Caleb:
Texts:
Numbers 13:25-14:10, 14:24 NASB (also Num. 26:65,32:12; Josh. 14:6-15; 15:13-19;
Judges 1:11-15, 20) NASB
Introduction: How do you want to be remembered?
· Example from the weird movie The Royal Tenenbaums (he had put on his tombstone that he died rescuing his family from a sinking battleship, even though he died of a heart attack and never really did anything very noble)
· Caleb is remembered in the Bible as having followed God fully. In fact, it’s written four different times in the Bible that he followed God fully.
· Following God fully is something worth achieving
Thesis: Since we as God’s people are to be following God
with all our heart, soul, & might (Deut.
6:5), then we can learn from Caleb’s life what it means to follow God fully.
Transition: So let’s look together at the lessons we can learn from the story of Caleb and the Israelites.
A. Exposition
1. Opening: They stood at the brink of greatness…and then they turned tail and ran.
2. Characters/ setting: Israelites; 2 years after leaving Egypt; after Mount Sinai, after numerous miracles showing God’s hand on them
3. Opening event: They’ve arrived near the Promised Land, and Moses sends 12 spies (1 per tribe) to scout out the Land. (Nu 13:1-24)
B. Rising Action
1. The spies return & report (Nu 13:25-33)
a. 10 cowards (vv. 25-29)
b. 2 who trusted in God (vv. 30-33)
2. The people’s response (14:1-10)
a. Wanted to go back to Egypt (vv. 1-4)
b. Caleb & Joshua pleaded with them to trust and obey God, to no avail (vv. 5-10)
C. Climax
1. God threatened to wipe out the Israelites (14:11-12)
2. Moses pleaded on their behalf (vv. 13-19)
3. God assigns punishments and rewards (vv. 20-38)
a. All adult Israelites (except Caleb & Joshua) will die by wandering in the wilderness for 40 years (vv. 20-23, 25-35)
b. Only Caleb & Joshua will enter the Promised Land (vv. 24, 38)
1). Why? Because Caleb “has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully.”
2). Caleb’s stand
for God & His ways, his trust in the Almighty’s ability to do what He
promised, saved Caleb’s life & marked him for special blessing
3). God promised
that Caleb & his descendants would take control of the land
c. The 10 faithless spies died of a plague (vv. 36f)
D. Falling action
1. The Israelites tried to take the Land the next day (vv. 39-40)
2. They failed
a. It was too late; God had pronounced that they would wait 40 yrs, & their children would enter the land.
b. God was not with them, and so they got whipped (vv. 41-45)
E. Resolution—It came about just as God had promised
1. Only Caleb & Joshua (of all the adults of that fateful day) entered the land, after 40 yrs.
2. Caleb & his children inherited the land
F. Dénouement
1. Caleb was 40 when he was a spy; he was 85 when he asked for his portion of land, promised by God.
2. He asked for the part occupied by the mighty Anakim, and he slayed them (not bad for such an old guy!)
3. He gave his daughter & his son-in-law, Othniel, a city and a spring (so his children did inherit the land)
A. Caleb trusted and obeyed God.
1. He took God at His word. He knew that Israel’s strength lay in God’ power.
2. That’s why he knew that they could conquer the bigger, stronger people in the Promised Land—because God would deliver it to them (Nu. 13:30; 14:8-9).
3. He wasn’t afraid to claim the promise that he and his children would inherit the Land. God had promised it to him, so he knew it was his.
B. Caleb was courageous.
1. He (and Joshua) stood against the other 10 spies.
2. He (and Joshua) stood against the grumbling people of Israel.
3. He stood against the large people of the Anakim, fighting & conquering them at the age of 85!
4. Caleb’s courage stemmed not from his own ability or strength or from self-confidence, but from faith in God’s trustworthiness and power.
C. Caleb was vigorous.
1. At 85, he was the oldest (or at least 2nd oldest) man in the nation of Israel.
2. Yet he went out and won battles against the mighty Anakim.
D. Caleb was outspoken about following God.
1. He encouraged the nation of Israel to turn away from their sinful grumbling & obey God.
2. He set a reward for whoever would conquer Kiriath-sepher (God had said to take the whole land and not to leave the previous inhabitants)
3. He was not a lone ranger or personal-glory-seeker. He encouraged Othniel (later a judge).
Conclusion
(Application):
1. Will we trust and obey God?
2. Will we be willing to courageously stand up for what is right?
·
“Truth
cannot be measured by numbers. On the contrary, it often stands against
majority opinion. Truth remains unchanged because it is guaranteed by the
character of God. God is truth; what He says is the last word. …Caleb’s
boldness rested on his understanding of God.” (Life Application Bible)
· In contrast to Caleb, too often we “base our decisions on what everyone else is doing. …We are more like the people of Israel,” getting our information secondhand. We base our understanding of right and wrong on experts’ opinions, friends’ opinions, popular consensus, or even just what sounds good personally, rather than asking that all-important question, “What does God say about it?” We need a few more Calebs, people who follow God fully.
© 2003 by Jeffrey Westbrook
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