But My servant Caleb,
because he has a different spirit in him
and has followed Me fully,
I will bring into the land where he went,
and his descendants shall inherit it.
- Numbers 14:24
... but the people who know their God shall be strong,
and carry out great exploits.
- Daniel 11:32
My grandson Full of Hope (Mighty Warrior) turned five years old on November 13.
This little man brings so much delight to my heart. He has been given excellent parenting by his mother and father, and at this young age, the positive results of his upbringing are evident.
Before I give my birthday blessing for him, I want to share one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament.
Within the exodus story of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan is an account of one courageous man that has really inspired me. It is the story of Caleb.
After the Israelites left Egypt, Moses sent out twelve spies to search out the land of Canaan to give him first hand information about the situation there. Caleb and Joshua were among them.
Forty days later, the spies returned, bringing with them some samples of the produce of the land, such as figs, pomegranates, and a cluster of grapes so large two men were needed to carry it
between them on a pole.
They were also ready with their report. Ten of the search party gave a discouraging
report about the land and its inhabitants. Yes, the land was desirable, a land "flowing with milk and honey," but they found the walled cities formidable and the people, like giants. Intimidated, the ten spies said they felt like grasshoppers compared to the sons of Anak.
Joshua and Caleb, however, saw things from a different perspective.
God describes Caleb as a man having a different spirit in him. Indeed, this was evident in the way he and Joshua presented their observations of the land.
When the people began to murmur and complain after the negative report of the ten spies...
Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said,
"Let us go up at once and take possession,
for we are well able to overcome it."
- Numbers 13:30
Men of deep and exceptional faith, Joshua and Caleb were one in urging the Israelites to go immediately to the promised land:
If the LORD delights in us,
then He will bring us into this land
and give it to us,
'a land which flows with milk and honey.'
Only do not rebel against the LORD,
nor fear the people of the land,
for they are our bread;
their protection has departed from them,
and the LORD is with us.
Do not fear them.
- Numbers 14:8, 9
Such beautiful faith filled words! But they fell on deaf ears.
One important principle of faith is found in Matthew 9:29 -
One important principle of faith is found in Matthew 9:29 -
According to your faith let it be to you.
The cowardly, faint-hearted Israelites chose to put their faith in the bad report of the ten spies. They looked back on the shallow security
of their Egyptian slavery instead of the promise that was within their reach. All they needed to do was to believe in it.
Having no deep abiding faith to strengthen their hearts, they allowed the negative report of the ten spies to determine their actions. Having given unbelief the upper hand, there was no room in their hearts to believe the encouraging account from Caleb and Joshua, and even sought to stone them to death.
According to their faith, the Israelites never saw Canaan. Instead, they spent forty years wandering in the desert wilderness, when the Promised Land was a mere two-week journey from where they started out.
A land flowing with milk and honey was waiting for them, but because they preferred the memory of their lowly existence as slaves in a land that could never have been theirs, they remained that way until their last breath.
There is no room for unbelief in God's plan. All who left Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, passed away in the wilderness. Unbelief had to be purged out before a new generation of Israelites could be allowed to enter the Promised Land.
Joshua and Caleb, who believed that they could take possession of the land, were commissioned by God to lead the young generation of Israelites into Canaan.
Joshua and Caleb, who believed that they could take possession of the land, were commissioned by God to lead the young generation of Israelites into Canaan.
As a reward for their faith, God promised that they and their children would enter and possess the land.
According to your faith be it done to you.
Forty-five years after the twelve spies returned from surveying the promised land, when this new generation had already conquered most of Canaan, Caleb said to Joshua:
You know the word which the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 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. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God. 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."
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. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, no now is my strength for war, both for going out and coming in.
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 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.
And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim).
Then the land had rest from war.
The faith lesson found in that story never ceases to astound me.
Caleb was as strong at 85 years of age as he was when he was 40 years old. He believed he could conquer the land, God gave him the strength to do it.
And he asked Joshua to give him a mountain, for he wanted to fight the sons of Anak, the giants that the ten spies were so afraid of.
Caleb got his mountain, and he got the victory.
Here is my blessing for my grandson:
Caleb was as strong at 85 years of age as he was when he was 40 years old. He believed he could conquer the land, God gave him the strength to do it.
And he asked Joshua to give him a mountain, for he wanted to fight the sons of Anak, the giants that the ten spies were so afraid of.
Caleb got his mountain, and he got the victory.
Here is my blessing for my grandson:
My dearest Full of Hope, my Mighty Warrior,
I bless your heart today with a heart like Caleb's.
You will be fearless, courageous, and strong... possessing a different spirit just like Caleb did.
In the midst of negative circumstances, I declare that your spiritual eyes will see what heaven sees, and you will not speak from what your physical eyes see, but from what the eyes of your heart perceive.
I pray that as you grow up your faith will grow even stronger. But faith only grows with each step of obedience that we take.
Therefore, dearest grandson, I pray that your obedience will be consistent.
Just as Daniel says,
and carry out great exploits.
I decree and declare that you will do great exploits for the Kingdom of God... you will ask God for mountains to climb and giants to slay... and you will receive your mountain, and you will overcome.
And because of your obedience, the land of your heart will have rest from war.
Great will be your peace within, and without.
Father let these blessings come true in this young boy's life...
Love always,
Nana
A song for my grandson:
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