Successor
After so many years in the wilderness, the children of Israel were soon to make their crossing into the Promised Land. A new generation had arisen, that was soon to inherit the land first promised to them when still in the loins of Abraham many centuries earlier (Gen. 17:8). Thus, despite the setbacks, the rebellions, the murmuring, the lack of faith in His people, God was going to fulfill His word. He was just going to do it with another generation, that’s all.
Read Numbers 27:12–23 and answer the following questions:
- In Numbers 27:12 the Lord talks about the land that He has “given” (in the past tense) to the children of Israel, even though they were not there yet. What does that tell us about God’s promises?
- After the Lord told Moses again that he could not cross into this land because of his sin, how does Moses respond? That is, what is Moses’ main concern? What does that tell us about the kind of man he was?
- Why was it important that Joshua be given his charge before all the congregation?
Moses was soon to die, his work being done. The charge was now given to Joshua, Moses’ appointed successor. How interesting that it wasn’t one of Moses’ sons but, instead, someone who had proved his own worth. God, not Moses or the congregation, chose Joshua.
Also, the texts make it clear that, as with Moses, Joshua was to lead only through the guidance of God; that is, besides the written laws and commandments, he also was to seek the Lord’s will through the “judgment of [the] Urim before the Lord” (vs. 21).
| How often do you seek the Lord in prayer regarding important decisions you need to make? Upon what basis do you make your decisions, if not through seeking God’s will? |
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