Introduction
5 minutes
Jesus’ last words in the Gospel of Matthew are to ‘go’ and yet, so often, so few go. Winston Churchill’s words after the victory of the Battle of Britain in 1940 (‘Never before has so much been owed to so few by so many’) could be true of Christianity. Time and time again throughout the Bible and Church history, God has called the many, but only a few have believed and advanced the kingdom of God. Caleb, along with Joshua, is a hero of the Bible who believed God and received the promised blessing. In a time when the Israelites should have been at their strongest (they were being led by faith-filled Moses and had seen God’s saving work in Egypt), they showed such weakness. They were filled with doubts and complaints. Caleb was one of God’s faithful men, standing firm when so many around him were floundering. He stepped forward in faith and held onto his faith through the whole of his life. God calls us to go on an adventure of faith and trust in him. Why then, do we so often not?
Challenges
10 minutes
Quickly sketch out on a flipchart the things that you and your young people find hard about the Christian life. Ask what things we feel God would want us to do that we find particularly challenging: talking to our friends about God, not going with the crowd, inviting friends to youth group and so on. Feel free to instigate and put challenges on the table. Ask your young people why we find these things so hard.
Bible reading #1
15 minutes
As a group, read Numbers 13:27- 33, Numbers 14:5-8 and Numbers 14:24, 38. Give the context that the Israelites have left Egypt on the back of powerful miracles, they have crossed the wilderness and are approaching the land of Canaan that God has promised them. Caleb and Joshua have gone out with many others to spy the land and are bringing back a report for Moses and the people.
Ask: What do we notice about Caleb? What characterises him? What is Caleb’s response to the rebellion of the people? He pleads with God and prays with all his heart, urging them to not be full of fear or doubt.
Key Point 1
God honours courage, faithfulness, obedience and trust. Caleb and Joshua were not like other men. They believed God and saw things as he did.
Discussion
10 minutes
Ask: What does it look like to follow God wholeheartedly? What would courageous Christianity look like for a British Christian teenager? Split into groups and discuss both questions before gathering all the thoughts together. You may want to refer back to the flipchart.
Bible reading #2
15 minutes
Say: Jesus said: ‘I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you’ (John 14:18). He also said, ‘I am with you always, even to the very ends of the age’ (Matthew 28:20).
Read Deuteronomy 1:35-36 and Joshua 14:7-14 together.
Say: Caleb had to wait nearly 40 years and be patient while God dealt with all those around him who did not believe, but God never wavered on his promise to Caleb. As a much older man, still full of vigor and life, Caleb was given the whole land of Hebron.
Encourage a leader (or young person if they are comfortable) to share a story from their own life where God answered a prayer, even when they had to wait a while, or things did not go as they expected. Also share a time where obedience was costly but worth it.
Using the flip chart, ask your young people for suggestions and draw up a list of things that God does and doesn’t promise us. This is a means of separating the myths and lies from the truth. Say: what we see in Caleb is that God does not promise us an easy life, a quick fix, a battle / trial-free existence or popularity with our peers. But he does promise us his presence, strength and faithfulness to his word. He gives us his gifts and we have the assurance that we will never be alone.
Begin to gather prayer requests – see if everyone can think of one thing they will need God’s help with in following him wholeheartedly.
Legacy
5 minutes
Read Judges 3:9-10. Say: years later after Joshua and Caleb had died, the people of Israel were in need again, being oppressed by the King of Aram. They had no leader and God raised up Caleb’s son, Othniel. Othniel had learned from his father and was willing and ready to serve God. He stepped up and led when there was no one else and helped to deliver the Israelites from the oppression they were under. We are told that the land then had peace for 40 years. Caleb had to wait 40 years to inherit the promised land that God had prepared for them. But later on, God granted Caleb’s family 40 years of peace in that land under his son.
Reflection
5 minutes
Bring your doubts, your fears and anxieties to God. Perhaps you, like Caleb, face giants in your land, oppression for your faith or discouragement from those around you. Pray for the same heart that God gave Caleb. Find a worship song about courage (such as ‘Pocketful of faith’ by Tim Hughes) and reflect together in prayer. Pray for boldness, courage and a heart of obedience.
Sam Mckee is the youth worker at Latimer Minster church in Buckinghamshire. He works primarily in developing youth missions and peer evangelism.
