Numbers 34: The Appointed Boundaries of Canaan
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance—the land of Canaan to its boundaries. 3 Your southern border shall be from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom; then your southern border shall extend eastward to the end of the Salt Sea; 4 your border shall turn from the southern side of the Ascent of Akrabbim, continue to Zin, and be on the south of Kadesh Barnea; then it shall go on to Hazar Addar, and continue to Azmon; 5 the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the Sea. 6 As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border. 7 And this shall be your northern border: From the Great Sea you shall mark out your border line to Mount Hor; 8 from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border to the entrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be toward Zedad; 9 the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and it shall end at Hazar Enan. This shall be your northern border. 10 You shall mark out your eastern border from Hazar Enan to Shepham; 11 the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; the border shall go down and reach to the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth; 12 the border shall go down along the Jordan, and it shall end at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its surrounding boundaries.’”
“God pointed out the bounds of his people's inheritance upon earth, even before they were called upon to take possession of them. And can the reader suppose that the Heavenly inheritance of his people is not already ascertained and known? And is not Jesus gone before to take possession of it in their name? Sweet thought to a troubled soul, is the assurance that in this life all our bounds are fixed; and a sure mansion is prepared in that which is to come…” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
“This was not the same territory promised to Abraham but was what God gave the Israelites at their entrance into the land. If they had been obedient to Him, He would have eventually enlarged their borders to include the whole area promised to Abraham. Even though they disobeyed God He still enlarged their border beyond the boundaries given here later in their history though not yet to the extent promised Abraham…”
(Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable)
“For the area then was made smaller than it will be in Millennium, when it will extend from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18). There is no doubt that all the names and places involved in these boundaries have spiritual significance, but we can only pass them over through lack of needed intelligence.
Yet though in glory our own inheritance will be much larger than at present, we are told now the limits of our present inheritance, for it is bounded by the truth of the Word of God which does not allow us fanciful interpretations or additions concocted by our own minds. To actually possess in practice what God has given us will require all our time and spiritual energy, so that 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.” (L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible)
We currently only hold a portion of that allowed to us by faith in Jesus. “But, blessed be God, the moment is approaching when the (spiritual) seed of Abraham shall enter upon the full and everlasting possession of that fair inheritance... Jehovah will assuredly accomplish all His promises, and lead His people into all the blessings secured to them in the everlasting covenant — that covenant which has been ratified by the blood of the Lamb. Not one jot or tittle. shall fail of all that He has spoken. His promises are all Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. All praise to the Father, and unto the Son, and to the Holy Spirit!” (C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
13 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: “This is the land which 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 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 the half-tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance. 15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, across from Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”
“They were called to possess it by lot that each might be satisfied with his possession, as considering it to be appointed to him by the especial providence of God; and its boundaries were ascertained on Divine authority, to prevent all covetousness after the territories of others.” (Adam Clarke Commentary) “God is portrayed elsewhere in the Pentateuch as one who apportions the boundaries of all the nations (Gen 10; Deut 32:8), and here he is shown doing the same for his own people.” (Sailhamer, The Pentateuch) “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… 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.” (Matthew Henry Commentary)
Numbers 34: The Leaders Appointed to Divide the Land
16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land among you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 And you shall take one leader of every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 20 from the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud; 21 from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon; 22 a leader from the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli; 23 from the sons of Joseph: a leader from the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod, 24 and a leader from the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan; 25 a leader from the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach; 26 a leader from the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan; 27 a leader from the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi; 28 and a leader from the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”
29 These are the ones the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance among the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
“Here is no nomination of the generals and commanders-in-chief that should carry on the war; for they were to get the land in possession, not by their own sword or bow, but by the power and favour of God; and so confident must they be of victory and success while God fought for them that the persons must now be named who should be entrusted with the dividing of the land, that is, who should preside in casting the lots, and determine controversies that might arise, and see that all was done fairly.
1. The principal commissioners, who were of the quorum, were Eleazar and Joshua (v. 17), typifying Christ, who, as priest and king, divides the heavenly Canaan to the spiritual Israel; yet, as they were to go by the lot, so Christ acknowledges the disposal must be by the will of the Father, Mt. 20:23. Compare, Eph. 1:11.
2. Besides these, that there might be no suspicion of partiality, a prince of each tribe was appointed to inspect this matter, and to see that the tribe he served for was in no respect injured. Public affairs should be so managed as not only to give their right to all, but, if possible, to give satisfaction to all that they have justice done them.” (Matthew Henry)
“It is not enough to do right; we should take care to have our just dealing evident to all men.” (Coke Commentary)
“Only Caleb’s name is familiar. None of the other men’s names appears earlier in the text. These were evidently not the heads of the tribes but men chosen specifically for this purpose." (Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable)
“It is worthy of remark that Moses does not follow any order hitherto used of placing the tribes, neither that in Numbers 1, nor that in Numbers 7, nor that in Numbers 26, nor any other; but places them here exactly in that order in which they possessed the land…. Judah is first, having the first lot; and he dwelt in the south part of the land…” (Adam Clarke)- as the Lion- the Messiah of Israel- would come from the tribe of Judah.
“These are they whom the LORD commanded to {g} divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan. (29)
(g) And be judges over every piece of ground that should fall to any by lot, to the intent that all things might be done orderly and without contention.” (Geneva Study Bible)
“Jesus Christ is our inheritance; let us possess our possessions. Let us follow on to know the Lord; and remember that there is an allotted space for each of us in Christ, to which no other soul has a right. It is a great honor to be chosen to divide the lots. Year by year we ought to set forth the believer’s rights in Christ, that a divine discontent may urge to higher heights and deeper experiences.” (F. .B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible')
"This is a faithful saying: 'For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.' Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness." (2 Timothy 2:11-16)