“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:35-36

God knows His people need a new leader.  God also knows that Moses is coming to the end of his reign as the leader of the Israelites.  God has His eye on Joshua and has been grooming him to succeed Moses. This was not a decision made quickly or out of convenience because Moses is aging; God has been working on this succession of leadership all along.  God knows his sheep will need a new shepherd to lead them into the promised land.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, “declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

It occurs to me that we must work harder to grasp the incredible omnipotence of God!  God’s thinking and His ways are higher than ours.  As we read His Word, we must seek to understand who God is and what He is doing from more than one perspective because God is multifaceted; He knows what lies ahead, and knows how we will respond in any given circumstance.  Does that change or altar God’s plan?  It hasn’t yet.  God’s plan to save us, protect us, provide for us, and love us for eternity has and will succeed in us as we choose to love Him back! His will be done in Jesus, His Son, has been done!  We might think that our failure and others’ missteps with thwart God’s plan; but I’ve got news for us; we don’t have that kind of power.  God finishes what He starts—even in us!  

Numbers 27

Zelophehad’s Daughters

27 The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward ² and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. ⁴ Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”

⁵ So Moses brought their case before the Lord, ⁶ and the Lord said to him, ⁷ “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.

⁸ “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. ¹³ After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, ¹⁴ for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)

¹⁵ Moses said to the Lord, ¹⁶ “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community ¹⁷ to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him. ¹⁹ Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. ²⁰ Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. ²¹ He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

²² Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. ²³ Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Since the land belonged to the Lord (See Leviticus 25:23–28), the Israelites couldn’t divide it or dispose of it as they pleased. Maintaining the inheritance from generation to generation was important to each family and to the tribes to which the families belonged.

God is compassionate to all—even to the women, who in that time were not counted in the census, but God knew played very important roles in living lives of nomads on the way to the promised land.  God heard them and made provision for all women whose fathers had died and left no sons to be the head of the family who cared for every member.  It was a bold move for the daughters to appear before Moses.  I love how God responded. God noticed, understood, and made provision for them immediately. Then God made this provision Law for the Israelites!  God’s compassions they fail not!

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Do we have the boldness to come to the throne of God and ask?  We have that available to us!  “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Jesus told his disciples before departing to heaven; “Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”  He also taught his disciples (and all believers in Jesus to come) how to ask with a humbled heart in prayer—“May your (God’s) will be done”.  When we pray asking for help from God; we must believe that God will respond with all that will be good for us and will give Him glory so others will know Him, too. 

Right motivation is the key to the hearing from God. Our surrender to God fills us with His message of salvation. Our offering of our whole being, from struggles to victories, given to God completely—all proclaim God’s glory!

“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

Moses was a leader who had the right motivation.  Moses had proved himself a true leader by being more concerned for the people than for himself. Twice God had offered to destroy the Israelites and start a new nation with Moses, but Moses had refused. (See Exodus) Moses often had interceded for the people when God’s judgment was about to fall. Moses had been misunderstood, criticized, and nearly stoned, but he remained a faithful shepherd to his people.  Perhaps this is why Moses was the one honored to come down to have a conversation with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration that day.  Mm.

Though he was about to die, Moses didn’t think about himself but about the future of the nation. His great concern was that God provide a spiritual leader for the people, for they were sheep and sheep must have a shepherd.  (See also 2 Sam. 24:7; Ps. 74:1; 79:13; 95:7; 100:3), and sheep must have a shepherd (1 Kin. 22:17; Zech. 10:2; Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34). 

Jesus is our Shepherd!  “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”  John 10:11-15

As we continue through Numbers, we will see the glory of God displayed in Joshua who will step forward with boldness to lead the Israelites.  Joshua believes God, trusts, and obeys what God tells him to be and do.  That is a shepherd who will lead God’s sheep effectively and successfully in declaring who God is to all other nations.  Stay tuned!  We will learn much from what a Godly leader looks like as Joshua replaces Moses.

Pause to pray, reflect, then respond to God.  Take a heart motivation inventory.

Do I serve others for the praise I receive or for the pleasure of serving Christ?

When I have an opportunity to serve, do I ask God to help and lead me so I will have the right motives?

Help me, Lord, to consistently ask: Why am I doing this?

Lord,

With you, Lord, the “why” is more important that what you have given us to do.  May we be quick to respond with gladness and thanksgiving for the opportunities you provide for serving You above all. Lord, I’m yours.  And I’m listening. Guide each thought and each step I take today. May all I think, say, and do give you glory.  May I give you a rapid response of thanksgiving each time I see your glory at work around and in me!  You are God. I am not.  You are my Shepherd; I lack for nothing.

In Jesus Name, Amen