Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“The Lord said to Moses, "Command the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries:
" 'Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern boundary will start from the end of the Salt Sea, cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon, where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Sea.
" 'Your western boundary will be the coast of the Great Sea. This will be your boundary on the west.
“ 'For your northern boundary, run a line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad, continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.
" 'For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Kinnereth. Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea.
" 'This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.' "
Moses commanded the Israelites: "Assign this land by lot as an inheritance. The Lord has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan of Jericho, toward the sunrise."
The Lord said to Moses, "These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land. These are their names:
Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;
Shemuel son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Simeon;
Elidad son of Kislon, from the tribe of Benjamin;
Bukki son of Jogli, the leader from the tribe of Dan;
Hanniel son of Ephod, the leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;
Kemuel son of Shiphtan, the leader from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph;
Elizaphan son of Parnach, the leader from the tribe of Zebulun;
Paltiel son of Azzan, the leader from the tribe of Issachar;
Ahihud son of Shelomi, the leader from the tribe of Asher;
Pedahel son of Ammihud, the leader from the tribe of Naphtali."
These are the men the LORD commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
Numbers 34
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Israel prepared to enter Canaan, there was some other details that needed worked out. God had already addressed how the land would be divided amongst the tribes but the boundaries of the Promised Land were yet to be given. God takes care of this in Numbers, Chapter 34.
Scripture tells Israel through Moses the exact placement of the northern, southern, eastern and western boundaries. He then reminds the Israelites they are to “assign this land by lot as an inheritance”, ordering the land to be “given to the nine and a half tribes”…nine and a half because you’ll recall that “the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh” asked for and received their land on “the east side of the Jordan of Jericho, toward the sunrise." God finishes His directions by designating by name “one leader from each tribe to help assign the land”.
This scripture passage is rather simple but reveals an important truth about God: He sets boundaries. He set boundaries for Israel and He has set boundaries for us as well, boundaries that are critical to us if we intend to successfully travel on this Christian walk.
Consider these words from Galatians, Chapter 5:
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:16-21
Sometimes God sees boundaries as territorial. You’ll remember that the Israelites weren’t permitted to enter the Holy Place or the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle. Only the high priest was permitted in. And you’ll remember that the Israelites weren’t allowed to set foot on Mount Sinai while Moses went up to meet with God. For us, there are places that God would rather we not go as well…places that would lure us more into sinfulness than righteousness. For example, strip clubs are very prevalent in our society and they cater to men and women. And don’t think that there aren’t professing Christians that frequent these places and think it’s fine. Frankly, I feel that any place that feeds off sex and lust isn’t a place the Lord wants us to be.
And although not all bars, clubs and parties might be bad, most of them do breed rather illicit behavior from its patrons, especially if alcohol is served. Before you get upset at what I said, hear me out because the key here is really the alcohol more than the establishment. I’ve seen way too many people louse up their lives because of alcohol, whether they have become addicted to it or allowed it to affect them in a way that led to violent or illicit behavior. Maybe you can relate. Alcohol simply assists someone in changing who they are when sober, releasing inhibitions that are usually in check. In other words, alcohol doesn’t cause bad behavior but opens the gates for that dormant bad behavior to emerge. Here’s a few examples:
Those who drink and then have an affair would want others to believe that the alcohol caused them to cheat. The truth of the matter is that the person always had a lustful heart but never acted on that lustful desire when sober. But given a little alcohol, the person is ready to act out on their desires…and often they do, surrendering to sin.
How about those people who fight after drinking, even though no one has ever saw them be violent with anybody. Trust me…the person has always wanted to punch someone but never acted out on it. It was an impulse they could keep in check. That is, until they had a few drinks. After that, they were ready to beat up anyone and often try with mixed results.
Every warning we hear about alcohol has one central theme: drink responsibly. In other words, there are to be limits…boundaries. Given what alcohol does to a person, we would all be better off without it but if one chooses to drink, they need to accept the consequences that come with it.
There are many other boundaries placed on our behavior. Once again referring to the Galatians passage, God’s word warns us about “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies.” These requirements have not just an impact on what we do but also what we say and think. Notice that any or all of these draw us away from Jesus, the One who which we are to model out entire life after…that is if we truly want to be Christian or like-Christ. So how do we stay clear of all the things God warns us about?
Well, Galatians gives us another set of standards. Only these standards make up what we’re expected to do and say and think. By allowing all of these to dominate who we are, we will draw away from sin and begin to draw closer to Jesus who was the perfect example of who God wants us to be. Consider these positive expectations from Galatians:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25
Note that the key is the Holy Spirit. When we consult the Spirit regarding how we should live, we will always be guided to “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” all which are the antitheses for “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies.” The Spirit…the Holy Counselor promised to His disciples by Christ Jesus…draws us closer to Jesus and as scripture promises, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” In other words, those who belong to Jesus have taken their sinful nature and nailed it to the cross.
Question: Where so you stand in avoiding what God wants you to avoid (i.e. “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies.”)? And where so you stand in adopting those qualities that are bred by the Holy Spirit and which draw us closer to who where we are meant to be…that is, living like Christ Jesus?
Friends, there is no doubt that God places boundaries on our lives. How well are you living within them?
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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