|
“And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh…spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying…If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us…only rebel not ye against the Lord” (Numbers 14:6-9).
Joshua and Caleb had been two of the twelve spies sent out by Moses to see the land of Canaan. They were the only two that wanted to go ahead and conquer the land; the other ten spies rebelled, saying that the walls of the cities were high, the people were giants, and that it was impossible for them to do it. Joshua and Caleb tried to persuade the people to go ahead, for the Lord would be with them. But the people would not listen. As a result, the Lord made the people wander in the wilderness for forty years.
All this is a good lesson for us. Joshua was only a young man, yet he and Caleb gave good advice to the people. Yet they had to submit to the Lord’s judgment on the whole camp when their advice was rejected, and they did not complain about it. They did not lose anything by all this, however, for the Lord rewarded them later for their faithfulness.
|
