Caleb

We have much to learn from Caleb. No problem was too big for him. He knew that God would help him through each one. He believed it when he first went into the promise land as a spy and some 45 years later he still believe it.

Joshua 14:8-13

8 But my brethren who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.

9 And Moses swore on that day, Surely the land on which your feet have walked shall be an inheritance to you and your children always, 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 since the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while the Israelites wandered in the wilderness; and now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.

11 Yet I am as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so is my strength now for war and to go out and to come in.

12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke that day. For you heard then how the [giantlike] Anakim were there and that the cities were great and fortified; if the Lord will be with me, I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.

13 Then Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb son of      (yef·oon·neh) Jephunneh for an inheritance.

I.       When Moses was ready to enter the promise land, he send in a group of spies to check out the land

A.    Caleb and Joshua was the only spies of 11 who said the Lord will be with us, go into the land

1.     Caleb was 40 years old at this time

2.     Caleb was ready to follow God

B.    The others spies said there are giants in the land

II.     The nation of Israel would have to wonder for 40 years

A.    All had to died before God would let them go into the promise land

1.     All because of their lack of faith

B.    Caleb and Joshua were the only ones still alive

1.     They had faith in God

2.     They believed and acted on that believe

III.    So 45 years later Caleb is still the man of God

A.    In verse 8 we read “I wholly followed the Lord my God”

1.     Deuteronomy 1:36, Save Caleb the son of (yef·oon·neh) Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.

2.     The word “wholly” means  “wholeheartedly”

3.     God was truly first in his life

4.     He was a Abraham, who had faith, he was a David, who had no fear, he was a Paul, who was happy in prison, he was a man of God

a)     Caleb was not a prophet, or someone special, he was a human being just like each of us

5.     When you read about the life of these men, you can not help to see what ordinary men they were

a)     All that they did is trust God for every thing and let Him have rule in their lives

B.    So Caleb is ready to take on the giants

1.     Just like he did 45 years earlier

C.    He is 85 years old now

1.     He has not slowed down a bit

2.     Caleb was a man of God and he used his faith

a)     And this day he still is a man of God

IV.   What about us?

A.    Do you want to be a Caleb?

B.    I think of the testimony of a Negro man who said his favorite Bible verse was, “It came to pass.” When puzzled people asked him what he meant by that, he replied, “When I get into trouble and problems pile up, I turn to my verse and know my troubles have not come to stay; they have come to pass.” [1]

C.    O if we would just have child like faith as all these people did that we read about in the Bible

D.    Caleb got rewarded for his faithfulness

1.     He believed God and it was counted towards him as blessing form God

2.     We in turn can receive blessings from God if we are faithful to HIm

3.     Are we wholly following God?

4.     Philippians 3:14, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

a)     The question is do we press towards the mark as well?

E.     Caleb was just like David when he saw the problem with Goliath he thought nothing of himself, it had all to do with God

F.     That is one reason why all these men and women are mention in the Word of God, for our example

Sunday morning Biker Services 2/25/07

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[1]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (2:30). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.