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Numbers Chapter 27   (ESV)

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” 22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.

REFLECTION:

• This passage deals with another preparation for entering Canaan – appointing a new leader to take Moses’ place. Read it slowly.
• A person’s spiritual leadership may be measured by how many leaders he/she has helped develop. Because he was looking ahead, Moses developed Joshua as a spiritual leader.  However, before Moses identified Joshua as the spiritual successor, he asked for God’s guidance (vv16-17).  God picked Joshua, explaining that he was “a man in whom is the spirit.”
• God’s standards for the appointment of spiritual leaders are different from those of the world. God often chooses as leaders those who are especially sensitive and obedient to the voice of the Spirit.

PRAYER:

• Who has been my “Moses” in the past? For whom am I a “Moses” or a “Joshua”?  How will I prepare for the inevitable transitioning?
• Pray for the “Moses’s” of our church. Pray also for good “Joshua’s” to carry on the mission.

HYMN:

Seek Ye First – youtu.be/EsBpM9IcBts