Caleb’s Loyalty to God

BY Tameshia Williams

The broader narrative of Joshua is about God fulfilling His promises to the nation of Israel, as they progressively inherit Canaan. Within this narrative are accounts that show us how God specifically fulfilled His promises in the individual lives of His people, such as Caleb.

Of the twelves spies, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who believed God could give them the land of Canaan. God guaranteed Caleb an inheritance in the land of promise because “he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, completely” (Joshua 14:14). Forty years later, an eighty-five-year-old Caleb still displayed an unshakeable faith.

When we read Caleb’s story, we might be tempted to feel insecure about our own faith in God. Our faith journeys include times when we have trusted God fully. Other times, we may have questioned the reality of His presence in our situations. To follow God completely doesn’t mean that we don’t have days of doubt. Instead, we rely on the Holy Spirit to help us push through those days, carrying all of our anxieties and doubts to the Lord. At the heart of Caleb’s faith was trust in the faithfulness of the one who had been with him all those years before, when he went into the promised land as a spy.

Following God completely also means we can ask God to carry out His promises to us. When the time came to distribute the land, Caleb reminded Joshua of the Lord’s promise to him, saying, “‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever’” (Joshua 14:9). Caleb didn’t come to Joshua in arrogance or with a sense of entitlement. He came with confidence, trusting that the Lord would give him the land and help him, even believing that he could drive out the current inhabitants, who were giants! This belief wasn’t based on his strength but on total confidence in the Lord’s strength. When we rely on God’s power, we are able to do things we could hardly imagine and gain physical, emotional, and physical victories. Through Caleb, we see that nothing is impossible for God. 

Caleb’s story is a beautiful picture of a faithful God honoring the faithfulness of His people. It shows us that God keeps His word, no matter how many years have passed. Forty years after God promised Caleb the land, Caleb received his inheritance, and the land remained in his possession: “Hebron still belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance today” (Joshua 14:14).

What does our story look like? What promises are we waiting for God to fulfill? As we serve Him and wait for His promises, our charge is to follow Him and trust that He will fulfill His promises in His time, according to His will (Romans 11:34). His presence is with us always, and He has good things in store for us.