Numbers 34:1-29
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:)
3 Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:
4 And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon:
5 And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.
6 And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border.
7 And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor:
8 From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad:
9 And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border.
10 And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham:
11 And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the seaa of Chinnereth eastward:
12 And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.
13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:
14 For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance:
15 The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.
16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
17 These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
18 And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.
19 And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
20 And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
22 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli.
23 The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
24 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
25 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
26 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
27 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
28 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.
29 These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
BOUNDARIES OF ISRAEL'S INHERITANCE
(vs.1-15)
The Lord now defines the boundaries of the land that Israel was to inherit at the time. For the area then was made smaller than it will be in Millennium, when it will extend from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18). There is no doubt that all the names and places involved in these boundaries have spiritual significance, but we can only pass them over through lack of needed intelligence.
Yet though in glory our own inheritance will be much larger than at present, we are told now the limits of our present inheritance, for it is bounded by the truth of the Word of God which does not allow us fanciful interpretations or additions concocted by our own minds. To actually possess in practice what God has given us will require all our time and spiritual energy, so that it would be folly to try to add to what God gives. On the other hand, it is spiritual laziness to neglect taking possession of what God has given.
LEADERS IN THE DlVIDING OF THE LAND
(vs.16-29)
Eliezer and Joshua were signified now as being over the work of dividing the land. Eliezer mentioned first speaks of priestly grace, while Joshua stands for firm authority, both of which are vitally important. Then a leader from each tribe was chosen, so that there was an orderly arrangement designed by the Lord.
In the Church of God today the Lord designs no less an order among His people, not by official appointment, but the vital power of the Spirit of God who dwells in every believer personally and in the Church collectively. Thus, in 1 Corinthians 12:1 we are told of diversities of gifts in the body of Christ, yet working by the Spirit's power in wonderful unity. "One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills" (v.11).
Worship today also is to be by the Spirit of God (Philippians 3:3) and "in 1 Corinthians 14:1 shows an assembly locally coming together for ministry, with each brother free to be led by the Spirit of God as to what part to take. At the end an appeal is made to every conscience, "Let all things be done decently and in order" (v.40). This will certainly be true where there is submission of heart to the Lord to allow the Spirit of God to lead, for His order is far better than any order of pre-arrangement.