Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it."Caleb's action caught my attention. He didn't just wait for his turn to report. They were already grumbling and making noise. He had to quiet them before he could even talk. Order and discipline had already broken down. It's unclear from this verse whether he was addressing just the spies and whatever leaders were with Moses, or if this was a general meeting of all the people. Either way, things were already going bad before Caleb even got a chance to speak.
The other thing I notice is that Caleb made no reference to God. If I were there, listening to this, I don't know that I would have been convinced, either. Caleb doesn't dispute the claims made by the others about how formidable the inhabitants were, or how many, or how well-defended their cities were. All he said was that they could do it. You wonder if, had Caleb invoked God's assistance in their effort, the people might have been convinced. Maybe not, given the previously status ruckus, but it makes me wonder.
No comments:
Post a Comment