Finally!
Those tired old Israelites were about to enter the land of Canaan!
God gave the boundaries of the land to Moses and said; “Command the Israelites and say to them: “When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries:
SOUTHERN BOUNDRY
Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea, cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south to 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 Mediterranean Sea.
WESTERN BOUNDRY
Your Western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
This will be your boundry on the west.
NORTHERN BOUNDRY
For your northern boundary, run a line from the Mediterranean 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.
EASTERN BOUNDRY
For your eastern boundary, run a line form 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 Galilee. Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea.
This will be your land and its borders on every side.”
THE BOUNDARIES ARE CLEAR
So the boundaries were set by God and they were very clear to everyone. The descriptions should leave no doubt as to what land God considered to be The Promised Land.
So Moses explained this to the Israelites directing them to assign the land by lot as an inheritance.
BOUNDARIES ALREADY DETERMINED
The families of Reuben, Gad and a half-tribe of Manasseh had already received their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan.
This land in Canaan would be divided out between the other nine and one-half tribes that were left.
LEADERSHIP FOR APPOINTING ASSIGNMENTS
Moses publicly put Eleazar the priest and Joshua the Son of Nun in charge of dividing out the land.
Then he told each tribe to pick and appoint one leader to assign the land to its inhabitants.
The people appointed Caleb (Judah), Shemuel (Simeon), Elidad (Benjamin), Bukki (Dan), Hanniel (Manasseh), Kemuel (Ephraim), Elizaphan (Zebulun), Paliel ( Issachar), Ahihud (Asher) and Pedahel (Naphtali).
Now Israel was ready to go into the land and each leader had their tribe’s assignment and were ready for dividing out the inheritance which they were to receive because of God’s covenant with Abraham long ago.
God always keeps His promises!