Numbers 34:1-12 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) "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. (3) Your southern border shall be from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom; then your southern border shall extend eastward to the end of the Salt Sea; (4) your border shall turn from the southern side of the Ascent of Akrabbim, continue to Zin, and be on the south of Kadesh Barnea; then it shall go on to Hazar Addar, and continue to Azmon; (5) the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the Sea. (6) 'As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border. (7) 'And this shall be your northern border: From the Great Sea you shall mark out your border line to Mount Hor; (8) from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border to the entrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be toward Zedad; (9) the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and it shall end at Hazar Enan. This shall be your northern border. (10) 'You shall mark out your eastern border from Hazar Enan to Shepham; (11) the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; the border shall go down and reach to the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth; (12) the border shall go down along the Jordan, and it shall end at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its surrounding boundaries.'” The above passage of scripture reveals to us the geographic borders of the state of Israel that God had given to them through the prophet Moses. Under the reign of king David, Israel reached the boundaries given to them by God. On today’s map, those borders included current day Israel (including the territories that the world claims, Israel occupies illegally), the Gaza strip, half of current day Lebanon, and the south-western part of current day Syria. After King David’s reign however, Israel consistently rebelled against God, and her borders were slowly reduced in size, until they finally went into captivity in Babylon and ceased to exist as a sovereign nation. Michael E.B. Maher
Comments