Numbers 33:50-56

Numbers 33:50-56

[50] And the LORD  spake  unto Moses  in the plains  of Moab  by Jordan  near Jericho,  saying,  [51] Speak  unto the children  of Israel,  and say  unto them, When ye are passed over  Jordan  into the land  of Canaan;  [52] Then ye shall drive out  all the inhabitants  of the land  from before  you, and destroy  all their pictures,  and destroy  all their molten  images,  and quite pluck down  all their high places:  [53] And ye shall dispossess  the inhabitants of the land,  and dwell  therein: for I have given  you the land  to possess  it. [54] the land  by lot  for an inheritance  among your families:  and to the more  ye shall give the more  inheritance,  and to the fewer  ye shall give the less  inheritance:  every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot  falleth;  according to the tribes  of your fathers  ye shall inherit.  [55] But if ye will not drive out  the inhabitants  of the land  from before  you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain  of them shall be pricks  in your eyes,  and thorns  in your sides,  and shall vex  you in the land  wherein ye dwell.  [56] Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do  unto you, as I thought  to do  unto them.

What does Numbers 33:50-56 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This brief section of instructions introduces specific directions concerning the division of the land and its towns that follow in chapters34-36.
The repetition of "all" ( Numbers 33:52) stresses the importance of completely clearing the land of its inhabitants and their religious paraphernalia. God wanted to clean up the land spiritually and to make it a "holy land." The land was a gift from God to His first-born Song of Solomon , Israel ( Numbers 33:53). God warned the Israelites what would happen to them if they were not completely obedient ( Numbers 33:55-56). The Canaanites would be a constant source of irritation to them, and God would deal with His people as He planned to deal with the Canaanites.