Num 34:1+2, Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Command the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders.
	This morning’s reading sets the scene for the second generation of the tribes of Israel to enter into the Promised Land. Again, even before they enter, the Lord spoke to Moses and detailed how the land was to be apportioned. Everything was spelled out with regard to the boundaries of the land as it would be conquered. It would be the borders as God defined them for the sake of His people’s inheritance within the territory as delineated by the Sovereign Lord God Almighty.
Dr. Ronald B Allen in his writing on the Book of Numbers in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary makes the following observation. This is with regard to the manner in which the division of the Promised Land is so detailed. 
Quote, The presentation of the boundaries follows an orderly format. This is the way of the Book of Numbers. Even when we have difficulty in making identifications of geographical sites (not a very surprising matter, given the nature of the case), we may still be impressed with the order and format of these texts. They were designed to be read aloud. Even geography is a matter of worship, a litany of promise, in the Book of Numbers. This chapter is a celebration of God’s gifting, a liturgy of geography. It presents a trust deed, a legal document from God to His people. Prophetically, it points to realization in Joshua 15. The repetition of the phrase “the land of Canaan” in v.2 has something triumphant about it. These chapters were designed to build confidence in the people and also to provoke their continuing worship of the Lord. End quote.
The key to this chapter is the same one that overrides the whole of The Word of God. The Lord God Jehovah is the Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. Therefore the entirety of creation is His to give and to take as He so determines in His Omniscience and His Omnipotence. He is able to make such a covenant with His people and to so make His promise faithful and true in full accordance with His Character and Essence as the Supreme Lord of Heaven and Earth. 
This covenantal promise began with His friend Abraham, as we read in Gen 12:5-8. Gen 12:5-8, And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. And Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 
	This was completely reaffirmed to Abraham by God as we read in the next chapter of Genesis, after Abraham and Lot had separated. Abraham, rather than fighting over the land, allowed Lot to choose the area that he wanted to have for his flocks and herds. It was after that kindness extended to Lot that the Lord showed Abraham the land of Promise as detailed in Gen 13:14-16. 
Gen 13:14-16, And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 
	The Lord even told Abraham how the land would be taken from the inhabitants because they were godless and their wickedness was so vast and they were such an anathema before the holiness of God. Even at this point, God specified the length and breadth of the Promised Land in detail, as we read in Gen 15:13-21.
Gen 15:13-21, And God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve; and afterward they will come out with many possessions. And as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." And it came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite." 
	Not only were the boundaries of the land defined, but God made known the fact that He would bring forth a nation from Abraham, through the trials and the slavery of 400 years. That Posterity of Abraham’s seed would inherit that Promised Land. God did not withhold a detail of His plan and purpose from Abraham. He made it very evident what He was going to do and how He would accomplish such a monumental task as would result in His Own Chosen Nation, the heritage of Abraham’s lineage. 
	In Deut 1:7+8, He brought this people to the brink of the Promised Land. It was there that Moses so spoke to the nation from the heart of the Lord God Almighty. 
Deut 1:7+8, 'Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 'See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.' 
	Much much later, the Prophet Ezekiel, in Ezek 47:13-23, was shown what was the heart of God for His people. The Children of Israel had entered the Promised Land, but they had failed to do all that the Lord required of them. In their disobedience, they chose to accommodate to and to set their hearts upon the idols and join in the defiled worship of the nations surrounding them. This was in opposition to dispossessing all the peoples whom God had directed them to drive out of the land. As a result, they never reached the full length and breadth of the boundaries that God had set before them if they had but fully obeyed and honored Him.
	Rather than practice that full obedience and fealty unto God, the Nation had compromised their testimony of Him, and therefore never came into the absolute abundance of His Promise. God detailed what was to be to Ezekiel, as we can read together in Ezek 47:13-23.
	Ezek 47:13-23, Thus says the Lord God, "This shall be the boundary by which you shall divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two portions. "And you shall divide it for an inheritance, each one equally with the other; for I swore to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance. "And this shall be the boundary of the land: on the north side, from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad; Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. "And the boundary shall extend from the sea to Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north toward the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. "And the east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side. "And the south side toward the south shall extend from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, and to the Great Sea. This is the south side toward the south. "And the west side shall be the Great Sea, from the south border to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side. "So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. "And it will come about that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the aliens who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. "And it will come about that in the tribe with which the alien stays, there you shall give him his inheritance," declares the Lord God. 
	A wonderful key to this passage is that along with the boundaries, the Lord brings in mention of the aliens in the midst of the nation, that there is an inheritance in place for those who were not directly descended from the Tribes of Israel. This is important because it shows the heart of God for those who are to be added to His people through His own hand in operation.
	Additionally, the Prophet Jeremiah, in Jer 3:14-19, was given the Word of the Lord to the people of God. This was in terms of the relationship that God had invested into this inheritance for the nation. 
Jer 3:14-19, 'Return, O faithless sons,' declares the Lord;' For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And I will bring you to Zion.' "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. "And it shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the Lord, "they shall say no more, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord.' And it shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again. "At that time they shall call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the Lord,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor shall they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. "In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance. "Then I said, 'How I would set you among My sons, And give you a pleasant land, The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!' And I said, 'You shall call Me, My Father, And not turn away from following Me.' 
	This brings us into the New Testament as the Lord opened the inheritance of His people unto the Gentiles. We have the testimony of this in His Word as spoken to the Greeks by the Apostle Paul in Acts 17:24-31, if you would please turn to it. This is the declaration that the true inheritance of the people of God is not actual land, delineated by defined boundaries, but the gift of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ which opens the whole of heaven to those so blessed by God’s choosing.
	Acts 17:24-31, "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.' "Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
	This was detailed to the Apostle Paul by the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, as declared in Acts 26:15-19. Acts 26:15-19, "And I said, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 'But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.' 
	The inheritance in the Promised Land of our salvation in Jesus Christ was further declared to the Church at Ephesus by the Apostle Paul in Eph 1:3-22. Please turn to it and rejoice in reading this marvelous reality together with me. Eph 1:3-22.
Eph 1:3-22, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation —  having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory. For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 
	We will bring this wondrous and gracious and benevolent consideration of what God has promised and given in Jesus Christ to an end this morning with the Apostle Peter and the encouragement he has for all of us in 1 Peter 1:3-5. This is a full measure of the complete character of God as so invested in the inheritance that He has given to you and to me in His Only Begotten Son. 
1 Peter 1:3-5, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. So be it!
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Command the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders. Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is Gal 1:3-5. Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.