MR. EDITOR,-I perceive that in former numbers you inserted some short accounts of different Scripture characters. May I offer a brief notice of one whose name did not, I believe, at that time appear?

Though little is told us of Caleb, and the Scriptures only mention his name on three or four occasions, it appears to me that many lessons may be learnt from that short history; and as we know that all that is told us in Holy Scripture about the history of the servants of God is for our learning and our example, it surely is right and profitable to study their characters, and strive to follow them as they followed their Lord. This is in an especial manner true with regard to him who is honoured by God with the title of "my servant Caleb'," and of whom the chief characteristic recorded is, that he wholly followed the Lord "," that he "followed the Lord fully." Let us then, as we consider the simple and beautiful account given of him, examine our own 2 Ibid. xxxii. 12; Deut. i. 36.

1 Numb. xiv. 24.

VOL. XXVIII.

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3 Numb. xiv. 24.

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hearts to see whether we are as diligently striving to follow our Lord in the path of faith and obedience, by the aid of the far clearer light which we enjoy than that which was possessed by Caleb, or any of the Old Testament saints.

When the children of Israel had been journeying through the wilderness, and were approaching the borders of the promised land, Moses received a command from God to choose twelve men, one out of each of the tribes of Israel, who was also to be a ruler, or chief person in his tribe. Caleb was the one chosen to represent the tribe of Judah. These twelve men were to go over Jordan and spy out the land of Canaan, and to see the land, what sort of land it was, and the people that dwelt in the land, whether they were strong or weak, few or many; and they were to bring to Moses and the rest of the people an account of what they saw. In obedience to this command they went through the land forty days. One city which they visited is particularly named, which we must observe, as it has reference to Caleb's history. It was Hebron, a strong and fortified city in the hill country, inhabited by the sons of Anak, a race of giants. They brought back with them, as a proof of the abundant fertility of this good land, a cluster of grapes, so large that it was necessary to carry it between two men upon a staff. They returned, at the end of the forty days, to Moses and the congregation, and made their report of what they had seen. They said that the land was most abundantly rich and productive above all lands; but instead of giving glory to God for his faithfulness to his promise, in thus bringing them within reach of this country, "the glory of all lands," and having shown them by experience how true were his words, that it was "a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey," ten of these spies endeavoured to make the people "think scorn of that pleasant land;" and to make them afraid of the inhabitants-those heathen nations whom God had promised to drive out before them -they said, "the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and very great; and

4 Numb. xiii.

moreover we saw the children of Anak there." At this account the people were troubled and fearful; they hearkened to these sinful complaints, instead of trusting in God's promises, and were disheartened, and no doubt began, as they always did, to murmur against God. Then stood forth that holy man Caleb (faithful found among the faithless), and "stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we." Here we have the language of faith, and of unbelief. Caleb, trusting in the word of promise of God, knew that through Him they would be "more than conquerors that God being for them, none could overcome them, so long as they trusted in Him. And how boldly did he still continue to declare his confidence in God, amidst the discontent and murmurings of the rest of the congregation. They, we are told, wept all night, and next day came to the wicked resolution of returning back to Egypt, making a captain to be over them; for they knew Moses would not take them there again. Upon which, Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the only two among the spies who did not bring an evil report of the land, "rent their clothes, and said, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not." He reminds the people that, if they fail to possess the land, it will be entirely owing to their own sins, which would cause God to forsake them; but if they sought to please God, He would surely fight for them. How fearlessly does he speak, with only one to stand with him. Let us consider what is the lesson we are to learn from his conduct in this instance. We may learn from it, the duty of decision for God and boldness in confessing Him in the midst of an ungodly world. In this we may

all have opportunities of imitating him. The true Christian, like Caleb, is one of a very small number, against the many; for so has our Lord declared, and so it has ever been: those who walk in the narrow way are few, whilst many go on the broad road. Consequently he must often find his ways and opinions and feelings contrary to those around him; and this will be sure to excite enmity and opposition to him. But must he fear this, and yield, or make sinful compliances? "If any man be ashamed of me or of my words," says our Lord, "of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when He shall come in his own glory, and of his Father, and of the holy angels." He must be ready to take a decided course, following in every thing the Word of God, and not attempting to compromise or to endeavour to please the world. That "halting between two opinions," the endeavour to serve both God and mammon, which is so common, will prove utterly vain. God must have the whole heart, or He will accept none. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, O Christian; take up thy cross daily, and in the midst of reproach from a world that lieth in wickedness, be ready constantly to speak the truth, to rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake. Caleb and Joshua's bold testimony brought upon them the hatred of the people; for we read that "all the congregation commanded to stone them with stones." But immediately we see how the Lord is ever ready to help those who suffer for the truth's sake-how true He is to his promise, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father which is in heaven." The glory of God appeared visibly on the tabernacle, and in the ears of all the terrified people, He declared his anger against those wicked men who had spoken ill of the land, and how He was about to punish all the congregation who had so frequently rebelled against Him and vexed his Holy Spirit. He then pronounced the awful sentence, that none of those who had left the land of Egypt should enter Canaan, but that they should wander in the wilderness forty years, each year for a day, according to the number of days that they searched

the land, till all had died in the wilderness; and those who were now children should be grown up; and they should enter that land which their sinful parents had despised. "But," says the Word of God, "my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it." "Doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun." Soon after, the ten wicked spies were cut off by pestilence; but Caleb and Joshua lived still, and at the end of forty years, when Israel again approached the banks of the Jordan, and Moses numbered the people in the plains of Moab, it was found that among them "there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun 5."

To conclude what we are told of Caleb's history, we find, in the 14th chapter of Joshua, that after the people had come into the promised land, Caleb came to Joshua, and reminded him of the promise that had been made him, that he should have for his inheritance the land whereon his feet had trodden in the day when he was sent to spy the land. He says that he was at that time forty years old, and that he was now fourscore and five years old; but forty-five years seem to have only strengthened him in faith and confidence in his God; for he comes to beg that he might have for his inheritance that very city, Hebron, inhabited by the giants, which had so daunted the wicked spies; he declares himself as strong for war as ever, and expresses his confidence that, through the help of God, he shall be well able to overcome it. And so "Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb, Hebron for an inheritance; and it became his inheritance, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel":" and in the next chapter we read, "Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak." Thus did God show his approbation of his conduct;

5 Numbers xxvi. 65.

6 Josh. xiv. 13, 14.