When Bragging Feels So Right

By Khen Lim



Image Source: biblestudyoutlines.org

Imagine that you’re the coach of a Junior League team where you have been training the boys from very young. You’ve come to know all of them like they’re your kids. You coach them like a father but you train them hard as well. Through the major tournament, you’ve inspired them, filled them with vision, armed them with faith, and equipped them with courage and determination. You’re fought for and with them. You’ve planned your strategies with wisdom and witnessed their faith being rewarded with victories.

You’ve worked the team to win their group games and enter the last sixteen and from there, each game was extremely hard fought; yet the boys pull through. Inch by inch, they are getting closer to the real prize. Inch by inch, even as they tire, the anticipation of the final game builds up but as they find themselves at the doorstep of the ultimate victory, their hopes deflate when they discover who their opponents in the Grand Final are.

The opponents are huge in every way. They are far better equipped because they have a larger budget. They train extremely well. To get to the finals, they often hammer their opposition into submission. All their victories have been by handsome margins. The wins are more than convincing; they are of championship material. These are no-nonsense opponents, bent on winning whatever it takes and the way they look so mean, your boys falter at the final step.

They cringe. They are discouraged. Their hopes go up in smoke. All that you have built them for vaporises into thin air. The courage and determination that you have been seeing is nowhere to be seen now. The team is nothing but hollowed skeletons, waiting to be slaughtered without even a whimper. It’s as good as not sending your team out on to the field. It’s probably better just to board the bus and go home.

That’s precisely how Moses would have felt when the twelve spies returned from their mission in Numbers 13. With the exception of two – Joshua and Caleb – all of them were no longer keen to take up God’s promise. 

It’s not far-fetched to imagine the Israelites saying to God that regardless, they were no longer interested in His promise. You can take that and stick it in the mud for all I care, says the ten spies to God. The exception were of course, Joshua and Caleb, and in the story of the latter, we see someone whose claims he made with God are inspired boldness and overpowering faith.

We learn from Numbers 13 a story of Caleb following the Lord wholeheartedly or as the KJV translation puts it, “wholly” or “fully.” It reminds us of how our faith withers when things get tough. Instead Caleb inspires us to lean on our faith rather than on our own senses. Inevitably when fear and trepidation set in, we surrender our faith and follow our instincts of fear.

Here’s a man who could be an even better example than David when it comes to someone after God’s heart. Caleb envisions himself in terms of what the future holds for him and sees himself walking not alone but leaning on the broad shoulders of a wonderful, powerful and deliverable God.

Caleb’s reputation stands on the bold claim that begins at Numbers 14:6 where we read of him saying to Joshua, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me…” This took place 40 years from whence he was one of the twelve spies and even tas he spoke those words, he remained his tribe’s leader.

Prior to the land west of the Jordan that was to be distributed by lots, Caleb had staked his claim on the basis of a promise by Moses, which was also confirmed by oath where the patriarch had praised him for having “followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly” (14:9). And from thereon Joshua made good the promise, giving Hebron to Caleb as his rightful inheritance (14:13). This would include the entire hill country surrounding Hebron and inclusive of Debir (15:13-19).

The cornerstone of Caleb’s claim is his unerring faith. Shown in 14:10-12, he reiterated God’s promise twice (vv 10a, 12a) and reminded of the Lord’s pledge to help him drive out the Anakites despite being eighty-five years old. 

It’s easy to read these verses and think of Caleb as nothing more than a braggart but study them a little more closely and perhaps you can appreciate this man was someone who has learned to fully trust in the promises that God makes and with his faith, he pinned his entire future to, giving him therefore the wherewithal to wait forty years to make his claim. He might be bragging but he does so set upon the power of God to deliver His promises.

We might want to ask the question as to why of all the lands that were available, Caleb should choose Hebron. Known widely as the home of Abraham for many years (Gen 12-25) where he purchased the cave at Machpelah for his burial, this northernmost part of Canaan was also where the Anakite giants had intimidated ten of his fellow spies two score years ago. 

He probably remembered when they wilted at the sight of the giants, saying, “We looked like grasshoppers in their eyes.” But Caleb, who was 45 years old then, had retorted, “Bring them on… they’re no match for the Lord!”

“Their protection is gone but the Lord is with us” (Numbers 14:9).

By claiming and choosing Hebron, he has a score to settle and an opportunity to prove his faith on the promise of God. He now had the best chance to substantiate it as leader of “the men of Judah” (Judges 1:10).

The story of Caleb serves up a few important lessons for us today. Firstly his faith was the cornerstone of God’s reward as promised. He secured this by persevering for forty-five years. He ended up being the only one other than Joshua to be allowed to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 12:24), proving to us that God can and will be moved by our faith.

Secondly giants can be conquered if only we embolden ourselves through faith not in ourselves but in God. Where our flesh weakens at the very sign of intimidation, faith burnished in the power of God’s protection can always be counted upon to overcome any giants in our path. 

We only need to call on Him and claim His promise. Caleb’s attitude was certainly different enough from the others because he believed that with God, all things are definitely possible no matter how disheartening they might appear.

Thirdly Caleb identified his cause with God’s and his ambition was in line with His as well. When Moses finally accepted God’s commissioning, he committed himself fully and identified his cause in the same way to the chagrin of Aaron and Miriam who then accused him of pride thus mistaking bold faith for naked ambition (Numbers 12:1-3). 

When our ambition is identifiable with God, we can be very bold with our claims. In Jeremiah 9:24 God says, “let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.”  

It’s little wonder then that the name Caleb actually means “wholehearted” or “faithful.” It perfectly describes everything that we know and underscores what we understand of his role in the Bible.