June 8, 2023

God's boundaries are perfect

Numbers 34

Ashley Lawrence
Thursday's Devo

June 8, 2023

Thursday's Devo

June 8, 2023

Thursday's Devo

June 8, 2023

Thursday's Devo

June 8, 2023

Big Idea

God's instruction can always be trusted.

Key Verse | Numbers 34:2

“Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders),

Numbers 34

Boundaries of the Land

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), 3 your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east. 4 And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. 5 And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.

6 For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its 1 34:6 Syriac; Hebrew lacks its coast. This shall be your western border.

7 This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor. 8 From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad. 9 Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.

10 You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. 11 And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east. 12 And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”

13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. 14 For the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers' houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers' houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh. 15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

List of Tribal Chiefs

16 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 You shall take one chief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20 Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23 Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24 And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27 And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28 Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29 These are the men whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Footnotes

[1] 34:6 Syriac; Hebrew lacks its

S2:109 Numbers 34

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Numbers 34

Growing up, I was always the kid in my family who liked to bend the rules just enough to get away with it. I didn't like rules and thought my parents were only enforcing them "because they said so." Looking back, I realize they were for my benefit and safety. Most of the time, I can view God that way as well. 

In Numbers 34, God gives a clear picture of physical property boundaries for the tribes of Israel. But what about emotional, physical, or personal boundaries? I can often look at my life and think, "God why don't I have more of. . ." or "God why don't you allow me to. . ." and the list can go on. I question why God does or doesn't allow something. 

Instead of seeing His will and ways as higher than my own (as we are reminded in Isaiah 55:9), I don't view His boundaries as good. I see them as constraints, when they are for my benefit and His glory. I shouldn't try to push them, although I want to. I should desire to rest in them and trust that my Heavenly Father sees the whole picture, just like the entire land of Canaan, and that He desires what's good for me. The Lord sets boundaries for us because he is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep, and He wants to keep us safe!

This month's memory verse

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

– 1 Corinthians 15:58

Discussion Questions

1. What boundaries are you trying to push away in your life that you need to confess?

2. In what ways are you angry with God because your life doesn't look like how you want it to?

3. How have you seen boundaries in your life glorify the Lord?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Hugh Stephenson

What does Numbers 34 say about God? God is true to His promises. Even when we don’t obey and don’t deserve it, we get to enjoy His promises fulfilled. He will still provide. I note that the boundary of the land that is laid out is substantially more than what they wound up possessing. Reading ahead, we would see they did not faithfully execute God’s instructions. I can’t fault them. Neither do I. Yet, not too far down the road their territory expands beyond what they initially possessed. Then, under David and Solomon, they gain even more land- expanding to its largest land area. Even then, it’s far less than what God lays out and Ezekiel prophesies. The notes posit that the full promise of God in regard to this land is yet to be fulfilled. And that it will be. Somebody go tell the Lebanese and the Syrians and the Iraqis. https://biblemapper.com/blog/index.php/2022/12/18/borders-of-the-promised-land/
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Hugh Stephenson

So, it seems this is what God means in Genesis 17:8 when He speaks of this land as their “everlasting possession”. So, what does all this tell me about God’s promises? When I don’t fully surrender into His obedience then I shortchange MYSELF!!!! God calls me to unity, (John 14:20). In unity with Him are immense blessings. Claiming them entails complete unconditional surrender. From Oswald’s 3/12 devo, https://utmost.org/total-surrender/ “The genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.” “True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion.” Am I a fully devoted follower of Jesus? But not when I choose mud pies, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/702-it-would-seem-that-our-lord-finds-our-desires-not
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Hugh Stephenson

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/702-it-would-seem-that-our-lord-finds-our-desires-not Look at the map from the link above. Look how much non obedience cost Israel. How might world history be different? In conviction, I am no different. Looking back, the promises and blessings missed can bring on such guilt remorse and shame that it’s near debilitating. It’s in those moments that I can lean on the greatest promises of all, Genesis 3:15.
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Sue Bohlin

Thank you, Ashley! I appreciated Dr. Constable's commentary on the boundaries God set for the Promised Land: "The land included within these boundaries was about 150 miles long and 50 miles wide, about 7,500 square miles. It was the approximate size of New Jersey. One hundred fifty miles is the distance from Dallas to Bryan, Texas. Fifty miles is the distance from West Fort Worth to East Dallas." I know we have JTJ family scattered around the globe (Hey everybody!), but we DFW people can understand this. As Hugh mentioned, I learned that God's original promise of land to Abraham was much bigger than what Israel ended up possessing. Disobedience and unbelief kept Israel from experiencing all that God intended. Lord, where are we--particularly, where am *I*--failing to trust and obey You in ways that keep us/me from experiencing the fullness of the blessings You would be delighted to lavish on us?
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Amy Lowther

1. I wear my pajamas to the grocery store if I am in a hurry. 2. Currently I am happy with God. 3. Neighbors have helped each other continually though there is still a lot of construction in the neighborhood.
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Paulus Kim

Could you please explain Chambers quote on surrender not being for benefit but preference for Jesus, when you said to be blessed we need to surrender? Also OC himself often seems to encourage to surrender to receive life/joy etc. I'd be so thankful. 🙏