A Different Spirit

A Different Spirit

Numbers 14:20 – And the Lord said, I have had mercy, as you say: 21 – But truly, as I am living, and as all the earth will be full of the glory of the Lord; 22 – Because all these men, having seen my glory and the signs which I have done in Egypt and in the waste land, still have put me to the test ten times, and have not given ear to my voice;

verse 23 – They will not see the land about which I made an oath to their fathers; not one of these by whom I have not been honoured will see it. 24 – But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit in him, and has been true to me with all his heart, him I will take into that land into which he went, and his seed will have it for their heritage.

The Israelites were on the brink of entering the land that was promised to them by the Lord, but they chose to believe an evil report brought back from the leaders who were sent to investigate the land. The report was factually correct: the land was flowing with milk and honey and the inhabitants were huge, strong, living in fortified cities. However, the report was evil because it left God out; the living God who brought them out of Egypt. God’s presence had never left them even to that very day that they took up stones to stone Caleb and Joshua, the only leaders that dared to contradict the majority.

Read how their report differed: Numbers 14:6 – And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, two of those who had been to see the land, giving signs of grief, 7 – Said to all the children of Israel, This land which we went through to see is a very good land.

Verse 8 – And if the Lord has delight in us, he will take us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 9 – Only, do not go against the Lord or go in fear of the people of the land, for they will be our food; their strength has been taken from them and the Lord is with us: have no fear of them.

And now read the Lord’s response. With stones in their hands the murderous rage of the Israelites against Joshua and Caleb was arrested by the glory of the Lord who had been witness to their faithlessness. Verse 11 – And the Lord said to Moses, How long will this people have no respect for me? How long will they be without faith, in the face of all the signs I have done among them?

These questions are for us as well! How often do our current trials threaten to derail our faith in God? Have we forgotten all that God has done to lead us to this very point in time? Are we now to forget God at a time when we are so close to the grand fulfillment of all his promises? Are we going to deny our Lord and ignore all His messages from His faithful servants throughout the ages? Will we be the ones picking up stones to silence the faithful few who continue to stand firm in the face of a worldly majority who worship different gods?

May it never be so. Caleb had a different Spirit; the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and so must we. Let the following promise come true for you: “I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I will give them tender hearts, so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. – Ezekiel 11:19, 20.