Joshua 14:6-15 – Following the Lord doggedly

Caleb and Joshua were two of the twelve spies sent into Canaan to explore and recce the land. They were also the only two that gave a positive report and encouraged the people to trust and obey the Lord. The other 10 spies whom they went in together to reconnoiter Canaan gave a damning report that discouraged the people from moving forward. In this passage, Caleb was recollecting the promise Moses made to him in Kadesh-Barnea. In verse 9, he recollected what Moses said to him. The specific words were, “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever because you have followed the Lord, my God, fully.”

Caleb’s name means “dogged.” He was not one who would be easily dissuaded. So, we read that he was one who doggedly followed the Lord. Whatever the cost it would take to obey the Lord, Caleb was such a man. He was not a person that could be side-tracked from following the Lord. Emulating his example, we too can be a person who will risk all to follow the Lord and be ensured of victory in our journey with Him. There are several qualities of Caleb that we want to look at closely and adopt them for our spiritual journey.

Caleb was a committed man. His commitment was second to none. The testimony about him was that he wholly followed the Lord. He was not one who would allow a large gap to exist between the Lord and him. He closed the gap and ensured that the distance between him and the Lord was not wide. Every fibre within him belonged to the Lord. What about us? Can we say with certainty that every part of us, whether in thought, word or deed, is congruently one with the Lord? We should never be half-hearted believers and profess with our lips but dare not take the risk of obeying the Lord regardless. A double-minded man can never maintain a stable walk with the Lord.  

Secondly, not only was Caleb a committed man, but he was also a confident man.  Here he was at 85 years of age, yet his confidence did not abate even a single bit. When Moses made the promise to him, he was only 40 years old. Now 45 years later, his desire was still burning with the deep passion within him. He could still feel the same old familiar feeling that he could lick the enemy with the help of the Lord. His fearless cry was, “Give me that mountain.” We must always remember faith is being confident in the Lord. It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Like Caleb, let us have unflinching trust in the Lord, and be assured that He will never fail us in a single promise that He has made in His Word.

Thirdly, Caleb was also a courageous man. His focus was firmly fixed on the goal and not on the difficulties. It was not as if he did not know the difficulties he would have to encounter. It was a case where he dared to believe that the God he served was much greater than all the obstacles he would encounter. He was not dissuaded by the giants, nor the mountain, so why should he be dissuaded by his grey-hair. Just as Caleb, God wants us to move on courageously. As Mark Twain so aptly put, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” Let’s hear the call to be bold and courageous as we journey with the Lord. 

Fourthly, we see that Caleb was a conquering man. He scaled the mountain, defeated the giants and possessed his inheritance. He inherited Hebron meaning “fellowship.” He would not stop till he conquered the mount of fellowship, a place where he could meet God face to face. Will there be an obstacle on our way to the mountain? Certainly! We must take these lessons from Caleb. Be committed as well as be confident. Then be courageous and consistently build a conquering spirit!