The second component to keeping a proper perspective is living a life that is pleasing to God. Not only did Joshua and Caleb stand on the promise of God, but they lived lives that were pleasing to God. While encamped in the Desert of Paran, the Lord told Moses to send some men to explore Canaan, the land of promise. From each ancestral tribe, Moses sent one of its leaders. Including Joshua and Caleb, the number sent on this expedition was twelve.
Moses gave these leaders certain questions to be answered as they explored the land. They were sent to gather information on the strength of the people, the topography of the land, the quality of the land and its soil and produce, and the strength of their fortification.
The leaders came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and showed the whole assembly the fruit of the land. All the leaders agreed that the land and its fruit were very good. In fact they said, “It does flow with milk and honey!” However, there was just one major problem. The leaders reported on the people of the land and its fortification with two different perspectives.
One group, the majority with ten leaders, said the land was good, but the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. They said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we.” Because of their perspective, they began to spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. In Numbers 13:32 they said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw Nephilim (giant people) there, and we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Caleb, part of the minority group of two, silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (Numbers 14:30) This declaration did not change the people’s point of view. That night all the people of the community raised there voices and wept aloud. Then they began to grumble against Moses and Aaron. In Numbers 14:2-3 they said, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! (3) 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 chose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
As Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole Israelite assembly, Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and said to the 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 swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:7-9)
Why did Joshua and Caleb have such a different perspective than the rest of the assembly. There are two main reasons. First, they knew that God was with them as he had promised. Second, they had a great confidence because they were living in such a way to please God.
The Lord displeased with the grumbling of the Israelites determines that none of them, except Joshua and Caleb will enter the land of promise. He makes them wander for forty years until their whole generation dies in the desert. But because his servant Caleb had a different spirit and followed him wholeheartedly, God gave him and his descendants the land as an inheritance.
It was Joshua and Caleb’s different spirit that led to wholehearted trust, and submission to God’s will. This enabled and empowered them to see with a Godly perspective. Only when we live a life pleasing unto God can we see with proper perspective and possess his promises.
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