In this daily Bible reading is the continuation of Israel’s genealogies. Of particular note is the genealogy of Ephraim, one of Joseph’s two sons. In Ephraim’s genealogy is Caleb.
Caleb was one of only two Israelite adults who were in the Exodus march leaving Egypt and were allowed to enter the promised land. The other was Joshua, who became leader of Israel after Moses died. All of the other adults who left Egypt died during the Exodus.
This was because Joshua and Caleb were the only two from the group of twelve who spied out the promised land who expressed their trust in God to help Israel conquer the land. The other ten counseled Israel to return to Egypt because the conquest would be too difficult. Interestingly, Joshua was from the tribe of Judah into which Jesus was born.
True Faith in God will always be favored and blessed by God. True Faith trusts in God even in the face of overwhelming odds that would suggest defeat by the world’s standards.
Joshua and Caleb saw the overwhelming strength of the inhabitants of the promised land and could see that Israel by itself would stand little chance to defeat them. However, with God’s help they believed anything is possible. And so it is.
The Bible says that without Faith it is impossible to please God. The Bible also says that Faith in Jesus Christ, who is the living Word of God, is essential for our Salvation. Therefore, we should always live by Faith.
