January 22

Numbers 13:23
“And they came unto the brook of Eschol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs”—Numbers 13:2323And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. (Numbers 13:23).
GOD permitted His people to see and taste, while still in the wilderness, of the fruits of the land to which they were bound. And so He does today. It is by the Holy Spirit that we who are journeying on to the rest which remains for the people of God, enjoy while here on earth an earnest of that which we shall delight in, in all its fullness, for eternity. In Romans 8:2323And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23) the apostle writes of “ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit.” Here are our Eshcol grapes and the pomegranates of Canaan. All that we enjoy of Christ now is by the Spirit. He delights to take of those things which concern our Risen Lord and reveal them unto us. May it be ours to appreciate and enjoy His gracious ministry.
“Our God is light: and though we go
Across a trackless wild,
Our Jesus’ footsteps ever show
The path for ev’ry child.
At ev’ry step afresh we prove
How sure our heavenly Guide, —
The faithful and forbearing love
That never turns aside.
The manna and the springing well
Suffice for ev’ry need;
And Eshcol’s grapes the story tell
Of where Thy path doth lead.”
—Mary Bowler