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.’” (vv.1-2)
God is about to describe the borders of the Promised Land to Moses and the children of Israel. Though the lands on the eastern side of the Jordan River belonged to Israel (and two and one-half tribes settled on the eastern lands), those lands were not considered to be the “Promised Land” – that is, Canaan.
Israel was going to have to take control of the Promised Land by conquest; they would have to drive out the Canaanites to take possession. Yet, they should never consider that the land was given to them because they earned it. It was given to them by God as an inheritance. Inheritances are freely given, not earned. The division of the land was, in fact, a potentially divisive – even explosive – issue among the people of Israel. It was right to take the two most godly and prominent leaders of the nation, Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun, to direct this essential and controversial duty. (vv.16-17)
However, the Israelites never came close to taking all of the territory God had given them because of their lack of faith. This was a pattern with them from the very moment they left Egypt. Everything was fine until a test of their faith came, then they would fall right back into their old habits.
Habits are very difficult to break, especially bad ones. Oh we’re ok for a while but when the trial comes, it becomes easy to fall back into them. And for the children of Israel, it was complaining or blaming Moses for their problems. We all probably have some area in our lives that is being tested. An area that God is saying, "trust Me." Those trials are intended to strengthen us and make us more like the person God intended us to be. However, if we lack faith, we are missing out on opportunities He has for us.
I remember pastor Chuck Smith saying, "Whatever we face, we need to remember to focus on Him and His power, not upon the problem." I don’t want to possess just a fraction of what God has for me, nor miss out on any of His plans for me. I want as much as I can get and so should you. But that depends upon our faith. Trust in Him all you people and He will direct your path.
The Truth: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17)
