Joshua 12-14
Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 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 him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ … ”
Joshua 14:6-9
We know Caleb as one of the twelve spies who looked over the Promised Land early on, just a year after leaving Egypt. Of those twelve spies, only Caleb and Joshua trusted the LORD to drive out the inhabitants of the land. (See Numbers 13-14.) At that time, Caleb was forty years old. Now he is 85, and only Caleb and Joshua survive from that generation, the rest having died in the wilderness wanderings.
Note what sets Caleb apart. It is not his excellent livestock handling skills. (We know nothing about those, if any.) It is not his wealth. (We know nothing of that.) It is not his rugged good looks. (We know nothing of those, either.) It is not even his strength and skill as a warrior. (We can surmise that he has those.) What sets Caleb apart is simply this: he wholly followed the LORD.
It is now time for Caleb to receive the land that the LORD had promised to give him. (Num. 14:24; Dt. 1:36; Joshua 14:9) It is fitting that Caleb should be the first to receive an inheritance. He has been at the front of the line for 45 years. But an even better reward than the real estate is the testimony that the Scriptures continue to bear to Caleb: he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. (Joshua 14:14b)
May we, like Caleb, follow the LORD fully. May we dedicate ourselves to Christ with wholehearted devotion, so that one day we might hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Mt. 25:21)