CALEB
Man of faith who followed God fully
By Robert Dale
Day One. 112 pages. £6.00
ISBN 978 1 846 256 059
I was surprised to receive a whole book on Caleb! His name occurs in only five books of the Bible. He is overshadowed by Joshua, who became leader of Israel and has a book named after him.
The author, a retired pastor, ‘aims to redress the balance and remind us of a great man of God whose faith is still an example to us today’ (p.7).
Clarity and warmth
Robert Dale writes clearly and warmly as he teaches useful spiritual lessons from the events of Caleb’s life in 11 chapters. His pastor’s heart is evident in this book. For example, even at the age of 80 Caleb asks Joshua for the most difficult area of Canaan to conquer – a mountain full of giants! From this request Dale writes about older people serving the Lord, as well as the respect due to those who have worked for him over many years. Caleb’s daughter Achsah asking her father for ‘springs of water’ is used to illustrate believers praying to God for spiritual blessings – is this spiritualising the incident too much? The author likes quoting hymns. Some, such as Dare to be a Daniel, seem rather old-fashioned; every verse ending with the words ‘Daniel’s band’. Surely, there are more suitable recent hymns that would encourage younger people to read this otherwise excellent book?
I enjoyed reading this book on a lesser-known biblical character.
