In the Old Testament, we read about a man that I greatly admire. That is probably the reason that we chose the name Caleb for our second son.
Most of us recall how Joshua and Caleb…
Whoa, hold on for a minute. Even the billing for this great story put Caleb second. And you know what? He did not mind that whatsoever, because in heart and mind, he knew that he would always be second. Yes, God would always be first in Caleb’s eyes. When one has that mindset all the credit stuff just doesn’t matter.
Caleb was the representative for the Tribe of Judah as the twelve spies were to go into Canaan under Moses’s directive. He wanted to see what the “Promised Land” looked like and see the folks that lived there. Caleb’s buddy Joshua was also a chosen spy. There were ten more, but we don’t talk about them. I guess their names are recorded however I have not taken time to look them up since I was in school… and that is a long time ago.
The twelve guys also know as the twelve spies went in for a look around. They could not help but admire the productivity of the countryside. The farmer side in them could see the potential. They took a look around at the cities and they noticed the people that lived there. That is where the problem started. People looking at people…
The twelve guys, I mean twelve spies, went back to Moses, and started telling stories of fortified cities and the warriors that lived there. There was some rough country where some really big folks, like giants lived. And the worry side came out and in unison, ten of the twelve guys, I mean twelve spies, started complaining. Some of the even wanted to go back to Egypt where they had been slaves.
And then our man Caleb steps up and proclaims rather straight forward that “We can do this, because God Is on our side”. We need to “Walk by Faith”. His proclamation no matter how true it was fell on deaf ears and hard hearts. Caleb and Joshua were the only two that knew God would be true to His word of giving them this land of promise.
To no avail. God sent the Israelites back into the wilderness to wander for forty years till all the knot headed adults that doubted God died off. Caleb and Joshua had to hang out with that bunch until the last one died off.
Then it was time to enter the Promise land. Joshua took over for Moses. And again Caleb was more than willing to be in the background and just do what God asked him to do. The Israelites moved through the land laying hold of it as their new home. After some time had passed, Caleb went to his old friend Joshua with a request.
“Joshua, old buddy, old pal, old friend… “ (No you will not find that in the King James Version, but I believe that from Hebrew to Larry… this is a pretty good translation)
Anyway, on with the story. Joshua… You know that rough country over yonder? It was promised to be my inheritance way back when. Well, I think it is time for me to take the family over and lay claim to that land.
Joshua listened intently and then reminded his dear friends of the giants that lived there. That bit of information did not deter Caleb one iota. In fact, it set off one the great challenges from Caleb to humanity for the ages. “God has kept me alive and going for the last 45 years, and today I am as strong as the day I first went into the land as a spy. If the Lord be with me and He is…there will nothing that can stand in our way.”
You know what is so fun about this speech. Caleb was 85 years old. Did you catch that? Going through life… walking by faith in God. All I can say is Wow. I want to be like Caleb.
Well, Well, Well… I think I see some giants on the horizon.
Oh by the way... Walk by Faith was our theme at Rainbow Bible Ranch this summer.
