Eshcol is a sample of the Promise Land where a cluster of grapes was so big and heavy that the spies Moses sent to scout the land “bare it between two upon a staff” (Numbers 13:23).  But it was also a land of giants, and great walled cities.  And here in is the rub.  In order for the Hebrews to obtain the territory God had promised them, they had to face these obstacles. But lacking the faith to do so, they, instead, wandered the wilderness for forty years until the men of that generation perished and the next generation was finally ready to claim it (Numbers 32:9-13).  What a tragic story! 

Those who have been in the Valley of Eshcol know there is always a choice to be made here. Rich and ripe with the promises of God, it also comes with obstacles, with giants and high walls that need overcoming. Ask any person in ministry.  Usually that ministry has been brought about at great cost.  But the same can be said of our personal life.  The promises God makes to us often seem to take forever to materialize, and there seems to be one wall after another to be scaled, one giant after another that hinders our progress. That wayward child God has promised to deliver from drugs seems to be only getting worse; in stead of that healing God promised we seem to get sicker; and rather than God’s promised provision, our finances continue sinking deeper into the red. The list goes on.

In this valley much is at stake. Like the Hebrews, we can throw up our hands and say the giants are too big, the cities too fortified that victory is impossible and God’s promises will never come to pass. Or, we can be like Caleb and Joshua, the only two spies who had no fear and knew they could possess the land because God was with them; and the only two spies permitted to enter the Promise Land with the new generation. God’s ways are higher than ours and He doesn’t measure time the way we do.  But if we stay the course, no matter how long it takes, His promises will come to pass. He never fails. He will deliver.

“Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9

Until next time,

Sylvia

Beware of this valley.  It’s dangerous.  The name itself, Gerar, means to drag off roughly.  What happened here?  In Genesis 26:12-22 Isaac, Abraham’s son, has been mightily blessed by God and has “became very great,” so great in fact that the Philistines who lived in the area were envious and their envy drove them to stop up all of Isaac’s wells. And everyone knows how vital water is, especially in the Middle East.  Eventually, the local king got into the act and, in the interest of peace, asked Isaac to leave, thus Isaac was symbolically “dragged off roughly”, to the valley of Gerar.  But even here his troubles didn’t end because the new wells his herdsmen dug were contested by the herdsmen of Gerar.  After a cycle of digging wells then giving them up to the protesters, Isaac finally dug a well that he was allowed to keep.

So why do I think this is a dangerous valley?  Because it’s a valley that can easily breed resentment.  Imagine you are happy, “on top of the world,” and living in peaceful union with God, blessed mightily by Him, when all of a sudden, because of the sins or selfishness or carelessness or malevolence of others you are forced to go to a place you don’t want to go; forced to endure hardship, suffering, heartache, humiliation, all because of something someone else did. It could be a spouse who did not handle the finances wisely and now you are facing bankruptcy, or a spouse who has violated the marriage with an adulterous affair, or a business that has been mismanage and now you are out of a job, or a rebellious child who has run away from home and turned your world upside down.  It could be any one of a dozen things but the result is the same.  You find yourself where you don’t want to be, “dragged” there by someone else. And because you believe it’s not your fault, bitterness can sprout like a weed. 

Verse 19 of Genesis 26 tells us that in the midst of this valley, Isaac’s servants found a “well of springing water (KJV).” The Amplified calls it a “well of living (spring) water.” Jesus tells us in John 4:10 that He will give “living water” to whoever asks, the only kind of water capable of quenching spiritual thirst.  Gerar is a tough valley to be sure, but oh, what a deep and marvelous well God has for us there if only we ask!  It doesn’t have to be a place of bitterness.  It can be a place where circumstances make us more open to the Lord, as well as a place of deep refreshing.  As usual, the choice is ours.

Until next week,

Sylvia