Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We
should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do
it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t go up against
those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the
Israelites a bad report… Numbers 13:30-32
The Israelites have come out of Egypt under Moses. After many years of wandering in the wilderness they have reached the borders of the land God has promised them, the land of Canaan.
God tells them to send a reconnaissance party (let’s call them spies; it’s shorter) into Canaan to report on the type of land that lies before them. They come back carrying a big clump of grapes on a pole, plus some pomegranates, figs and no doubt other goodies too. (Take a look some time at the logo for the tourist ministry of modern Israel.)
Yes, this is a good land! – it “flows with milk and honey”.
But… (there would have to a but, wouldn’t there?). Of the twelve spies, ten “bring a bad report”. True, they say, the land as such is wonderful, but the people are big and powerful, the cities are well-built and have strong defences. And so: “We can’t go up against these people; they are stronger than we are.” Gloom and despondency.
Only one voice is raised against these pessimistic words: that of Caleb (though it emerges later that Joshua was with him in this). Caleb is positive and optimistic: “we can certainly do it… the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them…” (13:30, 14:9).
Caleb is mentioned several times in these early books of the Bible, but this is what he is mainly remembered for: the voice of faith protesting against the voice of doubt.
The thing that strikes me is this: what Caleb saw in the land of Canaan was exactly the same as what his fellow-spies saw. How come, then, that his reaction was so different to theirs? The answer, of course, is that he had greater faith. But that simply leads on to another question: Why did he have this greater faith? Where did it come from?
If we look at one or two of those other references I mentioned we get the answer. In Number 14:24 we read God’s verdict on Caleb: he “has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly.” (See too Numbers 32:12 and Deuteronomy 1:36.)
All twelve of the spies were, I imagine, loyal and patriotic Israelites. They believed in God and wanted to do his will. But there was that something extra, a “different spirit”, about Caleb. For him, faith in God wasn’t some extra quality “bolted on”, so to speak, to his character. No, it was part of the very essence of his being.
And it’s as true today as it was all those hundreds of years ago: bold, robust faith arises from a deep relationship with God. Even today it’s found in people who are able to declare, with Caleb, “the Lord is with us!”
That “different spirit” God praises him for was not the Holy Spirit as we today understand the Spirit in the light of Jesus and the New Testament. But it was a way of describing a mentality, an attitude which dominated and controlled Caleb’s whole life. The Message translates Deuteronomy 1:36 this way: Caleb “was all for following God, heart and soul.”
At this point in his life Caleb was eighty-five. We know next to nothing about how his faith had grown and matured into this life-controlling mentality. Perhaps he had suffered, and had to cling to God through hard times. Perhaps he had simply heard God’s word and allowed it to penetrate deep into his soul rather than let it run off his back. Perhaps he had been deeply influenced by some specially godly person.
Whatever, this was a man for whom God was by far the most real factor in his existence: not just a name or a theoretical belief, but a burning reality. A man who thought and pondered and reflected. A man of depth. A man of prayer.
The young man mainly responsible for leading me to faith in Christ when I was a teenager used to talk about being “on fire for God”. I’ve never forgotten that dramatic expression, and it still challenges me today. It chimes in with Paul’s words to the Christians of Thessalonica, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), where the word “quench” conveys the idea of putting out a fire.
Caleb was on fire for God, while others mumbled, hesitated and examined their toes. They looked at Canaan – and saw problems. He looked at Canaan – and saw the power and the purposes of God.
When we are confronted with obstacles and discouragements, what do we see?
One thing is for sure: Churches need Calebs…
Lord God, forgive me that I am so easily discouraged by obstacles and problems. As I cling to you with all my strength, may I demonstrate the kind of faith you found so pleasing in your servant Caleb. Amen.
The Israelites have come out of Egypt under Moses. After many years of wandering in the wilderness they have reached the borders of the land God has promised them, the land of Canaan.
God tells them to send a reconnaissance party (let’s call them spies; it’s shorter) into Canaan to report on the type of land that lies before them. They come back carrying a big clump of grapes on a pole, plus some pomegranates, figs and no doubt other goodies too. (Take a look some time at the logo for the tourist ministry of modern Israel.)
Yes, this is a good land! – it “flows with milk and honey”.
But… (there would have to a but, wouldn’t there?). Of the twelve spies, ten “bring a bad report”. True, they say, the land as such is wonderful, but the people are big and powerful, the cities are well-built and have strong defences. And so: “We can’t go up against these people; they are stronger than we are.” Gloom and despondency.
Only one voice is raised against these pessimistic words: that of Caleb (though it emerges later that Joshua was with him in this). Caleb is positive and optimistic: “we can certainly do it… the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them…” (13:30, 14:9).
Caleb is mentioned several times in these early books of the Bible, but this is what he is mainly remembered for: the voice of faith protesting against the voice of doubt.
The thing that strikes me is this: what Caleb saw in the land of Canaan was exactly the same as what his fellow-spies saw. How come, then, that his reaction was so different to theirs? The answer, of course, is that he had greater faith. But that simply leads on to another question: Why did he have this greater faith? Where did it come from?
If we look at one or two of those other references I mentioned we get the answer. In Number 14:24 we read God’s verdict on Caleb: he “has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly.” (See too Numbers 32:12 and Deuteronomy 1:36.)
All twelve of the spies were, I imagine, loyal and patriotic Israelites. They believed in God and wanted to do his will. But there was that something extra, a “different spirit”, about Caleb. For him, faith in God wasn’t some extra quality “bolted on”, so to speak, to his character. No, it was part of the very essence of his being.
And it’s as true today as it was all those hundreds of years ago: bold, robust faith arises from a deep relationship with God. Even today it’s found in people who are able to declare, with Caleb, “the Lord is with us!”
That “different spirit” God praises him for was not the Holy Spirit as we today understand the Spirit in the light of Jesus and the New Testament. But it was a way of describing a mentality, an attitude which dominated and controlled Caleb’s whole life. The Message translates Deuteronomy 1:36 this way: Caleb “was all for following God, heart and soul.”
At this point in his life Caleb was eighty-five. We know next to nothing about how his faith had grown and matured into this life-controlling mentality. Perhaps he had suffered, and had to cling to God through hard times. Perhaps he had simply heard God’s word and allowed it to penetrate deep into his soul rather than let it run off his back. Perhaps he had been deeply influenced by some specially godly person.
Whatever, this was a man for whom God was by far the most real factor in his existence: not just a name or a theoretical belief, but a burning reality. A man who thought and pondered and reflected. A man of depth. A man of prayer.
The young man mainly responsible for leading me to faith in Christ when I was a teenager used to talk about being “on fire for God”. I’ve never forgotten that dramatic expression, and it still challenges me today. It chimes in with Paul’s words to the Christians of Thessalonica, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), where the word “quench” conveys the idea of putting out a fire.
Caleb was on fire for God, while others mumbled, hesitated and examined their toes. They looked at Canaan – and saw problems. He looked at Canaan – and saw the power and the purposes of God.
When we are confronted with obstacles and discouragements, what do we see?
One thing is for sure: Churches need Calebs…
Lord God, forgive me that I am so easily discouraged by obstacles and problems. As I cling to you with all my strength, may I demonstrate the kind of faith you found so pleasing in your servant Caleb. Amen.
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