Standing out in the Crowd
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “…none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.” Numbers 14:23,24 ESV
It is easy to blend in and go along with the crowd. But to stand against the tide of the masses requires conviction and courage. That is what we see in Joshua and Caleb.
Caleb is specifically commended by the Lord as one who has a “different” spirit and has followed the Lord fully. Caleb was one who was able to see God above the obstacles. He took the Lord at His word and had a “the-bigger-they are-the-harder-they-fall” kind of attitude.
Ten of the spies looked at big people and became discouraged and fearful. Joshua and Caleb looked to a big God and was confident and eager.
Because Caleb had a “different” spirit, he received a different destiny than the rest of those who rebelled and refused to enter the promised land. Although he had to wait for forty years, he would enter the land the Lord had promised to his ancestors and his descendants would possess their inheritance.
It would actually be 45 years before Caleb received the promise. But he was as eager as the day when he spied out the land.
“I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart….And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war…Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day…” (Joshua 14:7,10-11 ESV)
There you have one feisty octogenarian. We read this conclusion and fulfillment of the Lord’s promise. “Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.” (Joshua 14:14 ESV)
Hebron became a prominent city in Israel. It was a city of refuge. It was the city in which David ruled before he became King over a united nation. This city would be of significance because of the man who was willing to fully obey the Lord and to wait for the promise he had be given to come true.
Prayer for today…. Lord place in us a “spirit” that sets us apart from others. Help us to always fully obey You, knowing that as we do, it is the gateway to receiving great things from You. Grant us as well the patience until Your promise is fulfilled in our lives.