And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
The chapter opens with God speaking to Moses, and what follows is a map of the land Israel is about to enter: its north, south, east and west lines. Two questions rise at once — why does a book about wandering end by surveying a homeland, and why are these borders smaller than the land God promised Abraham?
One writer notes whose hand drew these lines:
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The very same hand that guided their wanderings now fixes the bounds of where they will live.
Another writer counts the map among the ways God looks after His people:
Finally, God takes care of His people in all respects; He marks the limits of the country they were to enjoy.
One commentator raises the problem himself:
We now come to a part of Numbers which at first sight hardly seems to belong to it. It is at least very different from all the rest. Clearly it gives us neither the history of the wilderness nor the lesson of that history. It looks forward to the taking of the land, and it deals with the land itself. How are they to treat the Canaanites and the leftovers of idol worship in the land? Where are they to draw the boundary lines? Within what limits are they to make their possession good?
The answer is that the land itself lies among enemies, so mapping it is wilderness work:
So Canaan is, in a sense, itself in the wilderness. It belongs to this book to mark out at least the limits of Israel's territory. That territory lies surrounded by enemies, and it is open to influences that are truly hostile, though not always openly so.
One writer turns the map into a picture of the reader's own portion, and of the fight for it:
The land of Canaan does not typify heaven, but our heavenly portion in Christ… The enemies in the land typify the wicked spirits, Satan and his powers. With these is our warfare, and we are commanded, like Israel, to conquer them.
The lines drawn here fall short of what God promised Abraham, and one commentator explains why:
Even now, when He gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised to them. That promise ran "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18)… Their borders at this time reached neither the Red Sea nor the Euphrates. The reason is plain. They were going into the land under a legal covenant, not brought in — as they yet will be — according to the fullness of divine grace. If they kept His covenant, God would enlarge their borders, even to the full extent of the original promise; but this depended upon what never took place.
Israel never filled even this smaller map, and one writer puts the failure on the people, not on God:
They never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time. But, blessed be God, the moment is coming when Abraham's descendants will enter the full and everlasting possession of that beautiful inheritance, from which they are shut out for now. The LORD will surely carry out all His promises, and lead His people into all the blessings secured to them in the everlasting covenant — the covenant confirmed by the blood of the Lamb.
One writer draws the same boundary line around the reader's own inheritance:
Our inheritance in glory will be much larger than it is now. Even so, we are told the limits of our present inheritance now, because the truth of the Word of God bounds it. That Word does not allow us fanciful interpretations, or additions invented by our own minds. Really to possess in practice what God has given us will need all our time and spiritual energy. So 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.
- Same hand. The hand that guided every step of the wandering now draws the boundary lines. Guidance and inheritance come from the same care.
- Same book. The map sits inside a wilderness book because the land itself lies surrounded by enemies. It is a portion to fight for.
- Smaller gift. These borders fall short of the promise to Abraham. Israel entered under a legal covenant, not under the fullness of grace.
- Smaller still. They did not take even what the map marked out. God gave the whole land for ever; they took a part, for a time.
- Sure ending. The promise stands, and Abraham's descendants will yet hold the full inheritance. God's Word marks out our own portion too. Do not add to it, and do not leave it unclaimed.
Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan, this shall be the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan according to the borders thereof.
God hands Israel the map before they set foot in the land. He names Canaan and draws its edges while the people are still camped on the far side of the Jordan. Two questions follow. Why does a gift need borders at all? And why are these borders smaller than the promise God once made to Abraham?
Notice whose hand draws this map. One writer ties it back to the years of wandering that came before.
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of the LORD. The same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of where they would live. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time.
Measured against the promise to Abraham, the map here is modest. One commentator explains why it stops short.
Even now, as He gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised them. That promise ran "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Gen. 15:18)... The reason is plain. They were going into the land under a legal covenant, not brought in (as they yet will be) according to the fullness of divine grace... Men taunt Israel now with how small the land is — scarcely the size of Wales. That does not show what grace has assigned them as their portion. It shows only that they were unable to make good their title to it.
Israel holds only a narrow strip of that map today. Another writer says God Himself will close the gap.
In sovereign mercy He will yet restore Israel to full possession of their land, and to obedience to Himself... This land is not limited to the narrow strip they hold now. Numbers 34:1-12, Joshua 1:3-4 and other Scriptures show the area to be as large as any country lying wholly in Europe, if not larger.
The place names that follow are not bare geography. One writer finds meaning in each of them.
Looking forward into the land, we have in Numbers 34 the command to destroy every trace of idolatry. The land, so cleansed, is described in its borders — north, south, east and west. Each name here carries a thought of its own. Together they mark out the great lines of separation between the inheritance of the people of God and what this world has as its portion.
The inheritance was never a quiet corner. Another writer points to where that territory sits.
So Canaan is, so to speak, itself in the wilderness. It belongs to this book to mark out at least the limits of Israel's territory. That territory lies surrounded by enemies, and open to influences that are truly hostile, though not always openly so.
Israel was given the land, yet they did not simply walk into it.
Canaan, as Israel was now to possess it, was no final possession to them, and their enjoyment of it was no rest. They entered it sword in hand. They had to gain and to keep possession by the sword.
Canaan is often read as a picture of heaven after death. The same writer tests that against Abraham, who lived in the land itself.
Abraham is in the land, a stranger and a pilgrim. Surely this cannot be true of heaven once we get there, that we shall be pilgrims in it! We see that the Spirit of God pictures in him not final rest in heaven. He pictures a holding of it now by faith. With that, a pilgrim walk is not only consistent — it is the only thing that is consistent.
The verse says the land will "fall" to Israel as an inheritance. Who got which part inside it was not for men to settle.
The land was to be divided by lot, in sizes matching the size of families, but the locations left to God's decision. For "the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Prov. 16:33). The tribes were not to be mixed together. Every person was to stay within the borders of his own tribe.
- Given — the inheritance is a gift from God's own hand. That same hand had guided every stage of the desert journey.
- Measured — God sets the edges Himself. They fall short of the promise made to Abraham, because Israel came in under a legal covenant, not yet under the fullness of grace.
- Guarded — the inheritance sits surrounded by enemies. Every border name draws a line between what belongs to God's people and what belongs to the world.
- Allotted — family size set the share, but the lot set the place, so no one chose his own portion.
- Unfinished — Israel took only a part, and only for a time. Abraham held the land as a pilgrim, and faith holds its portion that way still; the full possession is ahead.
Then your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside of Edom, and your southern border shall be from the end of the salt sea eastward;
God maps out Israel's inheritance, and He starts at the bottom edge, in desert country beside a hostile neighbour. Why does the map open here, and why does a book about wilderness travel end by drawing property lines?
The chapter is dictation, not negotiation.
Finally, God takes care of His people in all respects; He marks the limits of the country they were to enjoy.
One writer sets the guiding of the journey beside the fixing of the borders:
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The very same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their habitation. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time. But, thank God, the moment is coming when Abraham's descendants will enter the full and everlasting possession of that fair inheritance, from which they are shut out for now.
The two landmarks named are real places, and both are grim ones. Zin is the desert of the wandering years:
A district far south of Judah, lying between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Akaba. Kadesh stood in it, and much of Israel's wandering happened there… It must not be confused with the Wilderness of Sin, which lies along the south-east coast of the Red Sea.
The Salt Sea at the eastern end of that line is equally severe:
The lake in the south of Palestine is now usually called the Dead Sea, because people long judged that nothing alive could exist in it… The name "Salt Sea" fits it well. It holds far more salt than ordinary sea water, and that makes it sickening to taste.
The border runs alongside Edom. One writer looks at the country lying just outside that line:
Over the boundary lie Edom, the wilderness of wandering, and, at a greater distance, Egypt. Edom and Egypt stand together as pictures of the natural world — the one wilder, the other more cultured, but both alike in independence of God. The wilderness shows the unbelief of God's people. That unbelief brings them back into the same independence, as they depart from the living God. Israel's boundary line may well show us, therefore, how God would separate His people from this sin.
The inheritance does not start at a safe distance from the water of death. Its corner sits right on it.
All living things that the Jordan carries into it die… So it pictures the awful judgment of sin. Between that judgment and Israel's blessed portion there is no middle ground at all. The shores of the land of Judah lie all along it, and the homes of "praise" rise in full view of the lake of judgment. There will be no forgetfulness in heaven, and, thank God, there need be none: our praise here rests on knowledge too.
These borders fall short of what God had sworn to Abraham. One writer explains the gap:
Even now, when God gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised to them… At this time their borders touched neither the Red Sea nor the Euphrates. The reason is plain. They were going into the land under a legal covenant, not brought in according to the fullness of divine grace, as one day they will be… Men taunt Israel now with how small the land is — barely the size of Wales. That does not show what grace has assigned to them as their portion. It shows only that they could not make good their title to it.
Commentators differ on how far each place-name can be pressed. Some trace the meanings in detail. Another admits that "there is no doubt that all the names and places in these boundaries have spiritual significance, but we can only pass them over because we lack the understanding needed" (Leslie M. Grant). But grace has assigned Israel far more than they ever held, and God has not taken back the gift.
- Drawn — the hand that chose every stop in the desert chooses every corner of the home. The map is God's work, not Israel's.
- Bounded — the southern line names Zin, the desert of their wandering, and runs beside Edom. The border itself shuts out independence from God.
- Sobering — the inheritance starts at a sea where nothing lives. God's people praise Him in full view of judgment, never forgetting it.
- Narrow — these limits fall far short of the promise to Abraham, because Israel entered under a legal covenant, not in the fullness of grace.
- Enlarged — Israel took only part of the land, and only for a time; God gave it whole and for ever, and will yet bring them into all of it.
and your border shall turn from the south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin, and shall end southward at Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-Addar, and pass on to Azmon.
God Himself traces the southern edge of Israel's inheritance, naming each turn of the line. Why does a gift of land need such exact surveying, and what do these old place names hold for a reader today?
The chapter turns from the record of Israel's wanderings to the map of their inheritance. One writer notes that the same hand did both.
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The very same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their dwelling. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that only for a time.
But these borders fall short of the land God had promised. Another writer explains the gap:
Even now, when He gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised them. That promise ran "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Gen. 15:18)... they were going into the land under a legal covenant, not as brought in (as they yet will be) according to the fullness of divine grace. If they kept His covenant, God would enlarge their borders, even to the full extent of the original promise; but this depended on what never took place. The narrowness of the land that men taunt Israel with now — scarcely the size of Wales — does not show what grace has assigned them as their portion. It shows only their inability to make good their title to it.
This verse traces the southern line. Beyond it sit Edom, the desert of the wandering years, and further off Egypt:
Over the boundary lie Edom, the wilderness of wandering, and, at a greater distance, Egypt. Edom and Egypt stand together as pictures of the natural world — the one wilder, the other more cultured, but both alike in independence of God. The wilderness shows the unbelief of God's people bringing them back to that same independence, as they depart from the living God. Israel's boundary line may well show us, therefore, how God would separate His people from this sin.
The place names carry more than geography. One writer sets out the principle for the whole chapter:
Here again each name carries a thought. Each helps to mark out the great dividing lines between the inheritance of the people of God and what this world has as its portion.
The first landmark in this verse is a climb named after a creature:
But we have a further development at Maaleh-Akrabbim, the "ascent of the scorpions." The sting of the scorpion is in its tail, and this is the way of sin. Sin may have its "pleasures for a season." But, like the enchanting cup of wine, "in the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder" (Prov. 23:32). Sin — independence of God — is not only barren: it has poison inside it, and death as its end.
Kadesh-barnea belonged to the years of wandering. Now that same place marks the edge of their possession:
God's people are redeemed. But He must still show His holiness in the way He deals with them. Kadesh-barnea, the "sanctuary of the wanderer," may well remind us of this. God had His place of refuge for His people in the wilderness. But it was a "sanctuary," a holy refuge, and they, because of their sins, were "wanderers." When He made it a city of Israel, He told them to take both the grace and the holiness of this to heart.
The next name on the line carries the thought of an enclosure:
Hetzron, "enclosure," may show another form of care. It is the hedge around His people, and nothing can come through it except what will work blessing for them. God guards them in this way from what their weakness could not bear. This is a constant mercy, and we need reminding of it, because we are bound to be so little aware of it. "He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."
The line then ends at a name meaning strong:
And so the last of the cities here is Azmon, "strong." God has strength for His people. It is found in the sanctuary, but along the path of lowliness and dependence.
Nothing on the ground marks this border:
The border all along is nothing but an invisible line. So it needs understanding to see, and obedience to keep.
- Drawn by God — the hand that guided every stage of the wandering now fixes where the inheritance begins and ends.
- Divides — the line marks God's people off from Edom, Egypt and the wilderness. All three stand for independence from God.
- Warns — the first landmark is an ascent named for scorpions. Sin offers pleasure, then poison and death.
- Shelters — the border touches Kadesh-barnea, the "sanctuary of the wanderer." Grace and holiness meet at the place of past failure.
- Holds — it ends at an enclosure and at Azmon, "strong." God fences His people in and gives them strength, along the path of lowliness and dependence.
And the border shall turn from Azmon unto the torrent of Egypt, and shall end at the sea.
God Himself dictated every turn of Israel's southern border, down to the brook of Egypt and out to the sea. That raises two questions: why this far and no further, and what do the names along the line teach?
The God who guided every stop of the desert march now sets the edges of their home. One commentator links the two, then notes how little Israel did with the gift:
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The very same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their dwelling. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time. But, blessed be God, the moment is coming. The descendants of Abraham will enter on the full and lasting possession of that fair inheritance. For now they are shut out of it.
The promise to Abraham reached much further than this border. One writer explains the shortfall:
Even now, as God gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised them. The promise ran "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Gen. 15:18). Put more exactly, it ran "from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates" (Ex. 23:31). Their bounds at this time touched neither the Red Sea nor the Euphrates. The reason is plain. They were going into the land under a legal covenant. God was not bringing them in according to the fullness of divine grace — as He yet will... Men taunt Israel now with how small the land is — no bigger than Wales. That smallness does not show what grace has assigned them as their portion. It shows only their inability to make good their title to it.
Older translations read "river of Egypt" where the ESV has "Brook of Egypt." The Hebrew word decides it:
Numbers 34:5-8 gives directions about the boundaries of the land Israel was to hold at that time. Here a different word appears for "river" (nachal) in "river of Egypt." This word means "brook in a valley," and it cannot refer to the Nile. The other places named lie more in the latitude of the wadi called el Arish... This is not as far south as the country Solomon ruled, which reached Ezion-geber on the gulf of Akaba... For a moment Solomon held the possession Israel will yet inherit under Christ.
At Azmon the border turns. One writer takes the meaning of that name as a lesson, and the name before it as part of the lesson:
And so the last of the cities here is Azmon, which means "strong." God has strength for His people, and they find it in the sanctuary. But the way to it is lowliness and dependence, so that we reach it by way of Karkaah, as we have said.
Each side of the land ends at a barrier. One writer reads all four edges as a picture:
Numbers 34 tells us the boundaries of the land. On the north a great mountain — the world and its power. On the east a great river — the world and its prosperity. On the south a great wilderness — the world and its barrenness. On the west a great sea — the world and its lawlessness. It is a picture of the land God brings us into, and picture and reality always differ. Abraham could walk through the land. But we get lengths and breadths and depths and heights beyond measuring: God has "blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." Do we realize and value this?
One commentator draws two warnings from a fixed border:
In glory our own inheritance will be much larger than it is now. Yet God tells us the limits of our present inheritance. The truth of the Word of God sets those limits, and that Word does not allow us fanciful interpretations or additions invented by our own minds. To hold in practice what God has given us will take all our time and spiritual energy. So 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.
- Drawn — The same hand that guided every step of the wilderness journey fixed the bounds of the home at the end of it.
- Short — The line stopped well inside Abraham's promise. Israel came in under a legal covenant, not yet in the fullness of grace. Their small land measures their failure, not God's generosity.
- Brook — The "river of Egypt" here is a valley brook, not the Nile, and the border ran short of even Solomon's realm.
- Strong — At Azmon, "strong," the line turns. God has strength for His people, but we reach it by lowliness and dependence.
- Possess — God's Word sets the border. Adding to it is folly; neglecting it is laziness. Take what is already given.
And as west border ye shall have the great sea, and [its] coast. This shall be your west border.
One line settles the whole western side of Israel's inheritance: the Great Sea and its coast. Two questions sit inside it. Whose hand drew that line, and why should a sea form the wall of God's gift to His people?
Readers today know this sea by a different name.
The Mediterranean appears under several names: "the great sea" (Numbers 34:6-7; Ezekiel 48:28); "the uttermost sea," or "the hinder sea" (Deuteronomy 11:24; Zechariah 14:8); "the sea of Joppa" (Ezra 3:7); "sea of the Philistines" (Exodus 23:31).
The hand that guided Israel's wanderings now marks out where they will live.
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The very same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their dwelling. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time. But, blessed be God, the moment is coming. Abraham's descendants will enter on the full and everlasting possession of that fair inheritance, from which they are shut out for now.
Each of the four borders in this chapter touches something outside the land, and the western one has a character of its own.
In Numbers 34 we are told the boundaries of the land. On the north a great mountain — the world and its power. On the east a great river — the world and its prosperity. On the south a great wilderness — the world and its barrenness. On the west a great sea — the world and its lawlessness. It is a type of the land into which we are brought, but there are always contrasts between the type and the reality. Abraham could walk through the land. We are given lengths and breadths and depths and heights beyond measure. God has "blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). Do we realise and value this? We are already blessed in this way.
One writer follows the same coastline where it forms Judah's western limit.
The Great Sea is typical of the Gentile nations (Revelation 17:15), so often in a state of upheaval and unrest, seeking to push in upon the land, but held in check by the power of God. He has said, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed" (Job 38:11). So Judah's western border tells us this: the world may threaten to swamp the testimony of the people of God, yet God is greater than the world, and He will preserve His people.
The limits set here fall short of what God had promised Abraham.
Even now, as God gives them the bounds of their inheritance, these fall far short of the land promised them. That promise ran "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18). … Their bounds at this time reached neither the Red Sea nor the Euphrates. The reason is plain: they were going into the land under a legal covenant. They were not brought in according to the fullness of divine grace — as one day they will be. … The narrowness of the land with which people taunt Israel now — barely the size of Wales — does not represent what grace has assigned them as their portion, but only their inability to make good their title to it. Even the bounds given here took in Philistia, Tyre, and all Lebanon, and Israel has never yet held them. David's kingdom once reached the Euphrates, a gleam of the glory to come.
A stated boundary does more than restrict. It tells a people what is theirs to take.
Yet though in glory our own inheritance will be much larger than at present, we are told now the limits of our present inheritance. The truth of the Word of God bounds it, and that Word does not allow us fanciful interpretations or additions invented by our own minds. To hold in practice what God has given us will take all our time and spiritual energy. So 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.
- Border named. The Great Sea is the Mediterranean. Scripture also calls it the uttermost sea, the sea of Joppa, and the sea of the Philistines.
- Border drawn. The hand that guided the wanderings now fixes the boundaries of the home — the Guide becomes the Giver.
- Border read. Each of the four borders faces the world. The western sea pictures the nations in their restlessness and lawlessness.
- Border held. The sea presses against the shore but cannot cross it, because God said, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther."
- Border possessed. Israel took only part of what God gave for ever. So do not add to the lines God drew, and do not leave the land inside them unclaimed.
And this shall be your north border from the great sea ye shall mark out for you mount Hor;
God maps out the inheritance before a single tribe has crossed the Jordan. Two questions sit in this verse: which mountain is meant, and why God fixes limits for a people not yet in the land.
The chapter before this one traced every stop of the desert march. One writer links the two chapters, then says what Israel did with the gift.
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The same hand that guided their wanderings now fixes the bounds of where they live. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time.
A mountain called Hor appears earlier in Israel's journey, and reference works give it its own entry.
The mountain on which Aaron died when the Israelites were near the end of their wanderings. Numbers 20:22-28; Numbers 21:4; Numbers 33:37-41; Deuteronomy 32:50.
The peak in this verse is a different mountain.
A mount on the northern boundary of the land. Numbers 34:7-8. Probably one of the peaks of Lebanon, but not identified.
The border starts at the Great Sea, the Mediterranean. One writer sees more than geography in that water.
The Great Sea is a type of the Gentile nations (Revelation 17:15). They are so often in a state of upheaval and unrest, seeking to encroach upon the land. But the power of God holds them in check. He has said, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed" (Job 38:11).
The four borders of the chapter form one picture of the world outside.
Numbers 34 gives us the boundaries of the land. On the north a great mountain — the world and its power. On the east a great river — the world and its prosperity. On the south, a great wilderness — the world and its barrenness. On the west a great sea — the world and its lawlessness. It is a type of the land God brings us into, but there are always contrasts between the type and the real thing. Abraham could walk through the land. We get lengths and breadths and depths and heights beyond measuring — "blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." Do we realise and value this? We are already blessed in this way.
Another writer connects these borders with a command God gave about the land itself.
Here God commands Israel to destroy every trace of idolatry. The land purged in this way is then described in its borders — north, south, east and west. Again, each name carries a thought that helps to mark out the great dividing lines between the inheritance of the people of God and what this world has as its portion.
The map here is smaller than the promise made to Abraham. One commentator explains why.
Even now, when God gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised them. That promise ran "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18). Their bounds at this time touched neither the Red Sea nor the Euphrates. The reason is plain. They were going into the land under a legal covenant. They were not brought in according to the fullness of divine grace, as one day they will be. If they continued in His covenant, God would enlarge their borders, even to the full extent of the original promise. But this depended on what never took place. People taunt Israel now with how small the land is. That does not show what grace has assigned them as their portion. It only shows their inability to make good their title to it.
The lines God drew have never yet been filled out. One writer looks ahead to the day God makes good on them.
He, in sovereign mercy, will yet restore Israel to full possession of their land and to obedience to Himself. "And I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land" (Ezekiel 36:24)... This land is not limited to the narrow strip now held by them. Numbers 34:1-12, Joshua 1:3-4, and other Scriptures show the area to be as large as any country in Europe, if not larger.
- Drawn — God fixes the border, not Israel. The hand that led them through the desert marks where the inheritance begins and ends.
- Distinguished — the Mount Hor of this verse stands on the northern border, likely in Lebanon. It is not the Hor where Aaron died.
- Defended — the sea and the northern mountain mark the inheritance off from the world. God holds the proud waves back.
- Diminished — these limits fall short of the promise to Abraham. Israel came in under a legal covenant, so the smaller map measures their failure, not God's gift.
- Destined — God gave the whole land, and gave it for ever. Israel took only a part, and only for a time, but God will yet restore them to all of it.
from mount Hor ye shall mark out the entrance to Hamath, and the end of the border shall be toward Zedad;
Three points fix the northern edge of Israel's inheritance: Mount Hor, Lebo-hamath, and Zedad. Two questions sit behind these survey lines. Who decided where the land ends? And why did Israel never hold all that God marked out?
Before Israel owns a single field, the limits are already settled for them. One writer places this at the close of a book full of God's dealings with a failing people:
Finally, God takes care of His people in all respects; He marks the limits of the country they were to enjoy. He settles the taking possession, the portion of His servants, the Levites, who were not to have any inheritance.
Older translations call this point "the entering in of Hamath"; the ESV has Lebo-hamath. It was a real district far to the north:
District and a noted city in the north of Syria. We read of the HAMATHITE as early as Genesis 10:18. The district lay north of the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains. It may have reached further south, since Scripture speaks of Israel's northern border as "the entering in of Hamath" (1 Kings 8:65)... It was more than a hundred miles farther north than Dan, but it became tributary to Solomon and he built store cities there.
The last name in the verse is fixed by two passages only, and both of them are boundary lists:
The northern border of the promised land. Numbers 34:8; Ezekiel 47:15.
This northern line went on functioning as the recognised edge of the land long after Moses. Writing about the spread of the gospel beyond Jewish soil, one commentator uses it to locate Antioch:
Up to this point the spread of the truth had been almost confined to territory within the bounds of the Holy Land. Samaria was part of Israel's territory. Antioch was outside of it, being situated beyond the entering in of Hamath, which was the northern boundary of the land of promise.
The border of this chapter is modest compared with other descriptions of the land. That gap is deliberate, and it points forward:
In Numbers 34:9-11 the north border is also given, and though some of the places cannot be traced, it is yet clear that the border did not extend as far as was possessed under Solomon, who anticipated for the moment the possession which will yet be inherited by Israel under Christ.
Even the measured territory of this chapter was never fully occupied. The failure, though, does not touch the gift:
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their habitation. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time. But, blessed be God, the moment is approaching when the descendants of Abraham will enter on the full and everlasting possession of that fair inheritance. For the present they are shut out of it.
Ezekiel's vision of the land maps out the same frontiers, with one change of order:
This final section begins with giving the boundaries of the land. These are essentially the same as those given in Numbers 34:1-15. There is one difference: Numbers gives the southern boundary first, while here we begin with the north. In both cases the Jordan forms the eastern line. The settling of the two and a half tribes east of the river was a departure from the original plan. The final arrangement gives that no place: all the tribes receive their inheritance west of the Jordan.
Commentators read the four sides of the land as a picture, while being careful to note where the picture breaks down:
Numbers 34 tells us the boundaries of the land. On the north a great mountain — the world and its power. On the east a great river — the world and its prosperity. On the south a great wilderness — the world and its barrenness. On the west a great sea — the world and its lawlessness. It is a picture of the land into which we are brought, but there are always contrasts between the picture and the reality. Abraham could walk through the land, but we get lengths and breadths and depths and heights, immeasurable, "blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Do we realize and value this?
- Drawn — God marks out the boundary Himself, and He also settles how the land is shared, down to the Levites who receive no inheritance of their own.
- Named — Lebo-hamath, the older "entering in of Hamath," lay over a hundred miles north of Dan. It marked where Israel's territory ended. Zedad, the end of the line, appears only in boundary lists.
- Short — this northern line falls short even of the land Solomon held, and Solomon's wider rule only anticipated the possession Israel will receive under Christ.
- Repeated — Ezekiel maps out the same frontiers, but starts from the north, and places every tribe west of the Jordan.
- Ours — the land pictures the inheritance God brings believers into, and that inheritance has no measurable edge at all.
and the border shall go to Ziphron, and shall end at Hazar-enan. This shall be your north border.
Numbers 34 sets out the four sides of the land Israel was about to enter. Verse 9 closes the northern line with two place names, and today nobody can locate one of them. Why does God dictate a survey in such detail, and what does a fixed border say about His gift?
The God who led Israel through the desert now marks out where their home begins and ends. One writer ties the two together, then adds what Israel did with the gift — and what still lies ahead.
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their habitation. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as given by God. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time. But thank God, the moment is coming when the descendants of Abraham will enter on the full and everlasting possession of that fair inheritance, from which they are for now shut out.
The second name in this verse turns up again centuries later in the prophets, as the same corner of the same land.
The north-eastern boundary of the promised land, both in the past and in the future. Numbers 34:9-10; Ezekiel 47:17; Ezekiel 48:1. Mr. Porter has identified it with Kuryetein. That lies about sixty miles east-north-east of Damascus, and it has plentiful springs — which is what "Enan" seems to imply.
We can no longer place every site on this northern line. Even so, one writer measures the line against Solomon's later kingdom.
Numbers 34:9-11 also gives the north border. We cannot trace some of the places, yet this much is clear: the border did not reach as far as the land Solomon held. For a moment Solomon's rule looked ahead to the possession Israel will yet inherit under Christ.
So the line here falls short of the whole promise. One writer explains why, and what a larger border depended on.
Even now, as He gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised to them. That promise ran "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18). Their bounds at this time touched neither the Red Sea nor the Euphrates. The reason is plain. They were going into the land under a legal covenant. God was not bringing them in according to the fullness of divine grace, as He yet will. If they continued in His covenant, God would enlarge their borders... even to the full extent of the original promise; but this depended upon what never took place. Men taunt Israel now with how small the land is — barely the size of Wales. That smallness does not show what grace has assigned them as their portion. It shows only that they could not make good their claim to it.
A border does two things at once. It encloses, and it excludes. One writer reads even the place names in this chapter as more than geography.
The land, cleansed of idolatry, is described by its borders: north, south, east and west. Here again each name carries a thought. Each helps to mark the great lines of separation between the inheritance of the people of God and what this world has as its portion.
Israel's territory was no safe island. The same writer traces the whole line round, and names what lay outside it.
It belongs to this book to mark out at least the limits of Israel's territory. That territory lies surrounded by foes, and open to influences which are truly hostile, though not always openly so. The line of separation must run all the way round: from the south-east border of the salt sea to the river of Egypt and the great sea, then round Lebanon, and by the Jordan back to the salt sea.
Our own inheritance has limits too. One writer names what sets them, and the two opposite mistakes we make with them.
In glory our own inheritance will be much larger than it is now. Yet we are told the limits of our present inheritance. The truth of the Word of God marks its bounds, and that truth allows us no fanciful interpretations, and no additions made up by our own minds. To hold in practice what God has given us will take all our time and spiritual energy. So 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.
- Drawn — the border is God's own line, set by the same hand that had led every step of the desert journey.
- Named — Hazar-enan, the place of springs, marks the north-east corner here and in Ezekiel's future border. Some of the other sites can no longer be traced.
- Limited — this line stops short of the Euphrates promise. Israel entered under a covenant of law, not yet in the fullness of grace.
- Defended — the line runs right round a land ringed by foes. It divides God's people's portion from the world's.
- Yours to take — do not invent more than God gave, and do not leave unclaimed what He did give.
And ye shall mark out for you as eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham
Numbers 34 records God Himself tracing the outline of Israel's inheritance. This verse starts the eastern side of that line. Why does God fix any limits at all, and why this line?
One writer ties the map of the land to the journey that led there, then notes with sorrow what Israel did with the gift:
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their home. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time. But the moment is coming when the seed of Abraham will enter on the full and everlasting possession of that fair inheritance, though for now they are shut out of it.
Trace this eastern border and it shows who was left outside it:
Notice where the eastern border was to run. It began at the east side of the sea of Chinnereth — the Lake of Galilee. From there it ran down the Jordan to the east side of the salt sea. So it left out the portion of the two and a half tribes.
Those tribes had settled on the far side of the river. When the same boundaries appear again in Ezekiel's vision of the restored land, their arrangement does not survive:
In Numbers and in Ezekiel alike, the Jordan forms the eastern line. The settlement of the two and a half tribes east of the river was a departure from the original plan. The final arrangement gives it no place at all: every tribe receives its inheritance west of the Jordan.
One writer reads the ground along this border as a deliberate marker:
It is another thing to have our portion in this world. Just here, between Canaan proper and the Gilead district, fertile as Gilead may be, God has dug deep the trench of the Jordan valley as a memorial. In it the fast-falling river of death drops into the sea of judgment, and no stream passes out of that sea or returns! Salt and so barren, and as if under the curse of God, that sea lies, a real "pit," more than thirteen hundred feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea.
These bounds fall well short of the land God had promised earlier. One writer explains why:
Even now, when God gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised them, which was "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18). Their bounds at this time touched neither the Red Sea nor the Euphrates. The reason is plain. They were going into the land under a covenant of law, not brought in according to the fullness of divine grace, as one day they will be. If they kept His covenant, God would enlarge their borders to the full extent of the original promise. But that depended on something that never happened. Even the bounds given here, which included Philistia, Tyre and all Lebanon, they have never yet held — though for one gleam of coming glory David's kingdom reached the Euphrates.
Commentators differ on how far to press these place names. One finds meaning in every one of them:
The land, cleansed of idolatry, is described in its borders — north, south, east and west. Here again each name carries a thought that helps mark the grand dividing lines between the inheritance of the people of God and what this world has as its portion.
Another agrees in principle but will not guess at the names. He draws a practical lesson from having limits at all:
In glory our own inheritance will be much larger than it is now. Yet Scripture tells us the limits of our present inheritance, for the truth of the Word of God marks its borders. That truth leaves no room for fanciful interpretations or for additions we make up in our own minds. To live out in practice what God has given us will take all our time and spiritual energy. So 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.
- Given — the boundary is God's line. The hand that guided the wilderness journey fixes the bounds of their home.
- Drawn — the eastern line runs from the Lake of Galilee down the Jordan to the salt sea. That trench, where a river of death falls into a sea nothing flows out of, stands as a marker.
- Outside — that line leaves out the two and a half tribes east of the river. Ezekiel's later map gives their choice no place at all.
- Smaller — these bounds fall far short of the full promise, because Israel entered under a covenant of law. Grace will one day give Abraham's seed the whole land.
- Yours — occupy what God gives. Adding to your inheritance is folly; neglecting to take it is laziness.
and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall strike upon the extremity of the sea of Chinnereth eastward;
This verse traces one short stretch of Israel's eastern border. The line drops from Shepham past Ain. Then it touches the shoulder of a lake we know better by another name. Two questions sit inside the survey line: who drew it, and why did Israel never live inside it?
God chose every campsite of the desert years. Now He measures out the land where the wandering ends.
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of Jehovah. The very same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their dwelling. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time. But thank God, the moment is coming when Abraham's descendants will enter the full and everlasting possession of that beautiful inheritance, from which they are shut out for now.
The border does not stop at the lake. It keeps going down along the Jordan, and that leaves land some of Israel's tribes had already chosen outside the line.
Numbers 34 assumes that the people have arrived in the land as victors and taken possession. So it sets out the borders of the land, and how they were to divide it. Notice where the eastern border ran. It started at the east side of the sea of Chinnereth — the Lake of Galilee — and went down the Jordan to the east side of the salt sea. So the portion of the two and a half tribes was not included in it.
One writer sees a message in the landscape itself.
Gilead may be fertile. Even so, right here between Canaan proper and the Gilead district, God has dug deep the trench of the Jordan valley as a memorial. In that trench the fast-falling river of death drops into the sea of judgment, and out of that sea no stream passes or returns. That sea lies salt and barren, as if under God's curse — a real "pit," more than thirteen hundred feet below the Mediterranean.
Under its older name, the lake almost disappears from the Old Testament record.
This beautiful lake is a striking natural feature of the north of Palestine. The Old Testament mentions it only three times. Each time it calls the lake the Sea of Chinnereth, and each time the subject is the division of the land of Israel among the tribes (Num. 34:11; Joshua 12:3; Joshua 13:27).
The name itself carries a picture. One writer ties it to what God made man for.
Chinnereth means "harp." The name suggests music, with man as the instrument under God's hand. In Israel the harp expressed joy and praise, not mourning; and this is what God made man for.
The list of place names does more than mark out real estate.
The land, so cleansed, is described in its borders — north, south, east and west. Here again each name carries a thought which helps to mark out the great dividing lines between the inheritance of the people of God and what this world has as its portion.
Even this modest frontier was more than Israel ever held. It also fell short of what God promised Abraham.
Even now, when God gives them the bounds of their inheritance, we find nothing like the full extent of the land promised to them. That promise ran "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18). Why the difference? They were going into the land under a legal covenant, and not brought in according to the fullness of divine grace, as one day they will be. If they kept His covenant, God would enlarge their borders, even to the full extent of the original promise. But that depended on what never took place. People taunt Israel today with the narrowness of the land — scarcely the size of Wales. That narrowness does not show what grace has assigned them as their portion. It only shows their inability to make good their claim to it. Even the bounds given here, which took in Philistia, Tyre and all Lebanon, they have never yet held.
- Drawn. The hand that guided every stage of the desert march sets the border here. Guidance and inheritance come from the same God.
- Down. The eastern line falls from the lake along the Jordan to the salt sea. The land the two and a half tribes chose for themselves lies outside the map God drew.
- Named. Chinnereth is the Lake of Galilee under an older name. The Old Testament names it only three times, always in connection with dividing the land.
- Narrowed. Israel never held even these limits, which took in Philistia, Tyre and all Lebanon. Obedience would have widened them to the Euphrates, and that obedience never came.
- Coming. God gave the land for ever. Mackintosh looks on to a day when Abraham's descendants enter the full and lasting possession they have so far only tasted.
and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and shall end at the salt sea. This shall be your land according to the borders thereof round about.
God draws this map Himself, and the eastern edge follows the Jordan down to the Salt Sea. Two questions follow: why stop at the river, and why is the land so much smaller than the one God promised Abraham?
The chapter reads like a surveyor's list of names. Mackintosh looks past the names to the hand that drew them.
Numbers 34 gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the hand of the Lord. The same hand which had guided their wanderings here fixes the bounds of their dwelling. Sadly, they never took possession of the land as God gave it. He gave them the whole land, and gave it for ever. They took only a part, and that for a time.
The border ends at the Salt Sea, known today as the Dead Sea. That has a consequence for the tribes settled on the far side of the river.
Numbers 34 assumes that the people have arrived in the land as victors and taken possession. So the chapter sets out the borders of the land, and how it was to be divided. Notice the border on the east. It was to run from the east side of the sea of Chinnereth — the Lake of Galilee — down the Jordan to the east side of the salt sea. So the portion of the two and a half tribes was not included in it.
What kept them there was practical, and that is exactly the warning.
Notice what keeps the two tribes east of the Jordan: their cattle. That leaves them on the wilderness side, bordering close on the world. How often business and earthly interests hold God's children back! They keep them from entering into their heavenly calling fully and in practice.
The verse names a river and a salt sea. Grant treats the ground between them as a message.
It is another thing to have our portion in the world. Right here, between Canaan proper and the Gilead district — fertile as that district may be — God has dug deep the trench of the Jordan valley as a memorial. In it the river of death drops fast into the sea of judgment. Out of that sea no stream passes, and none returns! That sea is salt and therefore barren, as if under the curse of God. It lies a real "pit," more than thirteen hundred feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea, and its own greatest depth is as much again.
These borders are not the ones God promised Abraham. The reason lies in the terms Israel came in under.
The land of Canaan is not a picture of heaven. It is a picture of our heavenly portion in Christ... Notice the difference in the boundaries here compared with Genesis 15:18. God gave the promise to Abraham and to his seed under the covenant of grace. Israel entered the land under the law-covenant. If they had kept the law-covenant and had been obedient to the Lord, they would have received the whole land. This they could not do. In the future the Lord will fulfil the original promise made to Abraham and his seed. He will bring Israel back to hold the land.
Israel had to win this land and keep it by fighting. Grant reads the small map as a comment on Israel, not on God's gift.
Canaan, as Israel was now to take it, was no final possession for them, and their enjoyment of it was not rest. They entered it sword in hand and had to gain and keep it by the sword... Their bounds at this time touched neither the Red Sea nor the Euphrates... Men taunt Israel now with how small the land is — hardly the size of Wales. That smallness does not represent what grace has assigned them as their portion. It shows only that they could not make good their title to it.
The map does not stop at the Jordan. The border runs on all four sides, and the names along it mark something out.
The land is described in its borders — north, south, east and west. Here again each name carries a thought. Each one helps to mark out the grand lines of separation between the inheritance of the people of God and what this world has as its portion.
- Drawn — The hand that guided every stage of the wilderness journey now fixes the boundary of the inheritance. The map is God's own work.
- Bounded — The eastern line runs down the Jordan to the Salt Sea. It leaves the two and a half tribes outside, where their cattle, not God's call, had settled them.
- Crossed — The Jordan valley is a deep trench. There a river of death empties into a barren sea, a lasting reminder of what separates God's portion from the world's.
- Narrowed — These borders fall far short of the promise to Abraham. Israel came in under law, not grace — and never filled even this smaller space.
- Secured — The shortfall is not the end. The Lord will bring Israel back and keep the promise made to Abraham in full.