Read Numbers 34
Boundaries of Canaan
34 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries:
3 “‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea, 4 cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon, 5 where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea.
6 “‘Your western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This will be your boundary on the west.
7 “‘For your northern boundary, run a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor 8 and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad, 9 continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.
10 “‘For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham.11 The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ainand continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee. 12 Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea.
“‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’”
13 Moses commanded the Israelites: “Assign this land by lot as an inheritance. The Lord has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, 14 because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. 15 These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance east of the Jordan across from Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. 18 And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land.19 These are their names:
Caleb son of Jephunneh,
from the tribe of Judah;
20 Shemuel son of Ammihud,
from the tribe of Simeon;
21 Elidad son of Kislon,
from the tribe of Benjamin;
22 Bukki son of Jogli,
the leader from the tribe of Dan;
23 Hanniel son of Ephod,
the leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;
24 Kemuel son of Shiphtan,
the leader from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph;
25 Elizaphan son of Parnak,
the leader from the tribe of Zebulun;
26 Paltiel son of Azzan,
the leader from the tribe of Issachar;
27 Ahihud son of Shelomi,
the leader from the tribe of Asher;
28 Pedahel son of Ammihud,
the leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”
29 These are the men the Lord commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
Go Deeper
In this last section on Numbers, we see the New Generation, also known as the Conquest Generation, preparing to enter into the Promised Land. These final chapters are marked by both warning and encouragement. In chapter 33, we read a review of Israel’s journey from Egypt and God’s instructions to drive out the inhabitants of the land. The chapter ended with a warning of what would happen if they did not obey the Lord’s command to do this.
This idea might not sit well with us or be confusing. Eugene Merrill, a former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, gives four reasons behind why God instructed His people to drive out the inhibitions of the land. He states that these are: “The irremediable hardness of the hearts of its victims, the need to protect Israel against spiritual corruption, the destruction of idolatry, and the education of Israel and the nations as to the character and intentions of the one true God.” God is ultimately creator and judge, all have sinned, and He is impartial.
In this chapter, we see God through Moses giving the people specific directions on what their boundaries were to look like in the Promised Land and instructions for assigning the land to the Israelite tribes. Moses gave detailed commands for the borders in the north, south, east, and west. The southern border (v. 3-5) went from the Scorpion Pass in the desert to the Brook of Egypt. The western border was the Mediterranean Sea (v. 6), the northern border was at the entrance of Hamath (v. 7-9), and the eastern border was the Dead Sea (v. 10-12). The land within these boundaries were 150 miles long by 50 miles wide. This land was a real and tangible place with definite boundaries.
The question you might be asking is Why did the Lord give them boundaries? Boundary markers were a stone pillar that marked a property line. They instructed the people how far they could go and were used to establish order. The purpose of these were also to prevent them from coveting others’ territories and wanting to expand outside the borders that the Lord gave them. It was against Mosaic law to move these boundary markers or go past them (Deuteronomy 27:17). Like the Israelites, the temptation in many of us is to want more than what we have been given. God freely gave them a land to inherit and live in, and He wanted them to experience this blessing within those borders.
This essentially addressed the lack of contentment that the Lord knew the Israelites would have. It is easy for us today to have a lack of contentment in what the Lord has given us. We compare ourselves to others and desire the things that they have, because we can believe the lie that what we have is not enough. Contentment will ultimately never come from what we have, it is a perspective. Psalm 23 says that we lack no good thing in Him, and He provides everything we need. Additionally, the commands the Lord gives us are for our benefit. They are not meant to be burdensome, but for our protection and for our good. Following Jesus and obedience to His commands go hand in hand. As it says in Psalm 19, would we see God’s instructions to us as perfect, reliable, righteous, and more valuable than gold.
Questions
- What do God’s commands in this chapter teach you about His character?
- In the Great Commission, Jesus reminds His followers to obey everything He has commanded. His instructions are His boundaries for us. What is a boundary or instruction that God has set in place that you are tempted to cross?
- What is something you desire more of than you currently have? What does it look like to have contentment in what the Lord has given you?
A Quote
“This is the secret of being content: to learn and accept that we live daily by God’s unmerited favor given through Christ, and that we can respond to any and every situation by His divine enablement through the Holy Spirit.” –Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness
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3 thoughts on “Numbers 34”
Boundaries/expectations
God set boundaries for them for their land but they are also in the climax of expectations of getting the ACTUAL land that has been promised. This is very similar for us, waiting on Jesus to return. It is a promise and it will occur, but how and when? We are waiting in our Exodus pattern. The sad reality is that they never achieved what God set for them. They did not get all the promised land conquered. Why? Numbers 33:55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. Well they did not drive them out. But do we do all God tells us today? No one is perfect and we all fail daily. But there is a difference between hoping for God’s plan to unfold and actually trying to walk it out. BUT GOD will not show us until we seek Him. When we seek Him, He promises to guide us. Where are you/I making excuses as He’s calling you/me to charge into the impossible boundaries of your/my Promised Land? Our expectations are Jesus Christ return but in the mean time we are to share the Gospel. We are not of this world but in it at this time, for such a time as this.
God thank You for opening the eyes of my understanding. What a revelation that I am in my Exodus pattern. Waiting. God thank You in the waiting that I can speak, live and show You in my life. Thank You for how You lead guide and direct my paths. God help my ears to hear and my mouth to speak You! God through Christ I have obtained access by faith into this grace in which I stand, and I will rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but I rejoice in my sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,(Rom 5:2-4) Help me to be faithful by bringing Your Word to my mind and thoughts throughout the day. Help me to stay my mind on You when suffering happens. God I adore You, praise You, worship You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Help me to also treat my neighbors with that same love to Your Glory, today in these minutes in Jesus name amen.
I can just imagine the years of wandering, wrestling and waiting of the Israelites who were now on the cusp of crossing over into the Promised Land. Psalm 16:6 might have been their response, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”
2 “the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries.”
Great thoughts about the role of boundaries in our lives. Thanks!
I need to be cognizant of what God has allotted to me to steward. Just that. Nothing more (and anything less)!