“Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea” (Joshua 14:6).
The years have passed, and now we have Caleb reminding Joshua of the promise made by the Lord through Moses, back in the days when they had first gone in to spy out the land at the beginning of the wilderness journey. The promise was that he and Joshua would be of those who would take possession of the inheritance. There are perhaps two things to consider in regard to Caleb’s reminder.
Firstly, though some four decades had transpired, the promise was just as sure in his soul as when it had been made. Nothing could dissuade Caleb from believing that God would be faithful to such a promise. This gave him courage to press on step by step, mile after mile, over the hot Sinai terrain. How often do we become discouraged because we lose sight of the promises of God? Remember, “all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Corinthians 1:20). How often have we made promises, and not been able to carry through with them? Perhaps we were sincere in making them, but promised too much. Or possibly we promised more than we had the power and resources to fulfill. Maybe when we made the promise we did have the resources, but between the promise and the time to make good on it we somehow lost the means to complete the pledge. In contrast, our God never makes a promise that He can’t or won’t fulfill.
Another New Testament writer tells us, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). Do we claim these promises by faith, and do we walk in the practical good of them? Can God fail? Can His promises fail? Of course not! Even if we are not faithful, He is always true to His word. “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
When we become weary, disheartened, or discouraged, we need to open the Word of God and read and rest on its wonderfully secure and sure promises. At the end of his life Joshua reminds Israel, “And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof” (Joshua 23:14). Years later, Solomon makes a similar declaration at the dedication of the temple. “There hath not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant” (1 Kings 8:56).
Caleb knew that there was a day coming when he would take full possession of his inheritance, and that the Lord would make good on His promise. We too need to keep the future in view. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). One of the wonderful promises we have from the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself is, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). Let’s keep the end of the journey in view, and the glory that is ahead. “Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). In one of her hymns, Hannah K. Burlingham expressed it this way:
The glory shines before me!
I cannot linger here!
Though clouds may darken o’er me,
My Father’s house is near.
If through this barren desert
A little while I roam,
The glory shines before me;
I am not far from home!
I am sure Caleb, over and over again, had to keep reminding himself, that there was an end in sight, and that the day was coming when he would exchange the wilderness for the full enjoyment of his inheritance. For us, the day is coming when we will no longer enjoy our portion in part, but fully, and with all the hindrances removed. “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away ... For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10, 12).
This man of faith must have had tremendous patience! To wait all those years in the wilderness, and then even after they entered the land, to continue to wait God’s time, must have been a great test of endurance. The lesson for us is, “Let us run with patience [endurance] the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus.” (Hebrews 12:1-2). The Christian race is not the sprint or the dash, it is the marathon, and it takes real patience and endurance to press on lap after lap, mile after mile.