How Caleb’s Journey of Faith Encourages Us Today

Brad Simon

Writer

Published August 09, 2023

Born in captivity, Caleb was destined to live a life of slavery, but God had different plans. Throughout his childhood, his parents taught him about the God of their forefathers. He grew spiritually as he walked by faith with his Lord. As a young adult, he made bricks and built storage buildings for the Egyptians, and grew in physical strength and stature. He labored tirelessly, knowing his work was unto the Lord and not the evil taskmaster that lorded it over them.

Caleb endured his servitude, knowing his hope was in the Lord. He eagerly awaited the glorious day the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would fulfill His promise and deliver the nation of Israel to the Promised Land.

Chosen as a Leader

Caleb witnessed the mighty hand of God as He miraculously delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians in a powerful display of ten plagues. He led his family over dry ground as God held back the waters of the Red Sea. Traveling to the Promised Land, God instructed them on how they should live in obedience to Him. Each day, God provided food for them to eat and produced water from the sun-scorched rocks for them to drink.

A year after God delivered His people from Egypt, they sat on the threshold of the Promised Land and ready to enjoy the blessings prepared for them. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders’” (Numbers 13:1-2).

Caleb was the leader representing the tribe of Judah. Along with the other eleven, he spied out the land. For forty days, they examined the cities and the people who lived there. They identified the cities that were fortified and those that were not. They observed the people to see if they were strong or weak, few or many.

The twelve spies explored the land and saw it was very fertile. It was indeed a land flowing with milk and honey. They gathered pomegranates, figs, and large clusters of grapes to show to the people. The land was just as God described it to them. All they needed was to trust and obey, and victory was theirs.

Caleb Stood for God

Ten of the leaders examined the land, walking by sight rather than faith. They doubted God could deliver on His promise and give them the land. The ten called it the land we explored, rather than the land God is giving us. They spread news of fear and doubt among the people.

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it’” (Numbers 13:30). Joshua joined Caleb, and they made a passionate plea to the people. “If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them” (Numbers 14:8-9).

Caleb and Joshua looked beyond the obstacles before them and kept their focus on God Almighty. They trusted Him to fulfill His promise and deliver their enemies into their hands. That evening should have been a time of glorious celebration and praising God. He delivered them from bondage in Egypt and brought them to an amazing land. Instead, it was a time of grumbling and complaining as the people of Israel believed the other spies. They desired to go back to Egypt and spent the night weeping.

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. … Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong” (1 Corinthians 15:58; 16:13).

Disciplined for the Unbelief of Others

“The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone” (Numbers 32:13).

Except for Caleb and Joshua, no one over the age of twenty when they left Egypt would enter the Promised Land. Caleb did all that the Lord had commanded. He remained faithful and stood strong in the face of opposition. Yet he too would suffer God’s discipline for the people’s unbelief.

For the next forty years, Caleb would wander through the wilderness along with the rest of the nation. Instead of enjoying the abundant fruit of the promised land, every morning, noon, and night, he ate manna. He endured sorrow and grief as, one by one, family and friends died along the journey. The Apostle Peter may have thought of Caleb as he wrote, “but even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed” (1 Peter 3:14).

As he walked over sandy paths along the sun-bleached stone mountains, he remained faithful to his Lord. No words of complaint or protest were heard from his lips. Each step brought him closer to God’s promise of entering the Promised Land. Each step he took left a footprint of faith in the sand – faith in God’s promises to pour out His blessing on those faithful to Him.

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

Denied Leadership Position

Caleb was the leader chosen to spy out the land from the tribe of Judah, the largest tribe of Israel. He was the first to speak out, encouraging the Israelites to follow God’s leading into the land He had promised them. By human standards, he would be the logical choice to replace Moses and lead the people into the Promised Land.

However, it is Joshua, not Caleb, whom God selects (Deuteronomy 31:7-8). There is not even a second-in-command position for Caleb. His name is not even mentioned. God does not use human standards when choosing leaders. Indeed, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Caleb understood and accepted the calling of God. He realized what the Apostle Paul would later write. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. … For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 1:25; 3:19).

In God’s wisdom, Joshua made the better leader. Caleb accepted God’s choice of Joshua and followed his leadership without objecting or protesting. He accepted and carried out the role the Lord had planned for him. For the next five years, Caleb faithfully fought alongside his countrymen. Under Joshua’s leadership, God delivers on His promises, and they annihilate city after city as they conquer the land.

God, in His wisdom, has prepared a ministry for every believer and equips us to carry out that ministry. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Caleb Received and Left an Inheritance

At eighty-five years old, Caleb still had mountains to climb and giants to conquer. His strength was in the Lord and his faith never wavered. He led the charge to defeat Hebron as his inheritance, but Caleb’s inheritance was more than a mountainous region in Israel. He lived his life, trusting God for an eternal inheritance. “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord” (Colossians 3:23-24).

For his family, he left an inheritance of the land he conquered. But more than a piece of land, he passed on his faith and left an inheritance of eternal significance. His daughter and son-in-law faithfully lived their lives before God (Joshua 15:13-19). His son-in-law, Othniel, would later become the first Judge in the land. Israel lived in peace for forty years under his leadership, for “the Spirit of the Lord was upon him” (Judges 3:7-11).

For us today, Caleb left an inheritance of a godly example for us to emulate. Despite what happened to him, he remained loyal to the Lord. While everyone around him doubted, he looked to God for his strength to go on. Despite what injustices he must have felt, he remained content, knowing he had a prize waiting for him for all eternity. Caleb’s journey of faith produced an enduring legacy of unshakable resolve that we’d do well to follow.

Brad Simon has shared God’s Word for over forty-five years, with a unique blend of storytelling and Bible exposition. He is a retired Master Jeweler and relies on the God-given creativity that won him several national and international jewelry design awards to craft Biblical Narratives and Life Stories that are engaging and thought-provoking. Once a speaker, author, and publisher for the jewelry industry, now he is putting those skills to work to promote the beauty and appeal of God’s Word. Download a free copy of his devotional on prayer.