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The Daughters of Zelophehad
27 Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
Moses brought their case before the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the LORD commanded Moses.’”
Joshua to Succeed Moses
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. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 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.) Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 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.” 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. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 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.” And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses.
(ESV)
Numbers 27 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Don’t gloss over this chapter too quickly or you will miss a moment that is very rare in our current society today. As we know, Moses was not going to be allowed to enter the Promised Land. This alone is a hard pill to swallow. Think about all Moses has been through with the people. He has led them despite their selfish and stubborn ways. He even went to God in prayer and asked to spare their lives on several occasions. All that said, he will never get to see the fullness of the promise which became the destination of his journey.
On many levels, it just doesn’t seem right. It’s not the fairytale ending we would expect. I’m not one to question God, but I seriously found myself pondering; how could God keep Moses out of the Promised Land over one sinful act? Though he couldn’t enter the land, God would allow Moses to at least look at it.
The LORD said to Moses, “Go up the Abarim Mountains and look out over the land that I am giving to the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will die, as your brother Aaron did, 14 because both of you rebelled against my command in the wilderness of Zin. When the whole community complained against me at Meribah, you refused to acknowledge my holy power before them.” (Meribah is the spring at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
Numbers 27:12-14 GNB
“After you have seen it, you will die.” Uh… hmmm… OK? Again, I don’t believe we should question God’s decisions. After all, He made up His mind. It was a done deal. And He is God. But in our flesh, we wonder, is this really the best decision? I mean, from Moses’ perspective, he could have pleaded with God to reconsider. He could have repented once more over the debacle which caused this entire issue. If he were living in our culture today, he would simply get offended and protest, right? He does none of those things.
In fact, he doesn’t even question anything about what God has said. His response has nothing to do with himself. Let’s read that again! His response has NOTHING TO DO WITH HIMSELF! Look at what he prays…
Moses prayed, 16 ” LORD God, source of all life, appoint, I pray, a man who can lead the people 17 and can command them in battle, so that your community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
Numbers 27:15-17 GNB
So basically, it goes down like this.
God – “Moses, here is the Promised Land. You can only look at it and then you will die. This is because you failed to acknowledge my power before the people.”
Moses – “Lord, please appoint a man to lead the people and command them in battle!”
It is a refreshing, unselfish, and God-honoring response. It’s full of humility. Let’s be honest, how many people do you know who would respond this way today? Just as Jesus exemplified, a great leader does not come to be served, but to serve. Moses understood this. His life was a worship offering poured out for his people, and he served them to the very end even in the midst of his own failure.
So, how many of us are currently responding this way to the discipline of God? How many of us are driving our focus toward others despite what’s happened to you? These are tough but true thoughts.