Anyway, C.H. had a son named Caleb. Caleb was a good bit older than I (he graduated while I was still in junior high), so I really didn't know him very well, but one thing I did know about Caleb was that he was a BIG MAN. Caleb didn't always make it to the church meetings, and when he did he was often tired and not very sociable with us junior high boys. Besides that, I think Caleb just had a quiet turn to his personality. So, for all these reasons, and maybe others, I never did really get to know Caleb very well, but what I do remember is that Caleb was a BIG MAN.
He wasn't just tall (at least to a 7th grader), he was BIG. But he wasn't one of those big Sta-Puf looking type guys. He was BIG and TOUGH LOOKING, with biceps that were probably larger than my adolescent thighs. Now, I don't want to paint a picture of an undiscovered Mr. Universe here, though, because that wasn't Caleb. He wasn't flashy. He wasn't chiseled. He wasn't looking to be glistening in any spotlights. He was just BIG. Caleb was a BIG MAN.
Well, I thought of C.H.'s son, Caleb, as I read the account of another Caleb recorded in God's Word in Joshua 14:6-15. If you recall the story of God's people, the Israelites, you'll remember that they were enslaved in Egypt, but were delivered from Pharoah by Moses. Then, when the Egyptians decided to pursue them, they watched the entire army, & Pharoah himself, perish in the sea they had just walked across.
Once on the other side, Moses sends out 12 spies to scope things out and they find fantastic fertile lands but with a catch. Giants, called Anakites, lived there. So, because they were afraid, ten of the spies came back and stole the courage from the people by focusing on the giants and discounting God's promise. Two spies, however, stand their ground, tell the people the truth, and trust God. One of those two is a man named Caleb.
Unfortunately, the people side with the ten cowards and, therefore, the entire nation endures 40 years of aimless wandering. Now, as we come to Joshua 14:6-15, Moses has died and Joshua (the other courageous spy) has been leading God's people for about 5 years in the promised land:
Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’[a]
10 “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war.
In these words we discover a man who knew how to live large, as God desired. In doing so, he not only achieved God's intended purpose, but he received God's best blessings. Very quickly, I notice Three Characteristics that set Caleb apart and allowed him to Live Large for God:
1. He Was a Man of Convictions - In verse 7, Caleb states that his report was brought back "according to my convictions". His convictions were built on a commitment to honesty and a trust in God. How do we know this? Because he didn't just talk about them - - He acted on them even when faced with strong opposition.
2. He Was a Man Who Was Consecrated - We don't use the word "consecrated" alot outside of the church walls. It is one word that comes from two Latin words - - "com" means together and "sacrare" means sacred. So, more fully defined, "consecrated" means to be "altogether set apart as sacred for God's use". Caleb says it this way, "I followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly" (v.8). Life gets complicated sometimes and we don't know what to do. But Caleb understood the eternal truth that if we focus on doing just one thing - - living to please God - -it will always be what's best for those we love.
3. He Was a Man of Courage - You see, even though God had already promised Caleb that specific portion of land: With big cities. With big walls around those big cities. And big giants living inside those big walls around those cities. Caleb still had to drive them out. Let's face it. When we seek God's gifts, we'd really prefer that He just drop them in our laps. We don't want to have to do anything, much less face strong opposition to receive what He wills for us. It was the same for men in Caleb's day, but God said, "Caleb has a different spirit." (Numbers 14:24) Courage is rare, but it is necessary for a man or woman of God who longs to Live Large in their Faith.
What God did in Caleb's life He wants to do in yours & mine. God wants us to live large like Caleb, who was:
1. A Man of Convictions
2. A Man Who was Consecrated
3. A Man of Courage
Now that's a Challenge.
And this is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis!
Doug
