But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

-- Numbers 14:24 (NIV)

Followship

(Part Six)

Wholeheartedness

How important is a person’s name?  Perhaps you have named a child and struggled over family issues, or strange alliterations, or the potential for playground taunts as the child grows – especially with boys.  Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s children are named Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig, which seems to place them in the non-traditional category.  As Gail Rosenblum, columnist with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, points out, there are some unusual names being given these days.  Names like Zuma, Seven, Puma, Banjo, Heavenly, Rocket, and more.[1]

Bible names also have a way of seeming strange to our ears, but some of them remain contemporary, like Caleb.  In Hebrew, the name Caleb has been interpreted variously to either mean dog or, more correctly, wholehearted.  Would you name your son, Dog?  It seems more likely that his father, Jephunneh, had the latter meaning in mind.  One of the defining moments in the history of ancient Israel involved Caleb.  Let’s take a brief look at it.

The familiar story is found in the book of Numbers, beginning with Chapter 13.  As directed by God, Moses sends out 12 scouts to check out the land of Canaan in preparation for their occupation.  Take a look at their names.  When they all return, ten of the scouts give such a fearful report that there was uproar among the people.  Caleb stepped up to try and calm them, with a great challenge to not be afraid, and to go in and possess the land.  The next day, Joshua joins with Caleb in proclaiming that God will lead them to victory.  They admonish the people to not rebel against the Lord in their fear of the opposition.  When the Israelites persisted in their unbelief, God spoke His judgment upon that generation, and you know the rest of the story.

Forty-five years later, having survived the years in the desert, having crossed over the Jordan with Joshua, and having fought to conquer the land, Caleb stands to receive his inheritance.  At the age of 85, he proposes that he be given the place where the giants of Anak lived.  He announces that he is ready for battle and, with the help of God, that he will drive them out.  Joshua blessed him, and awarded him Hebron as his inheritance.  Caleb is commended five times, in the accounts of his life, as one who followed God wholeheartedly.

The Hebrew word for wholehearted is shalem, meaning complete, uncut, and untouched as in the stones that Solomon used to build the Temple (1 Kings 6:7).  David used the same word in his charge to Solomon to serve God with wholehearted devotion (1 Chronicles 28:9). 

My friend, may I challenge you to seek God to help you to turn from your brokenness, to yield control of your life – cede it to Christ – and then to live with an uncut heart, undivided and wholly devoted to the Master.  These are the main features of a life of Followship that will take you down the Kingdom Road to a destiny you may never have imagined.  There He will give you a new name, good and faithful servant, written on a white stone and known only to Him and to you (Revelation 21:17).

Next time we will confront an obstacle that stands between us and living the Noble Life of Authenticity, Followship, Simplicity, Resilience, and Valor.  We need to cross over the River of Fear.