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Numbers Chapter 34   (ESV)

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 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.”

 

 

REFLECTION:

• When God brought Israel out of Egypt he promised his people a land “that flows milk and honey”. He commanded the twelve spies to investigate the land promised to them.  But ten of the men doubted God.  Only Joshua and Caleb believed God’s word and courageously embraced His promise.
• Because of their open minds and hearts to see what God wanted them to see, both men interpreted their experiences of the punishing journey in the wilderness in the light of that vision. Their time in the wilderness, which they could have seen as a curse, became a blessing to them.  The wilderness became their training ground for future challenges and the place where they experienced God’s presence in a deeper way.

 

 

PRAYER:

• Am I just like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness? With little enthusiasm, and full of despair even though there is wonderful promise of God ahead?
• Do I doubt God just like the ten spies, full of complaint and bitterness?
• As the Holy Spirit to show my heart, tell God about it and ask for forgiveness. Pray for the perspective of Joshua and Caleb to see blessing in the midst of hardship and to experience God more deeply.