Psalm 80:11

Psalm 80:11

The boundaries of the vine

It is good to remind ourselves of the borders set by God for the land of Israel. “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you.” Exodus 23:31.

Let’s just revisit these instructions, shall we? The south-eastern border of Israel was to be the Red Sea, today we would call it the Gulf of Aqaba, which is in Jordan. The south-western border was the Sinai Desert. The Western border was the Mediterranean Sea. To the north and the east, the border was the River Euphrates. The Euphrates is the longest river in western Asia and it marks the boundary between Israel and her historic enemies, Assyria and Babylon. This is a lot of land, these boundaries embrace Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon and the whole area has never been completely under Israel’s control. Yet! 

Some may wonder why these boundary lines have never been completely fulfilled. Historically, the problem has not been military inferiority but rather the will of the people. They have made alliances, flirted with the pagan gods of the surrounding nations or just sunk into a lifestyle of being comfortable with what they have, instead of reaching out for all that God could give them. Isn’t that a picture of us? Of the church?

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