20 So the Lord said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; 21but indeed as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. 22 Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My [miraculous] signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, 23 will by no means see the land which I swore to [give to] their fathers; nor will any who treated me disrespectfully and rejected Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land into which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. Numbers 14:20-24 AMP
I would like to start off by saying that you need to read Numbers chapters 13 & 14 to get the full picture of this passage, and post. I would also like to say that Caleb is quite possibly my favorite biblical personality because I see so much of myself, and draw inspiration from the small snippets that we get from his life in scriptures. To set the scene for this post, in Numbers 14 the children of Israel has already been in the wilderness for several months since leaving Egypt. God had already performed numerous miracles on behalf of the children of Israel, yet they still were finding it difficult to trust God. In the previous chapter (Numbers 13) God instructed Moses to send out 12 spies, 1 from each tribe of Israel, to scout the land of Canaan which God had promised that he would give the descendants of Abraham in Genesis 15. The 12 spies spent 40 days and nights in the land of Canaan observing all the riches and provisions of the land that God had promised to give them. Upon returning to the camp after 40 days, 10 of the spies gave reports that highlighted the wealth of the land, but also was filled with doubt and worry concerning the “large and powerful” people (Anakites) of the land. The doubtful and fearful rhetoric of the 10 spies caused the people to lose heart and desire to return to Egypt out of fear of fighting and falling victim to the people who currently occupied the land. In the midst of all this uproar, there were 2 spies who spoke with faith and confidence that God would indeed fight on their behalf to conquer the land of Canaan. One of those spies was Caleb, a member of the tribe of Judah. He courageously declared before the people
“Let us go up at once and take possession of it; for we will certainly conquer it.
numbers 13:30
Previously in the Justified series I have focused on the ongoing battle between satan and God for the hearts and soul of mankind. In the earlier posts it can appear that we humans are innocent bystanders, and lack ownership/autonomy in this ongoing struggle, which would be a misrepresentation of reality. In reality we are intricately involved in the battle of good and evil because it is our free-will, our choices, our heart/soul that is up for grabs, and we make the decision as to who has our heart. Caleb in Numbers 13 declared his allegiance and trust in God, NOT only in his own heart/mind, but boldly before others. Because of Caleb’s unwavering faith, and trust in God in spite of the “giants” he’d seen while spying in the land of Canaan, the lack of faith expressed by 10 of the other spies, and the constant doubts expressed by the multitude that had left Egypt, he remained FAITHFUL. For Caleb’s faith, God rewarded he and Joshua with the honor of entering his promised land. Now that might seem small because alot of people entered the promised land after 40 years, but what you would be wrong to ignore is that Caleb and Joshua were the only 2 spies who had seen the land who were able to enter it, and also they were the only 2 Israelites over the age of 20 at the time of the incident whom God allowed to enter the land of Canaan. In Numbers 13 & 14, God introduced us to a concept that Jesus later declared plainly to his disciples, that we are also entitled to
“I say to you, whoever declares openly and confesses Me before men [speaking freely of Me as his Lord], the Son of Man also will declare openly and confess him [as one of His own] before the angels of God.
Luke 12:8 AMP
Because Caleb professed his faith IN God before people, God Justified him before men. Caleb’s faith was made evident through his words and action. Because his heart was for God, he was chosen by God he to enter the promised land, and that his descendants would possess the land.
Reflection Time
Can God depend on you? The text says that God identified Caleb as having a “different” spirit, what would God say about your spirit? How would you evaluate yourself spiritually; do you feel that you consistently represent Christ in your life? Prepare yourself by reading and meditating on scriptures so that when the moment comes where you have to stand for Christ, God will be able to Justify you in spirit and in deeds.
