6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: "You know the word which the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea.
7 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.
8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
9 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.'
10 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.
11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.
12 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 that 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."
13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.
14 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.
I love Caleb. He was a man with a different spirit about him. He did not go along with the majority. When ten spies and the nation of Israel doubted God to give them the promise land it was Caleb and Joshua who believed. They still had to wander in the wilderness those 40 years along with the doubters. They lived long enough to not only see the promised land but to fight to take possession of it. Caleb aged an old man. 85 years old to be exact. He sees a mountainous region he wants for his inheritance. He willingly volunteers for the challenge of taking the high ground.
I love what he said about himself contrasted with the other doubters whose hearts melted in unbelief. Caleb stated, "I wholly followed Yahweh my God." Not sometimes. Not only when the following was easy. Not partially. He emphatically stated he WHOLLY followed Yahweh his God. What does it mean to follow wholly.
It means to follow completely. It means to be obedient even when the following leads to impossible tests of faith. Caleb was one of the initial 12 spies. He crossed over with the others to see what kind of land God promised. He saw the fruit. He saw the promise of God. He wanted to obey. The others only saw the fortified cities. They only saw the challenges and their own weakness. They doubted and swayed the whole nation.
Even after that terrible incident Caleb still followed God completely. I wonder how many times he woke up during those wilderness wanderings and thought to himself, "I should be possessing the land right now. Why did those cowards doubt?"
Wholly following the LORD means to follow completely. It also means to follow to the end. So many start out well and fade in the end. Not Caleb. He boasted to Joshua when he was 85 he was still strong for war. Caleb did not let old age prohibit him. He followed God to the very end of this days.
As you and I consider our journey with God I wonder can we say we are wholly following the Lord? Do we even have the desire to wholly follow the Lord? Is that our intention? Is it our desire to completely follow God all the days of our lives? Is it our desire and intention to follow God to the very end of our lives. If not what are we doing? Just playing religious games. Just mouthing words and singing empty phrases that have no meaning like I Have Decided To Follow Jesus or I Surrender All because we have no desire to live those things out.
We need some more Calebs. We need men, women, students and children who will commit to wholly follow Jesus as best they can depending on Jesus for strength and passion to do so. We need people who will stay strong to the end of their lives and look for more and more to do for Him as opposed to looking to shirk responsibility and commitments. We need whole followers. Not part timers or half timers. We need all in kind of followers. Will you be one of them?
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