Caleb: Serving The Lord Wholeheartedly Series

I just finished the book Cereal Tycoon and the life of Henry Parsons Crowell the founder of Quaker Oats. It is a Christian book about how faith played a role in all aspects of his life including his business. As a young man Henry Crowell heard D. L. Moody preach in Cleveland Ohio.

Moody told the story of his experience in Dublin when Varley told Moody, the world is yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him. Moody made a commitment, by the Holy Spirit in him he would be that man. Now in Cleveland he called everyone to wholehearted commitment to God. Henry Parsons Crowell made that commitment.

Both Moody and Crowell were following the path of Caleb. We find Caleb was a man with wholehearted surrender to God. The life of Caleb is one of the most inspirational in Scripture. Even at 85 years old Caleb was serving the Lord with incredible vigor.

Except for Joshua he was a generation older than anyone in scripture. His life is evidence that anyone can beat the odds. He was an overcomer. God uses us too when we have a wholehearted commitment to God. He uses ordinary people with unlikely backgrounds who are wholly devoted to him.

Getting delt a bad hand. Since Caleb is one of the great heros of the Old Testament we might think he had everything going for him. He did not actually the odds were against him.

Caleb had the wrong background. Caleb spent the first 38 years of his life as a slave. He was a slave under the height of slave cruelty known. It was a time Pharoah of Egypt showed no mercy to Hebrew slaves. Pharoah put unrealistic demands on the slaves and then beat them harshly when the demands were not met.

Caleb belonged to an outside people. Caleb was the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite (Joshua 14:6) He had become assimilated to the tribe of Judah. He was not an Israelite by birth but brought in by adoption. He became such an integral part of the tribe of Judah that he was choses as one of the 12 spies. This ultimately led him to another hardship.

Caleb experienced rejection. Numbers 13 gives the account of this. They came back from the land with samples of fruit. The other spies saw the descendants of Ananak and did not want to do battle against the giants. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. (Numbers 13:28) We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:33) Caleb did not stand with the majority view.

Caleb was of a different Spirit. He was not of the halfhearted commitment to the Lord of his generation. Caleb silenced the people and said that they should go up and take the land. The majority saw the descendants of Anak and said we seemed like grasshoppers. Caleb made his stand, went our on a limb and was rejected. Caleb was almost stoned to death by the camp.

Caleb bore the punishment of the peoples halfhearted faith. Even though Caleb wanted to go and battle he was part of the 38 years of aimless wondering in the wilderness, At the age of 78 he had only had what could be 2 good years. The first two years in the desert when the tabernacle was built and the priesthood established.

At 85 there were 7 years of conquest when Joshua was the leader. There was a lot that could have made Caleb a bitter old man. But he was vigorous serving the Lord.

How to overcome adversity. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. (Numbers 14:24). Caleb rose above the times. He was different. He followed the Lord wholeheartedly. In our times we have big challenges.

Wholehearted commitment to God carried Caleb through every conceivable hardship, every imaginable set back. Because of his wholehearted commitment, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. (Joshua 14:8)

Caleb can make the bold statement 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. (Joshua 14:8) His essence was faith. It was demonstrated in his older years. Old age whittles people down to their essence. For Caleb, the longer he served God the sweeter he grows.