And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.
The verse records a reconnaissance in which twelve men, one from each tribe, went up into the mountain country of Canaan, came to the valley of Eshcol, and searched out the land. They brought back fruit from the land and reported that the land the Lord had given to Israel was good. After seeing the land, the spies through unbelief and fear discouraged the heart of Israel, so the people refused to enter the land the Lord had given them and rebelled against God's command to enter, doing as their fathers did when sent from Kadesh-barnea.
The verse belongs to the history of Israel's failures and victories during forty years of wandering that Moses was to repeat to the people as they approached possession of Jericho, carrying forward the principles God had given them. The first chapter where the verse stands must be read carefully to see why the Lord refused to bring the adults of the army that left Egypt into the promised land. This disobedience kindled the Lord's anger so that He swore that none of the men that came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upward would see the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because they had not wholly followed Him, save Caleb and Joshua who wholly followed the Lord. He made Israel wander forty years until all that evil generation was consumed.
The verse proves that the Lord's promises are upon condition of obedience and of keeping His judgments and ordinances. The verse warns that rising up in the fathers' stead to turn away will again leave His people in the wilderness and destroy them.
The verse is written for admonition for those living when the ends of the world are come, and its setting in Deuteronomy 1, 7 and 8 is to be read in the light of the example of Christ. It requires following the Lord's guidance fully rather than only up to the point that agrees with human judgment and personal ideas. This means looking to Christ who is truth for self-denial and self-sacrifice and perfection of character instead of living to please self.
The verse records a reconnaissance in which twelve men, one from each tribe, went up into the mountain country of Canaan, came to the valley of Eshcol, and searched out the land. They brought back fruit from the land and reported that the land the Lord had given to Israel was good. After seeing the land, the spies through unbelief and fear discouraged the heart of Israel, so the people refused to enter the land the Lord had given them and rebelled against God's command to enter, doing as their fathers did when sent from Kadesh-barnea.
The verse belongs to the history of Israel's failures and victories during forty years of wandering that Moses was to repeat to the people as they approached possession of Jericho, carrying forward the principles God had given them. The first chapter where the verse stands must be read carefully to see why the Lord refused to bring the adults of the army that left Egypt into the promised land. This disobedience kindled the Lord's anger so that He swore that none of the men that came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upward would see the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because they had not wholly followed Him, save Caleb and Joshua who wholly followed the Lord. He made Israel wander forty years until all that evil generation was consumed.
The verse proves that the Lord's promises are upon condition of obedience and of keeping His judgments and ordinances. The verse warns that rising up in the fathers' stead to turn away will again leave His people in the wilderness and destroy them.
The verse is written for admonition for those living when the ends of the world are come, and its setting in Deuteronomy 1, 7 and 8 is to be read in the light of the example of Christ. It requires following the Lord's guidance fully rather than only up to the point that agrees with human judgment and personal ideas. This means looking to Christ who is truth for self-denial and self-sacrifice and perfection of character instead of living to please self.