Valleys intro sampler - Flipbook - Page 29
God promised. But there is a big problem: Giants occupy the land. For most of
the spies, fear leads the way. Doubts set in. And the Israelites end up experiencing decades of consequences because they can’t bring themselves to look past the
giants.
But Caleb is different.
My husband, Aaron, wanted to name our one and only child Caleb, after this
man in the Valley of Eshkol story who kept his eyes on God. This valley story
means a lot to me and my family. Embedded in my
son’s name is an aspirational blessing and a legacy of
Valley of Eshkol: You might see
faith. Maybe soon, Caleb Armstrong will reach for
this referred to as the Valley of
his Bible and turn to the pages in Numbers 13 and 14
Eshcol elsewhere, depending
to remind himself who else has lived with his name.
on which translation you
My prayer is that his connection to this man will help
reference. I followed the
him trust God with his own giant-sized doubts.
spelling of the translation I
quoted for this passage.
If you don’t spend a lot of time reading the book of
Numbers, you’re in good company. I rarely do either.
Every time I revisit a story in Numbers, I reorient
myself to God’s storyline of redemption to find my bearings. The story of the
Valley of Eshkol in Numbers 13 and 14 connects to everything that has happened
before it and everything that will come after.
On page 1 of the Bible, God creates the first man and woman in his image and
starts a relationship with his people. Very soon after, God launches his project—to
see his family flourish. But Adam and Eve rebel against God’s good plan to bless
the whole world. This is the first time in the Bible, of many, that God forgives sin
and creates a way for people to remain in relationship with him.
In one of God’s many acts of grace, he chooses Abraham and his family to bless
the world because Adam and Eve failed to. Most of the book of Genesis is about
Abraham’s family line. (And let’s just say that if Abraham had his own Netflix
series, he would have won an Emmy.)
By the time we get to the next book of the Bible, Exodus, we find God’s people
enslaved under the Egyptians. God acts again, rescuing his people through a
man named Moses, who leads the Israelites out of oppression, through the Red
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VA L L E YS