BOUNDARIES OF THE PROMISED LAND

Numbers 33:50-34:29 / Keywords 34:1,2

The LORD said to Moses, "Command the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries:

 

33:50 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the Lord said to Moses, 51 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52 drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. 53 Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.

55 “‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56 And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’”

34:1 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 Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee.[a] 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.

Footnotes

a. Numbers 34:11 Hebrew Kinnereth

 

1. God commanded Israel to drive out the Canaanites and to destroy their idols. God wanted them to love and worship Him only as God’s people by rooting idolatry out of Canaan. We are by nature worshipping beings. If we don’t worship God, we worship something else. As the Creator, God does not want to share His glory and attention with idols or other things. To keep the right relationship with Him, we must first root out false gods and idols from our hearts.

 

2. Before Israel crossed into Canaan, God set the boundaries of the land for Israel. He also appointed leaders to assign the land. In so doing, God planted faith in them that the battle for the land, which God prepared, was already won. These set boundaries helped them know who to fight against and who not to fight. Moreover, they would know when to stop the war and to rest. Yet, the land was given to them by God as an inheritance. Inheritance is given freely, not earned. Still, the recipient should claim it. Through Christ Jesus, we have an eternal inheritance which is kept in heaven for us (1Pe 1:4). Although this inheritance in heaven is given freely, we are to claim it by faith in Jesus and by fighting against sin and Satan.

 

Prayer Lord, thank you for giving me an inheritance in your kingdom. Help me to fight the spiritual battle.

One Word Heaven is our inheritance