“…So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites (giants) were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” Joshua 14:10–12
This coming week we are ending a short sermon series based on the Old Testament book of Joshua. Sadly, there is much of this book we had to unforgivably skip over. In light of this, I thought I would highlight a portion, or more specifically a person, who cannot be overlooked.
One of my favourite people mentioned in the Bible is Caleb. If there is anyone who personified an extreme “can do” personality it was this Israelite titan. We know little about Caleb, but what little we do know is pretty impressive. Caleb was one of the original twelve spies who went to survey the Promise Land. When ten of the spies came back demoralized and defeated, believing it would be impossible for Israel to conquer the land, it was Caleb, who countered his defeatist sidekicks by declaring, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30). For good reasons the other spies were terrified, the inhabitants of the land, specifically the Anakites, were considered giants. The spies claimed they were, “as grasshoppers” in comparison to these beastly brutes. By no means was this the most impressive aspect about Caleb — Caleb wasn’t all bluster. He was a man willing to put his, “money (or more accurately his sword) where his mouth was!”
There are two famous giant slayers nearly the entire world is familiar with. First, there is the young fictional character named Jack, who cut down a beanstalk to defeat his giant. Secondly, there was another brash young man named David, who used a slingshot and then his enemy’s sword to decapitate his giant. David also happens to be the best known giant slayer of the Bible, and with good reason — it is not every day a punk kid takes down battled-hardened Philistine mercenary (*Goliath was likely a descendant of the Anakites)! We all know about these giant-killing kids, but few are familiar with Caleb, the octogenarian, city-of-giants-slaying senior citizen: “And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak” (Joshua 15:14). Now that is impressive!
There is no one in Scripture, and potentially in all history, who was filled with more chutzpah, more bravado, more fearless audacity than Caleb. At 85 years of age, 45 years after he originally set eyes on the land of giants, he is just as eager to fight, just as desperately wanting to set his sword to the necks of his over-sized adversaries he was denied decades earlier.
A few years back, I had the privilege of conducting a funeral service for a true modern day Caleb. Her name was Sandra Caldwell, a retired school teacher and librarian, and the giant she faced was cancer. Over the nearly eight years I knew and shared in ministry alongside Sandra, she courageously battled cancer three times. On her third and final diagnosis, where she was told, in no uncertain terms, she would not be able to win this final round. Knowing this, she requested of me, the honour of conducting her funeral when the inevitable time came. When I asked her if she had any specific requests for her service, she only had one, “Don’t make it dull!” As I thought of the how to properly honour this noble hero, it was the example of Caleb, who I believed best captured the true fight and faith of Sandra.
Sandra loved kids! Never married, never having kids of her own, nevertheless she gave of herself to work with and to spread love to little ones. She served in Sunday school, she served at VBS, she served at the mid-week AWANA program, and she served at just about every other function that involved kids.
For ten months of the year our Sunday School teachers would serve every week, so we intentionally tried to to give these leaders a short break for the summer. When Sandra was going through one of her bouts with chemo, I made the mistake of purposefully leaving her off of the summer children’s schedule. The first Sunday she went down and helped with the kids; the second week she did the same. I then made a second mistake, I let her know she did not have to help and that I had intentionally wanted to give our leaders the break. She then bluntly informed me, “If I wanted to be in big-person church, I would be there!” She continued, “I figured I have sat through enough sermons and adult Sunday Schools for a lifetime, and I want to be with the kids — besides the kids are far more fun!” I was humbled, and never tried to stand in her way again.
This exchange stands out as one of the most dedicated depictions I have ever experienced in ministry, but it pales in comparison to a humbling behind the scenes glimpse I received of Sandra’s determination. Somewhere in the final few months of her life, and again while undergoing chemotherapy, her sister had moved in with her to provide some practical help. On a Monday morning, for a reason since forgotten, I called Sandra. Her sister answered, informing me Sandra was currently resting, and probably would not be available for whatever I needed until later in the week. I am not sure if she realized I was Sandra’s pastor, but she then filled me in on a breathtaking piece of information. “Sandra no longer goes out and rarely does anything but rest on Mondays and Tuesdays, because she wants to make sure she is strong enough to be with the kids at her church on Wednesday nights.” Even as I write this years later, I do so with shivers and tears! This is the spirit of Caleb the giant slayer! Even if you may not be able to slay a particular giant, you fight to make sure it never conquers you — and cancer never conquered Sandra!
A popular verse that was shared often with me and my church comrads when we were young, and for good reason, was 1 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” When I think of Caleb and when I think of Sandra, I also think of this verse, not simply because they were young at heart, but because I think we should alter this verse to read: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are OLD (or in poor health), but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
Whether you are five or eighty-five — May God fill you with the spirit, the courage, and the temerity of Caleb to fight faithfully, and to fearlessly face and conquer giants!
