“In the days of Moses,
Joshua proved his loyalty
With Caleb
Son of Jephunneh.
They opposed the congregation.
They restrained the people from sin.
They stilled their wicked grumbling.
These two alone were spared
Out of the six hundred thousand infantry.
They led the people into their inheritance,
The land flowing with milk and honey.
The Lord gave Caleb strength.
This remained with him in his old age.
He went up to the hill country.
His children obtained it
For an inheritance.
Thus all the Israelites might see
How good it is to follow the Lord.”
According to Numbers, chapter 14, Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun were the only two people allowed to live long enough to see the Promise Land, because they were the only two that felt like going into the land of Canaan would not be that difficult. The rest of the 600,000 desert wanderers perished and died in the desert wilderness. Not even Moses and Aaron were allowed to make it into the land of milk and honey. The Israelite people had been grumbling, but only Joshua and Caleb convinced them to carry on. Thus Caleb and his family were given a special place in the high country in the new land that they had conquered. Caleb was the ideal warrior and follower of the Lord who lived to a ripe old age with all his strength intact.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 