Old Testament · character
Caleb
Wholehearted faith — at eighty-five still saying, "Give me this hill country."
Caleb was one of the twelve spies who, with Joshua, cried out "We can surely do it." He was a man of faith and passion who followed God wholeheartedly his entire life.
Faith Instead of Fear
Of the twelve who scouted Canaan, ten were terrified — "next to the giants we are like grasshoppers." But Caleb, with Joshua, cried out, "We can surely do it" (Numbers 13). Though the people wanted to stone him, he held on to God's promise.
The One Who Followed Wholeheartedly
God said, "My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly," and promised him the land as an inheritance (Numbers 14:24). Unlike the generation that died in the wilderness, only he and Joshua set foot in Canaan.
The Challenge at Eighty-Five
When the land was divided, Caleb, now eighty-five, said his strength was in no way diminished and asked for the rugged hill country of Hebron, where the giant Anakites lived (Joshua 14). By faith he asked not for easy land but for the hardest place.
Related verses
- Numbers 14:24"But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly..."
- Joshua 14:12"Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day."