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.