Day 51 or February 20. Go this far and no further.
Our thoughts today are from Numbers chapter 34 verse 2. 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. Now the big picture surrounding this verse.
The last few chapters of the book of Numbers reads like a legal land registry document.
The borders of the Promised Land are clearly described in full detail. All the Israelites
are champing at the bit, looking across the Jordan River and itching to get into the Promised
Land, as Moses describes their inheritance in great detail.
Inside the Promised Land there are to be several cities of refuge pinpointed. These are the
places of refuge where the Levitical priests will live. As they look back through the account
of God's faithfulness to the generation that escaped from Egypt, they sense the time
is near when they will obey God and not be like their ancestors, who rejected Him.
Now today's action step. Don't go near the edge. Don't cross this line. Keep off the
grass. Don't swim here. In our twenty-first century world there are so many rules and
some of them don't make a lot of sense at first reading, like the sign that was in the
middle of a grassed area which declared, Don't throw stones at this sign. However, just imagine
no rules and you are imagining total chaos. The Israelites needed boundaries clearly
marked otherwise how would they know where to stop? This is as true for adults and children
today as it was then. It seems the only rules we like are the ones that benefit us. If they
are to someone else's advantage, surely we don't need to keep them, do we? Of course
we do. As the children of Israel prepared to cross
over the Jordan River, they knew God was going to be with them and they knew exactly what
He expected of them. That is real security and freedom. It is only available in Christ.
Day 21 explains this in a little more detail. Why not listen again?