The Caleb Perspective

Numbers 14: 20-25 Then the L ord said, "I will pardon them as you have requested. But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the L ord 's glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it. But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land. Now turn around, and don't go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea."

What perspective do you view your life with? Through whose eyes do you see your existence? It may seem an odd question but an important one as we consider our approach to God. How we approach God will determine our relationship with Him, our blessings from Him, and our future with Him. Are we appropriately grateful toward God and all He has done? Or are we whiners, like the Israelites were in our key verses today. It is an important question because there are many parallels we can draw from the behavior of the Israelites in these early days and our walk today with God. We need to learn from the mistakes of the Israelites if we are to avoid the consequences they ended up facing.

The first thing the Israelites took for granted is where God had brought them from. Four hundred years after Joseph we find the Israelites oppressed in slavery in Egypt. The conditions of their slavery were described as ruthless:

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. Exodus 1: 11-14 (NIV)

Their lives were filled with bitterness, oppression and enslavement. This is the same condition God finds us in. Enslaved to sin. Bound by the bitterness of the world; oppressed. God frees us from the bondage of the world just as He freed the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. Yet sometimes we too can sound just as unappreciative toward God for where He has saved us from:

That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." Numbers 14: 1-4 (NIV)

Can you imagine? Preferring to return to the enslavement and ruthless treatment. Preferring to be shackled, oppressed and bitter. Yet too often in our Christian walk, we too can become forgetful of how far God had to reach down to save us. It is a dangerous position for a Christian to forget where God found you. The Apostle Paul never forgot:

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 1Corinthians 15: 9 (NIV)

Paul was God's instrument to bring the Gospel to the world. He was given visions into the third heaven and had seen things no human eye was meant to see. Yet he never considered himself anything. Of all the Apostles, he was the least. Why? Because Paul remembered where God had brought him from. He remembered persecuting the early church. Perhaps the vision of the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr, haunted his dreams. We should be so haunted by our past as well. Just enough to always remember the Damascus Road God had to find us on. Just enough to keep us humble.

The second thing the Israelites took for granted is the miraculous provision of God in their lives. When they left Egypt, they plundered their former slave masters. God led them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He parted the Red Sea and gave them water from a rock. But perhaps the greatest provision would be manna from heaven:

The LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'" Exodus 16: 12

The Lord supernaturally provided quail and manna. It literally rained down bread for the Israelites as they pursued their Promised Land. We too can attest to the supernatural provision of the Lord in our lives. Medical reports that confound the doctors of the world. Manna rained down into our moments of need. Yet despite these provisions in our lives we can lapse into a "what have you done for me lately mentality." We can begin to think that we know better than God. That if His answer is no, that somehow He must be mistaken.

That is where we find our key verses today. The Israelites had finally arrived at the land promised to their forefathers by God. A land flowing with milk and honey. A good land with many provisions. Upon arriving at the outskirts of Canaan, Moses sends out 12 spies into the land. It was indeed all God had promised:

When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. Numbers 13: 23 (NIV)

That's some pretty big grapes! But the vegetation aside, when the 12 came back there was a difference of opinion between what was reported to Moses and the rest of the Israelites. Here was the report of the first ten spies:

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. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." Numbers 13: 27-29 (NIV)

Yet here was the report of the remaining two spies:

Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." Numbers 14: 6-9 (NIV)

Now all 12 spies saw the same thing beloved. How can the versions be so vastly different then? Because the ten spies reporting first are not considering God. They are not considering the God they serve. They are seeing everything through their own eyes, not the eyes of God. To illustrate the point, here are their own words:

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: 33 (NIV)

We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes! These ten spies considered how great the enemies were. They considered how large they appeared before them. They considered how fortified the cities were. They even considered how small they were in comparison. But what was missing in all of their assessments and calculations was God! Joshua and Caleb however remembered all that God had already done for them. They knew that as long as God was on their side, it didn't matter how large the enemy was on the other side. What they saw did not matter who they served did. Years before David would ever be king of Israel, we was delivering cheese to his brothers who were on the front lines of the Israel army. His brothers were cowering that day. So was the mighty King Saul. In fact, every one of the fighting men of Israel was cowering that day before another son of Anak- Goliath. Standing nine feet tall, it is understandable why so many would fear Goliath. The fighting men of Israel were looking at their situation the same way the ten spies saw the Promised Land. Overpowering, insurmountable, impossible. They too were leaving the God they served out of their analysis. David however saw things through the eyes of God. He understood two things who God is and what He had already done for him:

David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." 1Samuel 17: 26, 36-37 (NIV)

David understood that the only thing that matters is God. It does not matter how dire your situation is God is bigger. David also remembered how God had delivered him before. He remembered the lion and the bear where the Israelites seemingly forgot the Red Sea being parted before them! It is always a matter of what perspective we choose to look at our lives from.

The worldly perspective will always make things seem too daunting to overcome. But the Godly perspective, seeing things through His eyes, should change everything. Remembering all He has already done for you, should ease your concerns about whatever you might be facing today. Because just like the lion and bear before, He can deliver you from your giants today as well. But re-read the key verses today carefully. We too have seen the presence of God in our lives and seen His miraculous powers at work in our walk. We too have seen Him lift us out of Egypt. Out of the bondage of the world and the slavery to sin. But He does not expect to be treated with contempt beloved. These verses represent when God had enough of the whining and complaining of the Israelites. This generation lost their Promised Land they forfeited it.

God doesn't want to tell you to turn around from your Promised Land and set out for the wilderness. He wants you to have a Caleb attitude and see things through the eyes of God. Like Caleb, God wants to give you your full share of that Promised Land but your perspective will determine your relationship with Him, your blessings from Him, and your future with Him. Are there fortified cities in your Promised Land that you may need to conquer? Sure - but the same God that delivered you before will deliver you again. Are there giants in the land? Sure but the God who delivered you from slavery and oppression is bigger than the giants you see before you. If you look at things through the lenses of the world you will always find a reason why you can't but if you choose the Caleb perspective, you will always see why God can.

Reverend Anthony Wade February 24, 2011