This chapter describes the new borders of the promised land (Canaan) and the chiefs of the 9 1/2 tribes which will inherit the land.
“Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, ‘This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. For the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh. The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.’ ” (v13-15)
I recommend geography/history buffs read the entire chapter. However, we’ll mainly focus on the theme of boundaries.
Boundaries are incredibly important, and there are many types. The example in this passage is geographic boundaries, though many others include personal, relational, legal, social, economic, activity, etc. Some people view boundaries as a bad thing – they are “restrictive”. The Bible says the opposite – they can be healthy and very freeing.
Jesus sets many good examples of boundaries:
– He made space for His physical needs (Jn 12:2; Lk 7:36)
– He sought good company to support Him (Mt 26:36-38)
– He retreated from crowds for alone time with the Father (Lk 5:15-16)
– He set His own pace and wasn’t rushed by external circumstances
– He denied pleasures and temptations of the world in exchange for God’s will (Mk 14:32-42)
Those are just a few of the ways in which Jesus set healthy boundaries. We didn’t even discuss how He distanced Himself from sin, while still loving the sinners. There are too many examples from Jesus to cover in such a short devotional.
My challenge for today is to do a boundary check – are there places in our lives where boundaries are insufficient, or perhaps there were boundaries and we broke them? Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal these places to us, for I know I am not discerning enough to recognize all of the ways in which I have failed to create/maintain healthy boundaries (for example I’ve suffered burnout a couple of times by failing to limit my involvement in activities [I can’t say no]). Let’s surrender to God’s leadership in our lives and let Him set the examples for us through Jesus as to how we should and should not conduct ourselves.
Father God, O Holy One of Israel, great and mighty is Your name. You have set the captives free, yet we voluntarily yoke ourselves to things through poor choices. Father please provide wisdom and discernment through Your Spirit so we may know what boundaries need to be set or reset. Please help us to respect the boundaries that You set before us, and honor those in our lives who wisely set their boundaries as well. Father please guide us in accordance to Your will, that we may walk in the footsteps of Jesus, and live full lives that honor You and don’t dishonor ourselves. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training