In Company With Joshua

“Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh” (Numbers 14:6).
Relatively speaking we are told very little concerning the life of Caleb. I say relatively speaking, because we find that there are two men, who at this point in their history are inseparable: Joshua and Caleb. Regarding Joshua, there are pages and pages of the Holy Scriptures taken up with the details of his life and work, but not a great deal regarding the life and work of his faithful companion Caleb.
Perhaps the reason that we are told so much about Joshua, is that he is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. His name means Jesus, and he is, in type, a picture of the Lord in the aspect of Hebrews 2:10. “For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” It was Joshua who was later raised up by God, as their captain, to lead the children of Israel through the Jordan and into the good of their inheritance. Our Captain, the Lord of Glory, is the One who is seeking to lead us into the good of what is ours, in and through Himself, as a result of the work that He accomplished on the cross of Calvary.
The lesson we learn from this is that Caleb, as a man of God, was content to go on quietly in the shadow and company of another. Are you and I satisfied to go on quietly in the shadow and company of our Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ? The schools of men teach us to make much of self; get a name; make your mark in the world; put yourself forward; leave your stamp on society, etc. Self-assertion is what is ingrained in us in this present age of humanism, but the Bible teaches us to make much of Him and not draw attention to ourselves. Are we happy to walk in the path of faithfulness and service where He has put us, and to do everything for His glory, that others might see Christ in us and be attracted to Him? The hymn-writer, J. G. Deck, penned these words:

Joshua and Caleb seem inseparable. They are constant companions, with one mind, one heart, and one purpose. This is our proper place, and should characterize us in relationship with our Joshua. Notice too, it is not Caleb and Joshua, it is Joshua and Caleb. That is the proper order. Our Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, should always be first and foremost! “That in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18).
John the Baptist, in bearing witness of the Lord declared, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). What a lesson these two servants of God teach us, one from the Old Testament and the other from the New Testament. Nothing of self, and all of Christ! The Apostle Paul said, “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). The athlete says, “For me to live, is sports;” the executive says, “For me to live is business;” the entrepreneur say, “For me to live is innovation;” the musician says, “For me to live is music;” and so on. But the Christian should say, “For me to live is Christ.”
I read of a young college student who had a card hanging in his room bearing the inscription,