Bird's-eye view
Here, on the plains of Moab, with the Jordan River as the last remaining obstacle, God gives Moses the definitive terms for taking the Promised Land. This is not a suggestion for a military campaign; it is a covenantal statute for possessing an inheritance. The command is twofold: first, a radical and total dispossession of the current inhabitants and a complete obliteration of their idolatrous worship systems. Second, a positive command to take possession, inhabit the land, and distribute it according to God's providential direction. The passage concludes with one of the starkest warnings in the Pentateuch: failure to obey the command for total cleansing will result in the blessing of the land turning into a curse, with the remaining Canaanites becoming a perpetual source of pain and trouble. Ultimately, if Israel assimilates to the ways of the Canaanites, they will receive the judgment God had intended for the Canaanites. This is a foundational text for understanding the subsequent history of Israel in the books of Joshua, Judges, and beyond.
Outline
- 1. The Divine Command for Conquest (Num 33:50-53)
- a. The Occasion and Audience (Num 33:50-51)
- b. The Negative Requirement: Total Dispossession and Purification (Num 33:52)
- c. The Positive Requirement: Possession and Settlement (Num 33:53)
- 2. The Divine Method for Distribution (Num 33:54)
- a. Inheritance by Lot (Num 33:54a)
- b. Proportional Allotment (Num 33:54b)
- 3. The Divine Warning Against Disobedience (Num 33:55-56)
- a. The Consequence of Compromise: Perpetual Affliction (Num 33:55)
- b. The Ultimate Judgment: Covenant Role Reversal (Num 33:56)
Commentary
50 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying,
The setting is crucial. They are at the finish line of their forty year marathon of judgment. Jericho, the first great obstacle, is within sight across the river. This is not a time for abstract theology; it is the final briefing before the invasion. God speaks to Moses, the covenant mediator, who has led them to this point but will not enter the land himself. The authority of the following commands is therefore absolute; it is Yahweh Himself speaking.
51 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
The command is for the entire covenant community, the “sons of Israel.” The instruction is predicated on a certainty: “When you cross over.” This is not an “if.” God’s promise to the patriarchs is about to be fulfilled. Their entrance into the land is as certain as God’s own character. They are going into the land of Canaan, a name synonymous with deep seated, culturally entrenched, and divinely condemned paganism.
52 then you shall dispossess all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their carved stones and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places;
Here is the non negotiable part of the deal. The first action item is to “dispossess all the inhabitants.” This is a holy war, a divine act of eviction. The Canaanites are illegal tenants in God’s land, and their lease has expired due to gross moral and spiritual violations (Gen. 15:16). This is not about ethnic animosity; it is about executing God’s righteous judgment. Following the people comes the paraphernalia of their rebellion. They are to “destroy all their carved stones.” These were likely cultic stones, pillars used in fertility rites and pagan worship. Next, “destroy all their molten images.” These are the idols, the physical representations of their false gods. Finally, “demolish all their high places.” These were the outdoor sanctuaries, the pagan cathedrals on hills and mountains. The command is for total eradication. You cannot sanitize a cancer; you must cut it out. God is commanding a complete spiritual fumigation of the land. No trace of the previous tenants’ idolatry is to remain.
53 and you shall take possession of the land and inhabit it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.
The destruction makes way for construction. The dispossession is for the purpose of possession. After clearing the spiritual rot, they are to “take possession” and “inhabit it.” This is God’s goal for them: to live, work, and worship in the land He has prepared. The basis for this entire operation is stated plainly: “for I have given the land to you.” This is not a land grab; it is the reception of a gift. Their claim to the land is not based on their military might or moral virtue, but solely on the sovereign grant of God. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He owns the hills too. He can give them to whomever He pleases.
54 And you shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers.
How is this grand gift to be distributed? Not by a free for all, but by divine appointment. The land is to be inherited “by lot.” The casting of the lot was a way of seeking God’s direct will, removing human squabbling and political maneuvering from the process (Prov. 16:33). God’s sovereignty would determine the boundaries of each family’s inheritance. But this sovereignty works through wisdom. A principle of equity is applied: larger tribes receive a larger portion. This is sanctified common sense. The decision of the lot is final: “Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his.” This system reinforced that the land was a gift from God, received according to His will, and was to be stewarded within the established covenant structures of tribes and families.
55 But if you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it will be that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land which you inhabit.
Now comes the fulcrum upon which Israel’s future history will turn. The word “But if” introduces the alternative to faithful obedience. What happens if they engage in a policy of sentimental multiculturalism? What if they decide that total dispossession is too harsh? The consequences are described with visceral imagery. The remaining Canaanites will become “pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides.” This is not a minor inconvenience. A prick in the eye blinds you. A thorn in the side is a constant, debilitating pain. This is a picture of perpetual agitation, irritation, and affliction. The people they failed to drive out would become a source of spiritual temptation, military harassment, and cultural corruption. Their compromised obedience would poison the very blessing they were given. They will “trouble you in the land.” The place of rest will become a place of strife.
56 And it will be as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.’ ”
This is the final, terrifying outcome of disobedience. God’s judgment is not arbitrary. He had a plan to judge the Canaanites for their wickedness by driving them out of the land. If Israel, through disobedience, compromise, and idolatrous syncretism, becomes functionally indistinguishable from the Canaanites, then they will inherit the Canaanite curse. The judgment intended for the pagans will be redirected onto the covenant people. God will treat them as He planned to treat the Canaanites. This is exactly what happened centuries later in the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles. God, in effect, dispossessed His own disobedient people from the land. Covenant privilege is not a shield for sin; it is a summons to holiness. When the salt loses its saltiness, it is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Application
The Christian life is a life of conquest and possession. We have been given a glorious inheritance in Christ (Eph. 1:11), but we are called to possess our possessions. This requires a radical, no compromise approach to the sin in our own lives and the idolatry in our culture. We cannot make peace treaties with our cherished sins. They must be dispossessed and demolished.
Like Israel, we are warned that incomplete obedience leads to perpetual trouble. The sins we tolerate become pricks in our eyes and thorns in our sides. They blind us to the truth and cripple our walk with God. A little leaven leavens the whole lump, and a few tolerated Canaanites can corrupt the entire nation. The call for us is to tear down the high places in our hearts, to destroy the carved stones of cultural idolatry, and to smash the molten images of our own making.
Our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers (Eph. 6:12). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4). The principle of Numbers 33 remains: there can be no peaceful coexistence between the worship of the true God and the idols of the age. We are to be holy, for He is holy, and this holiness requires a clean sweep.