Are we noticing what the book of Numbers is teaching us an even greater understand of who God is and how He provides for His people—perhaps with even more distinct clarity than the previous books of The Law? (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus).  And are we becoming more accustomed to realizing that God indeed knows each one of us and knows our name?  Look at all the list of all the names!  Everyone counts!

From Adam and Eve to Moses and now to us; God knows what we will need when we need it most!  God comes to our rescue with help to overcome the Enemy and our own selfishness.  God is faithful; supremely and forever faithful! God never forgets His promises and always makes the way clear to accomplishing His will and plan for our rescue and redemption.  Evil knows and names our sins; but God knows our names and calls out to His beloved with such a deep, relentless, abiding love for us that sometimes is beyond our ability to fully grasp in our thinking.  Almighty God stands ready to bless us all whose hearts are fully committed to Him with His precious, righteous guidance with victory over evil, all the enemies of God.

God promised and now God delivers on His promise given to Abraham generations earlier.  Do God’s people realize that God owns all the land on the earth that He created? (We wonder if we remember that God owns all we enjoy, too!)  God sets the boundaries and assigns leaders to divide the land into lots for each family of each tribe.  If you remember, (Numbers 32), two and half tribes chose to stay east of the Jordan, so only nine tribes are represented here.  In tomorrow’s passage, the Levite clan of priests will also be assigned land; but will never own it.  Their land will be used in holy service to God.

God invites His Chosen People to enter Canaan. There is only one condition. They must turn our backs on the wilderness.  Who will be ready to enter the promised land?

Numbers 34

Boundaries of Canaan

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 sidewill 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. 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.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

In ancient days, there were no survey crews with scientific instruments for determining property lines. People cited towns and geographical features when they wanted to define boundaries. God does the same for their understanding and clarity.

As we will read later in the books of Joshua and Judges; God gave His people a large land and a good land, but they didn’t defeat their enemies and claim it all by faith. Their western border didn’t reach to the Mediterranean, for the Philistines still held that territory, nor did they get as far as Hamath on the north. On the east side of the Jordan, as you traveled north from the border of Manasseh, we will discover pockets of resistance in cities that Israel didn’t conquer and destroy. Moses’ prediction came true: The Canaanites became irritants in their eyes and thorns in their sides and led some of the Israelites into sin (Numbers 33:55).

Whoa, before we pass judgment, however, on ancient Israel, what about the church today? Have we claimed by faith all that we have in Christ? Are there still pockets of resistance in our lives that draw us away from the Lord? “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience”.

The book of Hebrews will later teach us the importance of following God’s commands that build our faith, drawing us closer to Him.  The writer uses the examples of these very Israelites as they entered the promised land at his command, defeating the enemies of God with his timing and direction, and then entering into God’s rest by honoring the Sabbath and keeping it holy.  But not all obeyed and paid the consequences of their sins. (Read all of Hebrews 4 for more understanding.)  Here is a portion:

“God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:7-13

Our obedience to God expresses our love for God!

TODAY THE PROMISE FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE IS NOW IN JESUS!

Jesus is our one and only Great High Priest—The Promised Messiah!

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16

Because of Jesus, we can ask God to meet all our needs as He sees them.  Because of Jesus’ teachings; we know the boundaries of behaviors set before us that enable us to grow in our faith and walk with God.  Jesus teaches us to keep an eye on the enemy.  We must resist the enemy who works hard to pull us away from the boundaries of God’s protection, provision, relentless love, abounding mercy, and unending grace.

Because of Jesus, believers and followers of Jesus can boldly come into the throne room of God Almighty and ask for His wisdom that is plentiful in supply and will never run out. 

Our inheritance is not land but the Son of Man and Son of God who came down from the throne of heaven, moved into the neighborhood of humanity, with the purpose to seek and to save the lost—setting us free from our sins by His once and for all sacrifice.  All because God “so loved” us.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

Life’s greatest calamity, from God’s perspective, is that people die in sin. Forget earthquakes, wild fires, politics, or economic depressions. Focus on the attacks from the enemy upon our very souls! The ultimate disaster is carrying our sins to our caskets. Heaven cannot fathom a worse tragedy. Heaven, in response, could not offer a greater gift than this one: “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1Peter 3:18).

Lord,

Thank you for the encouragement to enter our own promised inheritance—YOU!  We enter this relationship with boldness and confidence all because of your love, mercy, and grace.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  You are God. We are not.  Guide and led us to truth all day long and into the night.  I love you, Lord, with all that is in me. I trust you with my life because you are Life!

In Jesus Name, Amen