth is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. He was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season, a record which stood for 34 years until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth’s lifetime total of 714 home runs was a record for 39 years, until broken by Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for average. His .342 batting average is tenth highest in baseball history. Beyond his impressive statistics. Ruth completely changed the game of baseball itself. His home run totals not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from a low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power game.
Babe Ruth was traded from the New York Yankees to the Boston Braves before the 1935 season. It would be his last. His conditioning had deteriorated so much that he could do little more than trot around the bases. His batting was well below his career average. His fielding was dreadful. At one point, three of the Braves’ pitchers threatened not to take the mound if Ruth was in the lineup. He didn’t finish well.
Fortunately, spiritual success doesn’t depend on our physical condition. We can serve the Lord and others in any condition. Even on a sick bed, we can be an example and encouragement to others.
The apostle Paul finished well: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6-7).
That the faith which was ours in youth may be undimmed in old age, that the vision of the Lord shall be clearer as we grow older, that when life’s journey is almost done we shall not be content merely to survey the past but be ready and eager still for fresh battles with the enemy—surely it is to all this that we aspire. (Alan Redpath, Victorious Christian Living, p. 197)
ALL OF YOUR HEART FOR ALL OF YOUR DAYS
God wants you to be like Caleb—to follow Him with all of your HEART for all of your DAYS.
God doesn’t want you to follow Him with all of your heart for part of your days. He doesn’t want you to follow Him with part of your heart for all of your days. God wants you to follow Him with all of your heart for all of your days.
May it be said of us at the end of our days: “He followed the Lord wholeheartedly.” “She followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”
CALEB: A Man Who Followed the Lord Wholeheartedly
Numbers 13-14; Joshua 14:6-14
Six times the Bible says that Caleb followed the Lord “wholeheartedly” (Numbers 14:24; 32:12; Deuteronomy 1:36; Joshua 14:8, 9, 14).
The person who follows the Lord wholeheartedly:
1. Finds a spiritual ___________________________________.
Caleb: “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then” (Joshua 14:11). At eighty-five years old, Caleb was ready to fight giants!
“[The LORD] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31).
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
2. Doesn’t want to go into spiritual ____________________.
“[The righteous] will still bear fruit in old age” (Psalm 92:14a).
Old age doesn’t mean the end of spiritual battles and victories. Caleb wasn’t looking for a life of ease; he was ready to fight!
3. ____________________ well.
Caleb followed the Lord in the wilderness, and he continued to follow the Lord in the land of Canaan, forty-five years later. He and his children defeated the Anakites and settled in the land God had promised to him. He finished well.
“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6-7).
God wants you to be like Caleb—to follow Him with all of your _______________ for all of your _______________.
