A Man With A Different Spirit Caleb is one of those good men of the Old Testament that we don t talk a lot about. He seems to be overshadowed by Joshua most of time. We don t have a lot of information about Caleb but what we do have demonstrates he was a very good man. He is a great Old Testament example of faith, courage and life long commitment to God. 1
We are first introduced to Caleb when he was selected to be one of the 12 spies that went in to spy out the land of Canaan in Numbers 13. We probably remember that story. The spies went all thru the land and brought back a report of what they saw to Moses and the Children of Israel. 10 of the spies gave an evil report to the people saying they were not strong enough to take the land that God had promised them. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of the 12 to give a good report saying that with the help of God they could take the land. Let s go to the book of Numbers and read their report to the Children of Israel. Nu 13:26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 2
27 Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 "Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 "The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan." 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." 3
32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 "There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." Nu 14:1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 "Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4
4 So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt." 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. 6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' 9 "Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them." 5
Caleb and Joshua understood a principle that most people through out history have not. We need to fear God and not man! The Psalmist understood this principle Ps 56:11 In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Ps 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? This principle applied to men like Caleb and David and others under the Law of Moses in a physical sense. Generally, when they obeyed God, He blessed them physically. He gave them great victories over those who wanted to harm them. David over Goliath, Gideon over the Midianites, Samson over the Philistines, etc 6
When God sent them into battle they were not to fear their enemy. The Hebrew writer understood this principle of fearing God and not man applies to us today. Hebrews 13:6 So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? It applies to us in a spiritual sense today. Physically, man can ridicule us, ruin us financially, imprison us and execute us. But, neither man nor satan can harm us spiritually unless we allow it. They cannot touch our eternal soul! John 10:28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 7
Jesus emphatically taught we are to fear God and not man. Luke 12:4 "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Let s get back to Caleb in Numbers 14 Caleb and Joshua had been pleading with and encouraging the Israelites to do what was right. To obey God. Because of this the vast majority of the people turned on them! Numbers 14:10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. 8
That s nothing new is it? Men turning on the servants of God has been going on since the beginning of time. Cain turned on Abel Saul turned on David The Jews turned on Jeremiah They also turned on Christ and His followers. The same will happen to us today. 2Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. After the people decided to stone Caleb and Joshua, God appears to Moses and is ready to wipe the Israelites out completely and raise up a new nation from Moses Moses pleads with God to spare the people and pardon their sin. God agrees but is still going to bring punishment on them for their rebellion 9
Beginning in verse 20 God spells out what their punishment will be. Numbers 14:20 Then the LORD said: "I have pardoned, according to your word; 21 "but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD- 22 "because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 "they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. 24 "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. What a wonderful thing to be said about a man by God who knows the hearts of man. 10
Caleb was different from most people. He had the courage, faith and determination necessary to obey God no matter what others thought about it. And he was willing to encourage others to do the same. He stood in stark contrast to most of the Israelites that day who decided it was too difficult to obey God. Many people today are like those Israelites and aren t willing to obey God because they believe it is too difficult. They don t have a spirit of courage, faith and determination to obey God. Matthew 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 11
Unlike most people today the Christian needs the same type spirit that Caleb had. We need the courage, faith and determination to obey God no matter what others think about it. We need this type spirit to fully follow God. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to demonstrate characteristics similar to Caleb s. 1Co 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. We need to demonstrate those same characteristics in our lives today. We need to watch: always being on guard against our enemy the devil. We need to stand fast in the faith: never allow ourselves to be moved away from the system of faith revealed in the Word of God. We need to be brave: Always demonstrating the principles of God s will in the face of all opposition. 12
We need to be strong: We become strong with a good diet and exercise. We need to feed ourselves on the good food of the Word of God and then exercise those principles in our lives on a daily basis. We see how faith, strength and courage was demonstrated by Caleb. We also see the wonderful quality of perseverance. Caleb waited for 45 years for these promises to be fulfilled. Jos 14:7 "I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 "Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God. 13
9 "So Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.' 10 "And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eightyfive years old. 11 "As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 "Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said." 14
13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. It would have been so easy for Caleb to have given up. He could have thought I stood up for God. I did what was right. But I am suffering right along with these people who rebelled against him He could have thought serving God hasn t helped me at all. Caleb had to wander in the wilderness with everybody else for 40 years through no fault of his own. But, he never gave up because he knew God would fulfill His promises! 45 years later it was still said he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. 15
There is another lesson for us. If we want to inherit the promise of eternal life then we must persevere in this life. We cannot quit! Being a Christian is a rest of our lives occupation. Mt 10:22 "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. CONCLUSION If we want to be pleasing to God then we need to be like Caleb and have a different spirit than most men. Christians are different than the world! Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. We need to demonstrate the faith, courage, determination and perseverance in our lives that Caleb did in his. 16