THE MAN WHO WANTED A MOUNTAIN
TEXT: Joshua 14: 6-15
INTRODUCTION: Caleb was a “We Can” man! Not all of the people that I know are like that; I am afraid that I am not as much like that as I would like to be. It does thrill me, though, when I find that I am facing great difficulties and am able during that time to muster up enough faith to say, “We can do it”. That is the way Caleb was. Caleb wanted something that had been promised to him forty years earlier. For all of those years he was patient and he kept the faith. With his unwavering spirit, Caleb cried, “Now therefore give me this mountain…” Let’s look at Caleb and learn good lessons from him as we go after our mountains.
I. THE CHARACTER OF CALEB. (Vv. 8, 9, 14)
I recently read this about the way character is defined: Personal character traits are the attitudes you have toward your activities and challenges. These traits may be positive or negative, depending on the situation. Positive personal character traits lead to achievement, while negative traits can lead to failure or frustration. Most of these traits are established through training from parents, while others are gained from peer groups. (Kurtus).
May I add that the character traits of the believer may be developed through a steady diet of God’s Word.
Without knowing anything about Caleb, other than what the Bible tells us, we can only observe the certain qualities about him as it applies to the above definition of “personal character traits”. I immediately like Caleb’s attitude towards his activities and his challenges that he faced, when reading about him at Kadesh-Barnea. (Joshua 13)
A. His Character Indicated His FIGHT. (Numbers 13:30)
“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
I notice in this verse that Caleb is ready to fight for what is his. I admire that quality in people. Believe it or not, there are some things that I will “bear arms” over:
1. My faith, 2. My family, 3. My freedom, 4. My future.
Church, I want to go on record as your Pastor. “There are some things around here that we all embrace in the faith that we will fight for”. We have been doing so for over 53 years now and I want to serve notice on the devil, we will not retreat, with God being our helper. Instead, we will just “turn it up about two more notches!”
Caleb was willing to drive the Anakims out and they were giants. Are you willing to go after the “giants in your life”. Giants are “big problems” until the Lord gets into the fight. David said, “This battle is of the Lord”.
B. His Character Indicated His FAITH. (Numbers 14:8,9)
“If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.”
“Faith is the Victory”, that overcomes this world. We shall continue as did Caleb to do a work of faith. Just as did the Church at Thessalonica, we want to do a “work of faith” and a “labour of love” having “patience of hope” in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father. Trusting and believing God is such a necessary ingredient in doing the Lord’s work. Without faith it is impossible to please God; I sure want to please Him…
II. THE CONTINUING OF CALEB. (Vv. 10-12).
Satan does not mind if you start the race; he just does not want you to finish the race. I only had one big rule for my sons when they asked me if they could play ball. I told them that if they started on the team that they had to finish with the team. I recall while in college how many started as compared to how many that finished. Many times I heard the expression, “Don’t start anything unless you plan on finishing it.” Do you realize that most marriages end because one or both partners decides to quit? Brother Samples said that if Donna leaves him that he was going to go with her. That is just another way that Brother Samples says, “I am not going to quit my marriage”.
I am working on my Hebrews Commentary and I have completed nearly 300 pages and have around 100 to go. Every devil in hell, it seems, crawls on my shoulders and whispers, “Quit!” The truth be known, not one devil would be necessary; my own flesh often wants me to quit. This may be the reason that I keep rehearsing in my mind: “You measure greatness by what it takes to stop you” or “How can you stop a man who won’t quit?”
Sir Winton Churchill knew what it meant to finish the job: “Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt…We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job”
You will never know how many times that I was tempted to quit when we were building this new building. While I was suffering with Hemochromatosis I was giving a pint of blood each week for 35 weeks. In addition to feeling the pressures of getting this building built, we had more church problems during that time than I had experienced during my entire ministry here. I was out of breath just walking fifty feet from having my phlebotomies. When I was tempted to quit, I would come up into the pulpit and say, “The devil may be fighting us, but we are just going to turn it up two more notches!” And that we did! If you have a temptation to quit, why don’t you just turn it up two notches and go on for Jesus!
A. Caleb Continued Because He Had a GOAL. (V. 12)
“Now therefore give me this mountain”. He made a large request because he trusted a big God. This reminds me of the story of Napoleon. Napoleon and his soldiers overcame an island in the Mediterranean Sea. They had fought for many days to take the island and finally succeeded. After the capture of the island at the price of many lives, Napoleon and his generals gathered for a celebration. As they were sitting around a great table, talking about the victory, they were interrupted by a young officer.
Napoleon looked at him and said, ’What do you want?’
The young man looked at Napoleon and said, ’Give me this island!’
The generals began to laugh. They could not believe he was forward enough to ask Napoleon for the island that they had fought so hard to win.
They thought to themselves. Who does he think he is? Anyone with the audacity to make such a request of Napoleon was certainly putting his own life at risk.
But then Napoleon turned to one of his aides and asked for a pen and paper. He wrote out a deed to the island, signed it, and gave it to the young man, leaving his generals stunned and amazed.
’How could you do it?’ one of the generals asked Napoleon. ’What made him worthy to receive this great island?’
’I gave him this island,’ Napoleon replied, ’because he honored me by the magnitude of his request.’
We need to be like this young officer of Napoleon’s and like Caleb aiming high and big. Even if one has to wait ½ of a lifetime to receive the blessings of God, it is worth it when trusting the promises of God. Caleb believed God for the promises and fought for what was his. You have heard me say, “It is better to aim for the sun and hit an eagle than to aim for an eagle and hit a rock” Why not claim some lofty mountains. Whether it is marriage or ministries, set some lofty goals and then wait on God!
B. Caleb Continued Because He Had a GUARANTEE. (14:9)
“And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God”.
One of the greater joys of the Christian faith is when one learns to walk by faith and not by sight. Think of the countless missionaries who have left their native land to serve a foreign people and the thrill in which they do so. The Cepec family enjoys being with their family here and their church family, but I promise that they long for that day that they can be back in Trinidad. God called them there and gave them a love for it and the people. More than that, they rest in the promises that their labor there is not in vain.
III. THE CROWNING OF CALEB. (14:12-15)
A. The Crowning Had God’s SIGNATURE. (V. 12)
Just about every statement that Caleb made, it included the Lord. The Lord blessed that fact that Caleb wholly followed the Lord. A great lesson that we might learn from this study is that when we follow the Lord, we can expect His marvelous blessings. God promised Caleb through Moses an inheritance and he believed that to be God’s signature on the deal. When we obediently follow the Lord in doing His will, we may expect the crowning blessings to come.
B. The Crowning Had Great SIGNIFICANCE. (Vv. 13,14)
Hebron was a city in south Judah approximately 20 miles south of Jerusalem and approximately 20 miles (30 km) north of Beersheba and near where Abraham built an altar. The meaning of the mountain was “fellowship” or “association”. It was as though Caleb was saying when requesting this mountain, that what he wanted above all else was fellowship. As a closing thought, may this be our desire as well. We need one another’s Christian fellowship in these last days more than ever!
