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

When God told Moses that his days were coming to an end, Moses asked God to appoint someone over the community so that “the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”  As I read that today I was reminded of what Matthew wrote about Jesus in chapter 9 verse 36

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Which is entirely appropriate, since Jesus is the Greek transliteration for Joshua, and it was Joshua whom God appointed over the community.  Matthew wrote that after Jesus saw the people as being like sheep without a shepherd, He told His disciples that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, so they should ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers.  Here Moses asked God to send someone to go out and come in before His people, someone to lead them out and bring them in.  God told Moses to give authority to Joshua before the people.  Jesus told His disciples, and through them us, to lead His people and to seek out those whom God had sent to do likewise.  Moses had been teaching Joshua how to lead God’s people for many years at this point.  Or, to put it another way, Moses had discipled Joshua.  In the same way, Jesus sent His disciples out to disciple people of all nations.  Moses laid his hands on Joshua and commissioned him to lead God’s people.  In the same way, we should accept whatever leadership role God has called us to, and then we should lay our hands on those God brings to us and commission them.

I use 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 told Moses that he would shortly die without entering into the Promised Land, Moses’ first response was not to beg God to reconsider.  His first response was to ask God to appoint someone to lead the Children of Israel in his place so that they would not be like sheep without a shepherd.  The first thing which came to me when I read that was what Matthew wrote in chapter nine of his Gospel account.

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I am confident that Matthew was making the same connection.  God’s immediate answer to Moses’ request was to have him appoint Joshua, Moses’ disciple, to lead the people.  God split Moses’ responsibilities between Joshua, who handled the military and other secular leadership functions, and Eleazar the priest, who was responsible for the spiritual and religious leadership functions.  However, as Matthew repeatedly pointed out, God’s long term answer to Moses’ request was Jesus of Nazareth, who once again combined all aspects of leadership over God’s people into one man.

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

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.

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 told Moses it was time for him to die, he was concerned about appointing a successor to lead the people.  God told him to commission Joshua for the role.  Now, this would have come as no surprise to anyone: Joshua had been Moses’ assistant since before Mt Sinai (perhaps going all the way back to Egypt. the first time Joshua is mentioned he is already established as Moses’ assistant).  Joshua had not only been Moses’ assistant, he had been commander of the Israelite army under Moses. However, Joshua was commissioned to be leader in one way, one very important way, that was different from Moses’ role.  Joshua was not going to be the intermediary between the people and God.  That role was going to be filled by Aaron’s son, Eleazar, who was now high priest.

So, the leadership setup to succeed Moses gives us some clear lessons on how leadership should be structured for an ongoing organization.  Really, it gives us a twofold model.  First, every leader needs for there to be someone who can hold them accountable.  Second, leadership naturally divides between administrative and spiritual, but the two must work together.  We will see in the Book of Joshua with the treaty with the Gibeonites what can go wrong if the Administrative leadership fails to seek God’s guidance from the spiritual leadership.  I have seen throughout my lifetime numerous examples where organizations fail because the spiritual leadership failed to allow those with administrative gifts to take charge in areas which required such gifts. And history is replete with examples of how power has corrupted those who had no one to hold them accountable.

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.