Chop Off My Hand? (Numbers 32-34 / Mark 9)

Verse 23 in Numbers 32 appears to be the key verse. We cannot hide our sins from God because as the verse says, "your sin will find you out." We must constantly examine ourselves (2 Corintians 13:5) and confess all known sin (I John 1:9).
Just like the Israelites went through stages on their journey (Num. 33), so do we. We all go through physical stages in life, but as Christ-followers, we also go through spiritual stages. There are milestones in our spiritual journey that we need to celebrate and remember (Exodus 39:7; Joshua 4:7).
Most of us would rather not take the time to create an organizational infrastructure out of our work sites (example - our desk), but we see the importance of organizational principles being put into place by God in Numbers 34 so that things will run smooth. In this case, land was the issue and leaders were placed in charge to assign the land (v. 18).

Anyone can give someone a cup of water (v. 41), but very few people seem to give becuase Christ is motivating them to do so. In verse 42, we see the importance of leading children down the right path in our speech and conduct. God is not telling us to literally go and chop off our hand everytime we sin. This is an example of exaggeration or overstatement (v. 43). Even if we did, our action would not achieve the desired result. When we allow God to change our hearts, appropriate actions will soon follow.