CALEB-No Age of Retirement with God.
Our first reference to Caleb is in Numbers 13:6, where Moses chooses those men who were to be sent into Canaan and spy out the Land with a view to occupying the inheritance which, through Abraham, had been promised by God to Israel. Judging by his later experience, at this stage, Caleb must have been about forty-one years old. He would have celebrated the night of the Passover in Egypt; walked through the Red Sea; eaten the daily Manna; drank water from the Rock; and seen the descent of God upon Mount Sinai, and the reading of the Law by Moses.
So, here we have a man who had walked the miracle path of God. A man who was full of faith, and knew that he followed a God who was almighty. Within himself, Caleb knew that from a feeling of his inner knowledge, he would act fully to fulfill his God’s expectations.
At the end of forty days, the spies returned and gave their report to Moses. Their report (Numbers 13:25-29), contained both good and bad news. Unfortunately, it was the bad news upon which the people focused. Have you ever noticed, even today, it is often bad news which people latch on to, even when there is good news as well? It was the same here with Israel, and despite all they had seen of the works and character of God, they still wanted to return to Egypt. How typical of some people; they hear bad news and immediately think of the worst scenario. Unfortunately, in that frame of mind one can, like Israel, make wrong decisions.
Into this disarray of Israel’s lack of faith in their God, stepped Caleb. “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘we should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it,’” Numbers 13:30. Yes, he had seen and heard the bad news, but he had not panicked. Instead he had weighed it against the power and might of his God, plus the good news of the Land. What a good example Caleb is for our Christian attitude of seeking to fulfill the will of God.
In Numbers 14:5-10, Joshua and Caleb plead with the people to change their minds and to arise and take the Land. However, instead of listening and following, they picked up stones to stone Joshua and Caleb, and at this point, the glory of God appeared before them as He threatened to destroy His people for their unbelief.
Before continuing with Caleb, there is a very important spiritual principle in Numbers 14:9, “Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the Land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” The Amplified Version reads, “Their defense and the shadow (of protection) is removed from over them.”
What Joshua and Caleb said here is a very, very, important encouragement to all those who have an opportunity to speak, (under the anointing and prompting of the Holy Spirit), to an unbeliever, or to pray for someone or a situation. If God has prompted us, then we can be assured that He has already gone ahead and removed Satan’s covering or protection, and thus, His Word can become effective. Of course the old nature in the mind of the unbeliever may resist God’s Word for some time, but preparing the person to receive Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit.
The upshot of Israel’s rebellion was to be turned around and to wander in the wilderness until all that generation from forty years and upward when they left Egypt, had died. That is, except Joshua and Caleb. These two faithful men later led a new generation across the Jordan to take Canaan. We also find in Numbers 34:19, both Joshua and Caleb were chosen to apportion the area of Judah as their inheritance, after its capture. Caleb’s portion was to be the area which he had spied out forty years previously, Deuteronomy 1:36.
By the time Caleb was able to receive his possession of the Land, he was eighty-five years old. “I am still as strong today as I was in the days Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and for coming in,” Joshua 14:11. So what did he request as his portion? A nice verdant valley for his flocks? Somewhere where he could settle down and live out the rest of his life in peace and quiet?
No, not at all! “Caleb said to Joshua, ‘Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken,’” Joshua 14:12. “So, Caleb was given Hebron for his inheritance, because he followed the Lord God of Israel fully,” Joshua 14:14b. We read further on that Caleb and his sons and nephews drove out the Anakim and took full possession of his inheritance. What a man!
I noted in my heading that, “There is no age of retirement with God.” There is no such thing as an O.A.P., Senior Citizen, or ‘wrinkly,’ in God’s kingdom. God does not regard age as does the world. Speaking to a very dear friend recently, he said, “Our Pastor is aged ninety-three, and we think he will die in the pulpit.” It is so sad that so many elderly godly men and women are written off as being past their sell-by date of usefulness when they reach the age of Government retirement. If that had been the rule for Caleb, he never would have experienced the most fruitful and satisfying time of his life.
Age does restrict us in some ways, but if we seek God, we will find that He will always have something new in His heavenly cupboard into which He can direct us. He may switch our life into a completely new direction and a different way of serving Him. Let us learn a lesson from Caleb. A person’s age never was, nor never is, a barrier to God. If we are committed to serving and trusting Him, who knows what can be on His heavenly agenda for us.
Be encouraged. Be like Caleb; hold your faith; seek His face, and who knows where it might lead.
God bless you, John.