Josh 14:11-12

6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea.

7 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.

8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.

9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’

10 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.

11 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, both for going out and for coming in.

12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

Introduction:

What the world needs today is more biblical men. (Men that God could Use) Biblical men who believe the bible are rare and hard to come by.

Every now and then you run into a fellow who is crazy for God and feels as if God can do anything but fail. Dr. Henry Blackaby, one of the greatest minds in Baptist circles commenting on this passage says that “Caleb’s faith in God never wavered though everyone around Him doubted.

God had convinced Caleb that the children of Israel should enter the promise land that God had in store for them. But the people were intimidated by giants that possessed the land and the fortified cities.” (Numbers 13: 28-33)

According to biblical history it was the people’s unbelief that forced this soldier “Caleb” to wait for 40 years in the wilderness before he finally entered the Promised Land.

Even after all those years, Caleb was as confident as ever in God’s power. Sometime good men must suffer because of the unbelief of others. Sometime good men must wait on the blessing of God because the congregation is saddled with unbelieving hearts. Sometime good men can’t move forward in ministry, because unbelief will hold them back.

Caleb in today’s charge is a picture of the Man of God who has faith in God. Caleb represents a soldier with a great determination to follow and obey the will of God.

Caleb is a picture for us of a man with God’s vision and heart, who believed that with God he could not fail. The Amazing thing about this verse is, he kept the word of the LORD.

He did not allow the disobedience of a previous generation to stop him from completing the assignment once given to him by his GOD.

• This was a man who was committed.
• This was a man who was focused.
• This was a man who understood GOD”S sovereign rule and reign in life.

Background:

It was after Joshua had become Israel’s leader, and God had given them the Promised Land. Caleb his fellow soldier and friend came and appeared to him as an older man (40 years later).

When God was dividing up the land among the Israelites, the people were asking for the lush valleys and grassy plains (They were seeking a life of ease). Caleb came in and asked for the MOUNTAINS!

This request was abnormal; he was up in age and he should have asked for the easy assignment.

He should have asked for the least amount of work, then went on into retirement. But Caleb’s heart was the heart of a soldier for God. He wanted what nobody else wanted, the place where the enemy of the Lord might still be hiding.

At this time in the story, the Israelites had driven the enemy into the mountains and there they built fortresses to fight against Israel. But this did not intimidate Caleb-he wanted the challenge, and he wanted the Lord to be glorified and praised.

1. Caleb was a man’s kind of man, who belonged to the faith club!
2. He saw what couldn’t be seen!
3. He believed what couldn’t be imagined.
4. He wanted what was best for God’s people and what would honor God the most.
5. Caleb did not trust in his own strength but he trusted in God’s presence.
6. He knew that with the Lord on his side, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

Caleb longed to see the LORD work in power; I believe he knew he would less likely see God work if he settled in the easy places in the new land! Caleb chose a place where he would have to trust God; A hard place, a difficult place, an uncomfortable place.

His assignment was not for the weak at heart. Henry Blackaby said; “If you always choose the easy way, asking for the peaceful valleys, you will never see God’s power displayed to enable you to take the mountain.”

• The man who wants to please God ought to think like this.
• The man who wants to please God ought to be driven by the impossible.
• The man who wants to please God ought to love living in the abnormal and long to see God do miracles through Him.

Having faith was no problem for Caleb! Trusting in the power of God’s might was not an issue! God knew what kind of man he had in his hands with Caleb, and I believe he was pleased to no end at what this old man desired! As a modern-day Caleb, your responsibility is to seek out the mountain type assignments.

The mountains of opportunity. The mountains of service, evangelism, discipleship and faith in order that you may witness God doing great things through your life that can only be explained by HIS presence and HIS Grace. So, go ahead and ask God for the hard assignments, and watch Him give you the desires of your heart!