I do not think he was boasting. I do not know if he had the same strength as an 85-year-old as a 40-year-old man, but I know how it is as you get older: your mind does not change. Your body changes, but your mind does not change. But he acknowledged he knew what God had promised him. But he also knew that it was not because of his strength. It was because he knew that it was his God that would preserve him.
I find this last sentence interesting. Again, there is no arrogance here. He says here, if the Lord grants it. If the Lord will help me. He is not saying I am going to take it because I deserve it.
And I think this last sentence brings out again the character of Caleb. And at no point, I do not believe in his whole life, but as far as we know, that he took God for granted. We do not see any vanity here in his life. And remember, nothing had changed in the land. The fortified cities were still there. They were still like grasshoppers to the giants that occupied the land. Just as Caleb quieted the people back in chapter 13, verse 30, where he said, Let's go up and possess it, his attitude, his mindset had not changed.
Well, he is bold in his request for the mountains, this mountainous area, and probably this was the most difficult area to take. He was not relying on his own strength or his own abilities, but his belief that God would drive them out for them.
