Caleb: the Distinctions of a Great Man
Homilist
Numbers 14:24
But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully…


1. That all men are not animated by the same moral spirit.

2. That God recognises the particular spirit that animates men, and deals with men accordingly.

I. HERE IS A DISTINCTION OF SPIRIT. Caleb's spirit was marked by —

1. Independent inquiry. Let us, like Caleb, enter the promised land of truth, and search it for ourselves.

2. Heroic faith.

3. Reliance on God.

II. HERE IS A DISTINCTION OF CONDUCT. Caleb followed the Lord "fully" — with all the powers and sympathies of his soul. This includes —

1. A knowledge of God's will.

2. A thorough concurrence of the moral heart with His directions.

3. An unbounded confidence in His character.

III. HERE IS A DISTINCTION OF DESTINY.

1. Here is a destiny which stands in contrast with the sad fate of his companions.

2. Here is a destiny which he ultimately realised (see Joshua 14:6-15).

(Homilist.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

WEB: but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him will I bring into the land into which he went; and his seed shall possess it.




Caleb -- the Man for the Times
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