The amount of land that God assigned to the Israelites here in Numbers 34 was about 150 miles long and 50 miles wide at its widest point. In other words, it was pretty small – less than one seventh the size of England.

This was a smaller portion of land than had been promised to Abraham. In Genesis 15:18 we read that God had planned to give Abraham’s descendants all the land from the River Nile to the River Euphrates – a huge portion of land.

So, why did God place such narrow boundaries here in Numbers 34? Well, in Genesis 18:9, we read that God expected Abraham and all his descendants to keep their part of the covenant. We can also see that God expected the people not only to take the land, or to just live in the land, but to ‘possess’ the land, which included driving out all that was ungodly from the land. We know that they did not do this (Joshua 13:1, 13:13, 17:12).

So, knowing the end from the beginning, God created boundaries for his people. These boundaries may have seemed like a restriction, but they were a protection for the people. God’s plan was unfolding in stages and perhaps if the Israelites had remained obedient and fully possessed the land as they had been commanded, God would have widened those boundaries over time until they had all of the land promised to Abraham. Perhaps he still will – history is not finished yet.

In our own lives, too, God sometimes places boundaries, even in the place of promise. We may feel the Lord has called us to a ministry or to the exercise of a gift but find that we come up against boundaries whenever we try to move forward into that.

When that happens, it’s a good time to check that we have fully taken hold of what God has already given to us and that we are acting in obedience to him in what we already have, remembering that the Lord gives more to those who take full possession of what he has already given (Matthew 25:29).

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