Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 27-29.

As a leader, Moses had his shortcomings, but he seemed to learn from his mistakes.  However, there was one mistake which is common to leaders similar to Moses that he did not make.  Moses prepared for a successor.  Joshua had been his aid since before the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, possibly going back to before the Israelites left Egypt.   Not only did Moses start training a successor as soon as he began to lead the Israelites, when it came time to pass on his leadership he recognized the value in separating religious and secular leadership.  Part of the commissioning of Joshua as Moses’ successor was the command that Joshua would consult with Eleazar when he needed God’s guidance.  Moses had always sought God’s guidance directly, but Joshua was instructed to consult with the high priest when he needed God’s guidance in leading the people.  By dividing the leadership of the Israelites in this manner, Moses ensured that there would be someone who could hold Joshua accountable.  Every organization needs a mechanism to hold its leadership accountable if it is going to survive for the long term.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.