The Book of Numbers

Hebrew Study

Explanation

Five sisters, "the daughters of Zelophehad," came and "stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation," to make a request. Their father had died in the wilderness, "in his own sin," but not in Korah's rebellion, and he had left no sons. "Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession." It was a bold and believing appeal: they wanted a portion in a land Israel had not yet even entered, and they cared that their father's name endure among God's people. Moses "brought their cause before the LORD," and God's answer was clear and warm: "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance." Their request became the occasion for a lasting law: "if a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter." Their faith secured an inheritance and shaped the law of Israel.

Gospel Focus

The daughters of Zelophehad model a bold, believing approach to God, and they are honored for it. They came openly to ask, they believed in an inheritance they had not yet seen, and God said they spoke right. So we are invited to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Faith lays hold of the promise before it is possessed. And their story shines with the truth that the inheritance of God is not for sons only. In an age when only sons inherited, God made a way for daughters, a foreshadow of the gospel in which "there is neither male nor female... ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). In Christ, women and men alike are "heirs of God, and joint-heirs" with Him (Romans 8:17), husbands and wives "heirs together of the grace of life" (1 Peter 3:7). No one who belongs to God is left without a portion for lack of standing in the world's reckoning. Come boldly, believe the promise, and know that in Christ the inheritance is yours, whoever you are.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

God tells Moses to climb Mount Abarim and view the land, "and when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people," for his failure at Meribah. Moses would see the land but not enter it. His response is remarkable. He does not plead for himself or lament his own end; his first thought is for the people. "Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and... bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd." Facing his own death, Moses prayed for a shepherd to lead the flock he was leaving. It was the heart of a true leader to the last, more concerned that the people be cared for than that his own life be spared. He had shepherded Israel through forty years, and even now his concern was that they not be left shepherdless.

Gospel Focus

Moses' selfless prayer for a shepherd points straight to the heart of God for His people and to the Good Shepherd Himself. The very phrase Moses used, "as sheep which have no shepherd," is echoed of Jesus, who "when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them... because they... were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). God has never left His people without a shepherd; He raises up under-shepherds to lead them, and He gave His own Son as the Good Shepherd who "giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). The mark of a true shepherd, whether Moses or any who lead God's people, is a heart that cares more for the flock than for self, a heart like the Chief Shepherd's. And there is comfort here: the God of the spirits of all flesh does set shepherds over His congregation, that they be not scattered and lost. If you feel like a sheep without a shepherd, look to the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for you, and who has promised, "when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4). His people are never truly shepherdless.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

God answered Moses' prayer: "Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him." Joshua was to be set "before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation," given "a charge in their sight," and Moses was to "put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation... may be obedient." He would inquire of God "after the judgment of Urim," and "at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in." So "Moses did as the LORD commanded," took Joshua, set him before the priest and the people, "laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge." The leadership passed by the Spirit's choosing and the laying on of hands, an orderly, public succession. The man who would lead Israel into the land was chosen, filled with the Spirit, and commissioned before all.

Gospel Focus

The choice of Joshua is rich with meaning for the Apostolic believer. First, he was "a man in whom is the spirit"; God's leaders are qualified not by natural gifts alone but by the Spirit of God, and Joshua was set apart by the laying on of hands, "full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him" (Deuteronomy 34:9). The laying on of hands to commission and impart still runs through Scripture (1 Timothy 4:14). But the deepest wonder is the name. Moses, who represents the law, would die outside the land; he could bring the people to the border but not in. It was Joshua, whose name is the very Hebrew form of Jesus, "the LORD is salvation," who would lead them across Jordan into the inheritance. The picture is unmistakable: the law cannot bring us into the promise, but Jesus can and does. What Moses could not finish, Joshua completed; what the law could not do, Jesus fulfilled, leading His people into their rest. Filled with the Spirit and bearing the name above every name, the true Joshua goes before us, and at His word we go out and come in. Follow Jesus, the Spirit-anointed Shepherd, into the inheritance the law could never give.