Caleb

He was the most unlikely of candidates, based on his name. Caleb in Hebrew is defined as dog. His Father Jeohunneh’s name means He will be facing or God reconciles. This man, this member of the tribe of Judah though, had a different spirit than most of the spies.

He and Joshua the son of Nun believed in God, Moses, and the people’s ability to do what God had called them to do. They were alone in the assessment, and the lone survivors when the dust settled. As an adopted Father, his heritage interests me.

Scholars are of two different opinions of his origins. He is part of Judah, make no mistake of that, but how he came to Judah is discussed. Some say that the Kenizzites were the same Kennizites from Genesis 15, descendants of the grandson of Esau. These scholars believe at some point, this tribe became adopted into the family of Judah.

If that’s the case, perhaps Caleb treasured more what he had been brought to than what others had. If that’s not the case, and these Kennizzites were simply a family in Judah, they were still adopted by God. The entire nation of Israel had been adopted by God, delivered out of slavery, and brought into a new land.

Pastor Denny Livingston preached an Awesome Message yesterday on Learning To Celebrate, which I encourage you to listen to on our Point Of Mercy Facebook page. It was so amazing, and so overflowing with joy. Through it Caleb kept going through my mind.

You see, one of the greatest joys of my life has been being adopted into God’s kingdom. Like the meaning of Caleb’s name, I’m so far from deserving of mercy, but I’m eternally grateful. Also I couldn’t help but think of God enabling us to adopt our son Nicholas, who along with his Mother Ashley, are the other great joys of my life.

Caleb saw the blessings of God, not the obstacles in their path. Caleb realized he was a part of the family that God had adopted, and with Him nothing was impossible. Finally he realized that whatever he faced, Caleb wasn’t facing alone, like the meaning of Jephunneh, God was facing it with Him!