19th Day of Lent

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Numbers 13:17-27, NRSV

Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, ‘Go up there into the Negeb, and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the towns that they live in are unwalled or fortified, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be bold, and bring some of the fruit of the land.’ Now it was the season of the first ripe grapes.

So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the Negeb, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anakites, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Wadi Eshcol, because of the cluster that the Israelites cut down from there.

At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, ‘We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

Reflection - Pastor Laurie Pfahler, Royersford United Methodist Church

Oh, the promises God has made to us! And OH! - - the promises God has kept! The Hebrews started their exodus from Egypt excited and happy to actually be free and on their way to a land promised to Abraham and his descendants many generations ago. Despite many miles of hard work and moments of unfaithfulness, anger toward God and Moses, doubts, bad behavior, and a LOT of whining (“Are we there yet???”) between Egypt and the Jordan River, lessons were learned and forgiveness granted. The reward was amazing. Everything God said it would be!!

We have varying opinions about all the hard work we do for the building of God’s kingdom. Like the Hebrews, most of us mess up, some of us whine, some of us think our efforts are futile, others rejoice in God sightings each hour. Some look to do more, others less; others, still, avoid the work and are just along for the ride. But God has promised us a “promised land” far greater than that of the Hebrews. Through Jesus Christ, this new heaven and new earth will exceed anything we can possibly imagine. We just need to be faithful in our work knowing what is to come is all worth the struggle, and even the suffering we must endure in this life. Blessed are you who love God and each other with everything you have and everything you are; for your eternal home, your promised land, is with God.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, fill us with patience, strength, wisdom, and courage to faithfully journey with you in love and grace toward that eternal home promised to us by your Son, Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, Amen.