Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

In our past post’s on Caleb we have considered him as a man with a different spirit, a devoted man, an overcomer of others doubts, one who depended on God’s promises, a man of conviction, and a man convinced of his purpose for God.

With our passage this morning, let us draw out a truth about Caleb that is not expressly stated, but is evident in his life throughout his journeys and trials.

He was victorious, and though the comparison with the Lord Jesus is accurate, it is accurate in description, but not in extent, for Caleb “simply” won his mountain, but Jesus won the world. His is victorious over the grave, and because of God’s deliverance, has been openly declared to be the Son of God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

He is simply greater than all the pictures we consider in this series.

Caleb was victorious because he followed the Lord, and the Lord provided the success, the victory. This is the walk of faith, that is not to seek victory based on our desires, our will, our wants, but to put the will of God ahead of ours.

Caleb certainly was tested, tried in the fire of adversity, peer pressure, and mob opinion. Yet his decision to trust God’s will when all seemed to be going the wrong way is a testament to his faithfulness, and the reason God provided him the victory.

Now I wont go so far as to think the Lord ever had it easy as He rubbed shoulders with those who plotted his death. For even from the very beginning, the cross overshadowed Him. He spoke amazing truths, claimed an astonishing relationship with the God of the Jews, challenged the powers that be and spoke of the kingdom of God breaking forth even as He was on earth. He did not come asking permission from those in charge. He simply came to us, declared the time had come, and rebuffed every argument those threatened by his pronouncements brought to Him. If Caleb had challenges, (and he did), Jesus faced many more, deeper and stronger temptations to veer from His appointed path.

But Jesus never veered. He only performed the work assigned by the Father, and did not go beyond the will of God, or fail to complete the will of God.

John 5:19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

Jesus never veered from the will of God and His victory was such that His closest friends were astonished. Even to this day, the Messiah’s resurrection is doubted by too many. Admittedly, it is an incredible story, but the Man Jesus was incredible in every way. His works and words have no competition, and His victory is completely without comparison.

And by the sheer grace of His compassion for lost souls, He grants us entry into this very victory. A victory over death and the grave.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Caleb was victorious in his life and God provided this victory due to his continuing faith in the midst of difficult times. His victory became his possession and that of his posterity.

For the Lord Jesus, His victory has also been passed to His posterity, and all who seek to find this victory should look no further than the Son of God.

Titus 3:7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

His victory was due to His faithfulness, but our victory is based on relationship with the One who has overcome all obstacles, even the death of the cross!

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