Numbers 34:1–2: “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘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.”‘”

February 13th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Today when someone acquires property, they record the deed at the local county recorders’ office. But when God gave land to His people He had it carefully recorded in Scripture for eternity: “the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance” (Num. 34:2). As Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away.” God gave very precise instructions to Israel describing the boundaries of the land of Canaan. We find, however, that the actual conquest of the land fell short of these borders. In other words God’s children never realized all God intended for them to have as a possession.

How strange that God wanted them to have it, they seemed to desire to have it, but it never fully happened. This should make us wonder about the things God wants us to possess but that we fail to take possession of. God wills us to have many things we never claim or take for His Kingdom. Perhaps this sounds too materialistic and crass to our ears. The land of Canaan would actually always belong to God and not to any man. In that sense, God’s children never own anything here on earth, as it all belongs to the Lord. But God did want His children to enjoy all of the land while they lived here on earth; however, they had to go out and take more of it. The prayer of Jabez speaks to this issue.

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested (1 Chron. 4:10).

Most people do not want to think about having to do more in their life, but this man thought differently. Jabez wanted to live larger than life. If we desire to possess everything God wants for us, we must also live larger than life. We need to ask God to move the boundaries lines of our lives. We need to pray differently by asking for more rather than for less. God does have more for us.

“LORD, help us to live this day larger that yesterday. Expand our boarders we ask in Jesus’ name.”

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Numbers 34 KJV

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ² Command 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:) ³ Then 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: ⁴ And 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 Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon: ⁵ And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. ⁶ And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. ⁷ And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: ⁸ From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad: ⁹ And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border. ¹⁰ And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham: ¹¹ And 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:  ¹² And 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. ¹³ And 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: 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 half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: ¹⁵ The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising. ¹⁶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ¹⁷ These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. ¹⁸ And 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. ²⁰ And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. ²¹ Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. ²² And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. ²³ The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. ²⁴ And 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. ²⁶ And 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. ²⁹ These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.