Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: "Go north through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see." (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.) So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai--all descendants of Anak--lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) (Numbers 13:17-22 NLT)
When the Israelites reached the land that was promised to their ancestors, beginning with Abraham, the LORD commanded them to send people in to scout out the land. God wanted them to see what God had in store for them.
When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means "cluster"), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there. After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. This was their report to Moses: "We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country--a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. (Numbers 13:23-27 NLT)
God often gives us a picture of the good things God desires for our lives. The Garden of Eden gives us a picture of God’s ideal design and desire for our lives. Noah was given a fresh start and a rainbow to remind him that God will never wipe out the earth with a flood again. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all given a vision of the Promised Land that God wanted to give His people. Even today, we Christ-followers are given a picture of what God has in store for us with the new heaven and new earth. God’s goodness is evident all around us and points us to the goodness He wants to pour out on us. We just need to open our eyes and look around to see it.
How about you? Do you see God’s goodness in the world? Do you see it all around you? Do you see it in your life?
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