Caleb at Forty Years Old - Joshua 14:7

In the book of Joshua, we learned how “the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, you know the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and you in Kadeshbarnea”, and in chapter fourteen and verse seven of Joshua we learn how Caleb said, “forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea” where we read,

Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in my heart.

The verse reads, “Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “forty years old was I” which means “forty years of age had I, Caleb” “when Moses” or “at the time and moment that Moses whose name means ‘drawn out’ and was the prophet, lawgiver and leader of the exodus” “the servant of the LORD” which means “the bondman, slave and man of servile condition belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “sent me from Kadeshbarnea” or “dispatched and assigned me, Caleb, from the location of Kadeshbarnea whose name means ‘holy’ and was a city in the extreme south of Judah” “to espy out” which means “to spy, be a tale-bearer and explorer of” “the land” or “the territory, district, region and countryside”. Joshua or the writer shared how Caleb said he was “forty years of age” at the time and moment “Moses” dispatched him from “Kadeshbarnea” to spy on and explore the territory of the promise land. 

 

The verse continues, “and I brought him word again as it was in my heart.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and I brought him word again” which means “and I, Caleb, returned, carried and gave him, “Moses”, speech, utterance and communication” “as it was in my heart” or “even and indeed like it existed within my, Caleb’s, soul and mind”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Caleb” said he returned and carried communication to “Moses” even according to the way it was within his soul and mind. 

When we mediate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Caleb” told “Joshua” that he was “forty years old” at the time “Moses” dispatched him to spy out the area of the promise land. “Caleb” was dispatched from “Kadeshbarnea”, saw what was in the area of the promise land and returned to report to “Moses” about what he saw. We shall see how much older “Caleb” was at the time of this conversation with “Joshua” in our next few verses, but for now let us be mindful that Jehovah God is able to use us regardless of our age. God loves us, and He proved His love toward us when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When He raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us to live according to that truth so we are able to serve him regardless of our age. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:18) 

Next time learn how Caleb says, “my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".