Numbers 34 - Be a Servant

Numbers 34

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) 3Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: 4And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon: 5And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. 6And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. 7And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: 8From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad: 9And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border. 10And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham: 11And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward: 12And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about. 13And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe: 14For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: 15The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising. 16And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. 18And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance. 19And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. 29These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Today's Scripture Meaning 

The bounds of the promised land. (1-15) Those appointed to divide the land. (16-29)Verses 1-15: Canaan was of small extent; as it is here bounded, it is but about 160 miles in length, and about 50 in breadth; yet this was the country promised to the father of the faithful, and the possession of the seed of Israel. This was that little spot of ground, in which alone, for many ages, God was known. This was the vineyard of the Lord, the garden enclosed; but as it is with gardens and vineyards, the narrowness of the space was made up by the fruitfulness of the soil. Though the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, yet few know him, and serve him; but those few are happy, because fruitful to God. Also, see how little a share of the world God gives to his own people. Those who have their portion in heaven, have reason to be content with a small pittance of this earth. Yet a little that a righteous man has, having it from the love of God, and with his blessing, is far better and more comfortable than the riches of many wicked. Verses 16-29: God here appoints men to divide the land to them. So sure must they feel of victory and success while God fought for them, that the persons are named who should be intrusted with the dividing of the land. 

Today's Scripture Application

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue the book of Numbers with Chapter 34 and in today's text we see God's plan for settling the land. He (1) explained what to do (2) communicated His plan clearly to Moses, and (3) assigned specific people to oversee the appointment of the land. This passage reminds me of working in our Ministry today. It takes God's Plan, that we seek out through prayer and studying the Word of the Lord. Then we must oversee all the projects to complete the tasks. We can only manage what the Lord shows us and many times we must trust the Lord by faith to complete the burden He has placed on our heart. It takes obedience and humility realizing that the work is the Lord's and we are simply a tool in the Master's Hands. How about you? Do you have the obedience and humility to follow the Lord as defined in our text today? Let us learn from our text today and be a servant in the Lord's work.

Contact Me with any Questions or Comments at info@USBibleSociety.com

Sincerely, Dr. David Burnette

Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.