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.