Ver. 6-14.-Caleb and his inheritance. Caleb is one of those Scripture cha- racters in whom we feel a personal interest not measured by the amount of historical information given us respecting him. Scanty as the materials a:ue, they present us with a moral portrait very real and life-like and full of dignity. All that we know of him iB greatly to his honour. The more so if, as some say, he was of Idumman rather than Israelitish origin, adopted rather than born into the tribe of Judah. The courage and fidelity he displayed when, as one of the spies, he dared, with Joshua, to counsel the craven-hearted people to go in and possess the land (Num. xiii. 30 ; xiv. 6, 10; Deut. i. 36), are illustrated again now that almost another half- century has passed. The old man has still the same spirit in him. While some of the tribes are so slow to move that Joshua has occasion to rebuke them for their lethargy (eh. xviii. 3), he i,; eager to secure at once his promised inheritance, defying in the strength of God the formidable sons of Anak. In several lights Caleb appears before us here as a worthy example. We see in him- I. AN HONEST SPIRIT, :'OI!!IING A TRUU ESTIMATE 01? iTS OWN VIRTUES AND CAPACITIES. He recounts with honourable pride the doings and distinctions of the past-how he had been faithful to his own convictions in his report of the land, not following the evil example of the other spies, or fearing the anger of the people ; how Moses had honoured him, and the vigour of which he was conscious even "this day " was his Divine reward. There is no vain boasting here. His grateful recog- nition of God disproves that. It is the frank acknowledgment of an honest mind. The true heart i~ conscious of its own integrity and need never shrink from avowing it. It is well that experience of the happy effects of fidelity to the path of duty should be recorded for the encouragement of others. There are times when we may properly " thank God that we are not as other men are.'' This may be done in the spirit of profoundest lowliness and self-distrust. Self-depreciatio~ is often but a mock-humility. We honour ourselves and God when we duly est1m~te t~1e worth of the moral qualities with which He has endowed us and the moral victories He has enabled us to win. Let no man "think more highly of himself than he ought to think," but at least let him "think soberly, according as God has dealt to wm the measure of faith" (Rom. xii. 3). Recognise the Divine origin of every OH, XIV, 1-1,5.) THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 287
virtue y~u possess, and it will ne_ver make you vain; be true to yourself and to your n~b)e~t =pulses,. and you find_ m yourself an unfailing source of satisfaction and reJ01cmg (Prov. xiv. 14; Gal. VJ, 3, 4). II: A BRAVE SPIRIT GATHERING FROM THE MEMORY OF THE PAST AN INCENTIVE TO NE:W ENDEAvou_R. There v.:as a moral unity in Caleb's life. He had obeyed the yo1ce of cons.c1ence and dIBcharged manfully the sacred responsibility that wae =posed on hlill forty_-five yea_rs ago, and now he feels the recollection to be stimu- 18:t½lg ~nd strengthenmg to hlill. He has been lost to us through all the interme- diate t=e, but we may be sure that his life in the desert, as a leader of the great tri~~ of J1;1dah, had. sustained the reputati~n of early days. And the dauntless spmt of his old age 1e but the result of habitual fidelity to the call of duty and of God. Such is the moral continuity of our life. So true ie it that- " Our deeds still travel with us from aiar, And what we have been makes us what we are."
Every victory of our better nature over the power of meaner motives lays the foundation for further and completer victories. Even the memory of it becomes an inspiration and a strength to us. The fruit of it is seen after many days. Accustom yourself to do the right and to " follow wholly " the path the Lord your God marks out, and there shall be stored up within you a fund of strength that will enable you to look calmly in the face of the most formidable difficulties-to storm the strong- holds of the Anakims and "drive them out." III. A DEVOUT SPIRIT LEANING ON GOD FOR THE FULFILMENT OF Hrs OWN PRO- MISE. We gather from ver. 9 that God had given Caleb a distinct promise of the possession of that mountain in addition to the general promise recorded in Num. xiv. 24. To the apprehension of faith every Divine word is a living seed that mllBt one day bring forth the fruition of its own fulfilment, and the mercies of the past are pledges of future help and benediction.-W. Ver. 8.-Personal influence. Assuredly no Israelite could look without emotion upon the face and form of Caleb, the utterer of the words of the text. His very existence was a memorial of a memorable day. And when he arose and stood before Joshua, and the two engaged in the conversation recorded in this chapter, who could note them without recollecting that out of the laymen of Israel they were the only survivors of the generation to which they belonged ? Like venerable towers that rear their heads above the building which is attached to them but plainly bears the marks of more recent construction, these two men stood e.n age above their surroundings, but with strength as unyielding as that of their latest compeers. Time and sickness had levelled their contemporaries with the dllBt, but they remained" with eye undimmed and natural force unabated." God had kept His threat and promise. Caleb's utterance may suggest some useful reflec- tions. I. THE FACILITY WITH WHICH MEN ARE DETERRED FROM NOBLE ENTERPRISES. What a lamentable incident was that to which these words refer : " My brethren that were with me made the heart of the people melt." Recall the story of the twelve men and their reconnoitring expedition. They searched the south of Palestine, and admired the fruit which grew there in such abundance ; but the hearts of the majority were terrifiecl at the sight of fenced cities and the giants who inhabited them. And so when they retumed to their brethren they gave such a discouraging account that the people cried, "Would to God we had died in Egypt I" Caleb tried to still their mumuring, but in vain. The cowardly spirit prevailed. Apparently fear is more easily engendered than hope. It is easier to depress than to cheer. How many religious undertakings have failed through the excessive caution of even good men? It is noteworthy that in th_e account which _Moses gives in Dent. i. 21 he refers to the fact that on the amve,l of the Israelites at Kadesh he exhorted them to "go np and possess the land: fear not." Well would it have been if they ha,l acted on the bold counsel of their leader. But they oa.me 2::is THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. [cu. xrv. 1-15.