Read Joshua 14:6–14, Numbers 14:24, Numbers 32:12, Deuteronomy 1:36, and Luke 6:45. How would you describe Caleb and Joshua’s attitude? What does it mean to follow the Lord fully?
Caleb never forgot the promise the Lord had given him through Moses: that he would enter the land where his feet had trodden (Num. 14:24). Forty years later, he refers to his own report on the land as a word “as it was in my heart” (Josh. 14:7, NKJV). His report was based on his conviction that, with God’s guidance and help, Israel would be able to conquer the land.
In contrast to the report of the other ten spies, who inspired fear among the Israelites, Caleb manifested a wholehearted trust and commitment to the promise of the Lord. The Hebrew phrase, which literally means “I was full after the Lord” (Josh. 14:8), is probably a short form of a longer idiom: “My heart was fully following the Lord,” or “I filled my heart to walk behind/after the Lord.” In contrast with others who walked after foreign gods and who did not follow the Lord fully, Caleb’s heart was wholly dedicated to the Lord.
The same expression later is repeated twice, emphasizing Caleb’s faithfulness (Josh. 14:9, 14). His own characterization is in harmony with what the Lord Himself called a “different spirit” (Num. 14:24, NKJV) that distinguished Caleb from the other ten spies. Even at the age of 85, he continued to be an example of what the Lord can achieve through people whose hearts are fully dedicated to Him and His cause.
Caleb understood that the territory each tribe would eventually possess was directly proportionate to the extent to which they dared to claim the promises of the Lord and how much land they were willing to tread upon by faith. God’s promises are not self-fulfilling, in the sense that they come true irrespective of our will. Rather, they require faith accompanied by resolute action. The Hebrew term ’ulay, “maybe” (Josh. 14:12), can express fear and doubt, but it usually denotes hope and the anticipation that something positive will take place (Gen. 16:2; Num. 22:6, 11; Num. 23:3).
What compromises, “small” compromises, are the kinds of things that can keep us from fully following the Lord?
Supplemental EGW Notes
Before the distribution of the land had been entered upon, Caleb, accompanied by the heads of his tribe, came forward with a special claim. Except Joshua, Caleb was now the oldest man in Israel. Caleb and Joshua were the only ones among the spies who had brought a good report of the Land of Promise, encouraging the people to go up and possess it in the name of the Lord. Caleb now reminded Joshua of the promise then made, as the reward of his faithfulness: “The land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s forever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord.” He therefore presented a request that Hebron be given him for a possession. . . . His claim was immediately granted. To none could the conquest of this giant stronghold be more safely entrusted. . . .
Caleb’s faith now was just what it was when his testimony had contradicted the evil report of the spies. He had believed God’s promise that He would put His people in possession of Canaan, and in this he had followed the Lord fully. He had endured with his people the long wandering in the wilderness, thus sharing the disappointments and burdens of the guilty; yet he made no complaint of this, but exalted the mercy of God that had preserved him in the wilderness when his brethren were cut off. . . . The brave old warrior was desirous of giving to the people an example that would honor God, and encourage the tribes fully to subdue the land which their fathers had deemed unconquerable. Caleb obtained the inheritance upon which his heart had been set for forty years, and, trusting in God to be with him, he “drove thence the three sons of Anak.” . . .
The cowards and rebels had perished in the wilderness, but the righteous spies ate of the grapes of Eshcol. To each was given according to his faith. The unbelieving had seen their fears fulfilled. Notwithstanding God’s promise, they had declared that it was impossible to inherit Canaan, and they did not possess it. But those who trusted in God, looking not so much to the difficulties to be encountered as to the strength of their Almighty Helper, entered the goodly land.—Conflict and Courage, April 27, p. 123.
Today we need men of thorough fidelity, men who follow the Lord fully, men who are not disposed to be silent when they ought to speak, who are as true as steel to principle, who do not seek to make a pretentious show, but who walk humbly with God, patient, kind, obliging, courteous men, who understand that the science of prayer is to exercise faith and show works that will tell to the glory of God and the good of His people. . . . To follow Jesus requires wholehearted conversion at the start, and a repetition of this conversion every day.
It was Caleb’s faith in God that gave him courage, that kept him from the fear of man, and enabled him to stand boldly and unflinchingly in the defense of the right. Through reliance on the same power, the mighty General of the armies of heaven, every true soldier of the cross may receive strength and courage to overcome the obstacles that seem insurmountable.—Sons and Daughters of God, p. 207.
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.