Would You Keep the Faith?

February 11, 2011

“These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. For the LORD had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.”

(Numbers 26:63-65)

          Many of us already know that out of the original group that came out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, only Joshua and Caleb actually made it to the Promise Land. Only two out of thousands of people made it! I don’t know exactly the percentage that we are looking at here, but I know that it’s less than one. Joshua and Caleb, in my opinion, are two of the most extraordinary people of faith in the Bible; they kept the faith against all odds.

            Joshua and Caleb kept the faith as slavery intensified in Egypt right after the intervention of Moses; as Moses spoke the words to Pharaoh on behalf of the Lord: “Let my people go,” and as Pharaoh, in response, doubled the work. Joshua and Caleb kept the faith through the long nights in the desert, through hardship, through hunger and thirst, as everybody else complained; as death surrounded the Israelite camp and as they saw the size of the giants and the natural challenges of conquering the land.

            What are our challenges today? What kills the faith in us? Does it take much or very little for us to complain? In whatever situation you are facing today, the question remains the same: Would you keep the faith?