The story behind the story of Caleb is one of personal trial and national redemption. It includes one of soul-destroying disappointment followed by overwhelming triumph. And Caleb’s legacy impacts those who come after him for many generations to come.
When we first meet Caleb, he is somewhere around 40 years old, and has risen up as a leader in the tribe of Judah. He is one of those chosen to spy out the land of Canaan (Numbers 13). As we know, these 12 spies spent 40 days exploring the land God had promised them.
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived.
Numbers 13:22 (NIV, emphasis added)
They returned with a good report about the land, but saying the people there are giants – and we don’t want to fight them!
They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
Numbers 13:27-28 (NIV, emphasis added)
Israel’s greatest defeat
The 10 spies were fixated on what they saw at Hebron. The Anakites were people “of great size” (Numbers 13:32). And their size provoked significant fear in the Israelites – so much so that they forgot everything else. In fact, they even exaggerated it further by referring to the Anakites as “Nephilim” (literally “fallen ones” – see Genesis 6:4).
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 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 13:31-33 (NIV, emphasis added)
That night, the people started talking about turning back to Egypt. Caleb and Joshua tore their robes in despair and tried to convince the people to follow God. But the people turned on them, and began to talk of stoning Joshua and Caleb because of their stance (Numbers 15:10).
However the Israelite’s reaction angered God. Suddenly God’s presence appeared over the tabernacle and He told Moses that he would destroy these faithless people. Moses interceded for them before God, and although God forgives them, there is a cost. No-one of that generation will ever enter the promised land. They will all die in the wilderness… except Joshua and Caleb.
This was Israel’s greatest defeat. A whole generation was bypassed and they were consigned to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.
Caleb’s greatest challenge
Now, imagine you are Caleb. How would you handle this? This is not your choice! You wanted to go into the land, but were forced to turn back and be with these people who have wanted to stone you and are in rebellion against God. Imagine how hard it would have been for Caleb to keep his heart right. Think about the incredible disappointment.
Perhaps you can identify with Caleb at this point. Things may have happened in your life that were not of your making. You may feel you have been forced into things that were not your choice. You may have faced bitter disappointment or feel you have been side-lined because of circumstances beyond your control. Please take heart, and don’t allow bitterness to rob you. Here’s what God says about Caleb:
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 15:24
We hear nothing about Caleb throughout those long 40 years of wandering in the desert. Even when Joshua finally leads the people into the promised land we hear nothing of Caleb during the general campaign to conquer the people of the land, although he must have been part of it.
Caleb’s redeeming victory
The next time we hear about Caleb is at the end of the general campaign as they are about to divide up the land between the tribes. In Joshua chapters 14 and 15 we read about the allotment of land for the tribe of Judah (which is Caleb’s tribe).
Caleb approaches Joshua and asks for the land that God had promised him 45 years previously when he had gone out as a spy. Caleb’s attitude hadn’t changed one bit. He hadn’t become bitter and twisted because of what had happened. In fact, the land he asks for is the city of Hebron. So the site of Israel’s greatest defeat was the site Caleb redeemed for himself and his family – and indeed for the whole of Israel. He drives out the enemies that defeated them all those years ago.
From Hebron Caleb drove out the three Anakites—Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, the sons of Anak.
Joshua 15:14
Interestingly, while Joshua was given the leadership of the Israelites going into the promised land, when this campaign was completed, he died. But Caleb was the only one who actually took possession of the land he had walked on when he went in as a spy. He was the only one, out of that whole generation, who lived in the land.
Caleb’s lasting legacy
Not long after that, Hebron became one of the cities of refuge. People in trouble could go there for refuge and safety.
Then we read in Joshua 21 that Hebron was given to the priests and Levites, so it became a priestly city, and Caleb and his descendants continued to possess the villages and fields around Hebron.
Later King David reigned from Hebron for 7½ years prior to taking Jerusalem. So for a time, Hebron then became a city of the king.
Through Caleb, Hebron – the city that caused utter defeat – became a city of refuge, a priestly city, and a kingly city!
Our legacy
God has given each one of us a wonderful inheritance as His children. It’s freely available, and ours for the taking. Yet like Caleb, we also have to contend for it. We have to fight off disappointment and discouragement; take hold of God’s Word and His promises; and stand for what we know is right and true.
Let the story behind the story of Caleb encourage you to see that our God is far greater than any giant that might be trying to intimidate you. So face your challenges as Caleb faced his challenges – and leave a lasting legacy of your own.
