Caleb the son of Jephunneh shines forth as one of Israel’s most illustrious sons. His eminent and gracious life provides lessons of permanent value for all generations. The designation “the son of Jephunneh” is used in sixteen out of the twenty-eight passages in which he is named in the Scriptures. In three of the sixteen, the additional title “the Kenizzite” is applied to him. Are we to assume, then, that Caleb was not of Israelite birth or descent? Not necessarily. A reasonable explanation is that a member of the tribe of the Kenizzites took service with Judah before the Israelite went into Egypt; and that prior to the Exodus, Jephunneh married a woman of the household of Caleb, and by her had a first-born son, to whom was given the family name of Caleb. This youth in time became the head of the household and a chief of Judah.
In an age of compromise, uncertainty and doubt, men and women who “wholly follow the Lord”, who manifest absolute devotion to Him and His Word, are as much to be desired as His chosen people today as they were in ancient Israel. Few of us, without serious reservations, could claim that we are influenced in our every action by that animation and vigor which characterized Caleb the son of Jephunneh. The more we strive to approach the pattern of God’s Son, the more we discern our unlikeness to him. But by Divine grace, we may in the Day of account, be enabled to plead that, in spite of frequent stumbles, it has been our paramount aim to “follow the Lord”, who having begun a good work in us will, we pray, bring it to completion in the Day of Christ.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One