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

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

When God had Moses appoint Joshua as his successor, He divided He divided secular and religious authority.  Joshua had authority over the people, but when guidance was needed from God, he needed to go to Eliazar, the high priest.  However, while Joshua needed to go to Eliazar to consult God for guidance, the arrangement did not give Eliazar authority over Joshua.  Instead, when Joshua needed guidance from the Lord he would go to Eliazar and Eliazar would use the Urim to cast lots to determine God’s will.  We do not know exactly what the Urim was,, which is probably a good thing since people would substitute a device which resembled it for actually seeking God’s will.  The important thing was not what was used to determine God’s will, but that it was done publicly, or, at least, in front of Joshua.  This meant that Eliazar could not just put forward his own decision and claim that it was God’s will.  So, even in a society where the laws of the land were intended to be those laid down by God, the secular authorities were not given the power to determine God’s will, but the religious authorities were not given the power to dictate to the secular authorities.  Not all decisions require us to inquire after God’s will, but we should be careful not to substitute  someone’s will for that of God.