“Follow my directions!” My driver education instructor hurled these disparaging words at me after I botched my first attempt at parallel parking. Robert and Alan, two of my high school friends, sat in the backseat. My mirror reflected their terror. Their faces blushed red, and their eyes squinted while their mouths puckered like a volcano ready to spew.
Those commanding words, “Follow my directions!” reverberated in my head. The instructor barked orders like a drill sergeant. “Go around the block! Try again! This time, follow my directions!”
Once around the block, while focusing on my mirrors, I noticed traffic lining up behind me like a rush hour accident on Interstate 5 in Los Angeles. My hands trembled. I grasped the steering wheel for moral support.
I don’t know which perspired more, my hands or my forehead. Could I follow his directions? I prayed, “Lord, help me follow!”
How could I follow if I could not remember?
Memory, please don’t fail me now. Turn on your blinker.
Pull up, so your front seat matches that of the car beside you.
Look in the mirror.
Turn your wheel sharply.
Back slowly.
When your front wheel is even with the rear wheel of the car beside you, begin to back straight back.
Slow!
Look at your mirrors.
See where your rear tire is.
Make sure your front bumper clears the rear bumper of the car in front.
Stop the car.
Shift forward to drive.
Straighten the car.
Pull forward.
Stop the car.
Put it in park.
Voilà! Breathe! Had I followed his directions?
Caleb characterizes a man who followed. He followed Moses when Moses left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and traveled to Mount Sinai. He obeyed Moses’s orders when he was sent to spy out the Promised Land (Numbers 13:30
But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!"
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
, Numbers 14:6-9
Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, "The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the LORD, and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don't be afraid of them!"
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
; Joshua 14:7
I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the LORD, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report,
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
). He crossed the Jordan River behind Joshua (Joshua 14:6-14
A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, "Remember what the LORD said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the LORD, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God. So that day Moses solemnly promised me, `The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God.' "Now, as you can see, the LORD has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said." So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the LORD, the God of Israel.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
). Caleb demonstrated how to follow men. More importantly, Caleb followed God fully.
My brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God fully. So Moses swore on that day, saying, “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God fully.” … Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite until this day, because he followed the LORD God of Israel fully."Joshua 14:8-14
but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God. So that day Moses solemnly promised me, `The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God.' "Now, as you can see, the LORD has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said." So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the LORD, the God of Israel.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
(NASB, emphasis mine)
Would you have done the same in his place? Would you have fully followed the Lord after encountering giants in the land you were supposed to defeat? Would you have remained fully committed after the hearts of your own countrymen melted from fear? Would you have continued trusting the Lord after your countrymen threatened to stone you? After wasting 38 years in the wilderness, would you have followed Moses again? Would you have trusted the Lord to honor a 45-year-old promise?
Caleb is our hero. Caleb illustrates a man fully committed to his God. We believers need to heed the exhortation to follow Christ, even when hard times come:
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps. 1 Peter 2:21
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered* for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
(NASB)
Lord, help us to follow You today and demonstrate full devotion like Caleb. Give us a steadfast faith in the face of evil, difficulties, calamity, fear, success, or wealth. Lord, make us followers of You. Amen!
Dr. Roy E. Lucas is an author, retired pastor, and retired Bible Professor from Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, Kentucky. He lives in the Appalachian Mountains in Harlan, Kentucky, with his wife, Veda, who is also a writer. Dr. Lucas has published articles in LifeWay's Biblical Illustrator, Deacon Magazine, Senior Adult Bible Studies for Life, Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and the Revised Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2015). He preaches, teaches, and serves as interim pastor. His doctorate is in New Testament studies. Dr. Lucas excavated in the Tel Gezer Project and
