God gives Moses a heads up -- about his own death.

Numbers 27:12-23 Moses’ Responsibilities Are Transferred to Joshua

Day 84. Yesterday was the third memorial (this time the actual funeral) for George Floyd, the black man that died at the hands of police who used unnecessary force. His death has led to protests but also rioting, looting, and even deaths, all over the world. Now there’s a call to disband police forces.  The world has gone crazy.  Meanwhile, our Ontario Premier has moved to “2^nd phase reopening” for the province starting this Friday, but not for the Greater Toronto Area.  So, we’re still limited to doing a lot of nothing.  We continue to study our Bible.

The Passage

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. ¹³ When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother ^[a]was; ¹⁴ for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My ^[b]command ^[c]to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵ Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, ¹⁷ who will go out ^[d]and come in before them, and who will lead them out and ^[e]bring them in so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “^[f]Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;¹⁹ and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. ²⁰ You shall put some of your ^[g]authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. ²¹ Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his ^[h]command they shall go out and at his ^[i]command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” ²² Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. ²³ Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken ^[j]through Moses.

Footnotes

1. Numbers 27:13 Lit was gathered
2. Numbers 27:14 Lit mouth
3. Numbers 27:14 Lit for My sanctity
4. Numbers 27:17 Lit before them and who will
5. Numbers 27:17 Lit who will bring
6. Numbers 27:18 Lit Take for yourself
7. Numbers 27:20 Lit majesty
8. Numbers 27:21 Lit mouth
9. Numbers 27:21 Lit mouth
10. Numbers 27:23 Lit by the hand of

Thoughts on the Passage

Imagine being Moses and reviewing your life from the time you were left in a basket in the Nile river in Egypt, by your mother and sister and now just finishing close to four decades in the wilderness leading God’s people to the promised land. In the back of your mind is the fact that God earlier [Numbers 20:12] had warned you about the fact that you would not, due to disobedience, be allowed to actually take your people, God’s people, into the Promised Land yourself. You wished that wasn’t true and you hoped God would change His mind. But you also know from experience that God keeps His word. You won’t make it to Canaan.

And then God tells you what He told Moses in verses 12-14: “Go up the mountain of Abarim; take a good look at the Promised Land; and then you will die. And by the way, let me tell you again why you won’t be going there – because you rebelled against My command in front of My people.”

David Guzik suggests it would still be many months before Moses was actually taken up to the mountain referred here, but God wanted him to be able to prepare his heart for when the time came. The actual account of that takes place in the next book of the Old Testament, Deuteronomy, in chapter 34. However, Deuteronomy 3:23,24 come before that and there Moses did ask if God would change His mind and let him cross over to the Promised Land. And God refused.

Clearly, God does give all His servants this kind of notice, this kind of advance knowledge. We may wish He did – at least for us. But would that really be a good idea?  Could we handle it? Would we want to know much more like when, how, with whom, etc.? Maybe God knows that we wouldn’t be mature or spiritual enough to handle it like Moses did.

Moses had sinned against God and God’s word had to be fulfilled. Moses had to die. But God allowed him to see the promised land, not to torture him, but as a loving courtesy. I believe it grieved God just as much as it grieved Moses to prevent His faithful servant from getting over to the Promised Land. Finally, Matthew Henry notes that Moses had to die, but he was not being ‘cut off’. He was, in fact, being gathered “to his people, brings him to rest with the holy patriarchs that had gone before him. Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, were his people, the people of his choice and love, and to them death gathered him.”

Furthermore, Henry suggests that Moses had seen how easily and cheerfully Aaron had put off the priesthood first and then the body. Moses would have to do likewise and not be afraid of dying. It is a good thing to gathered to one’s people. And Henry says we can learn from this too:

·       [1.] As an engagement to us to think often of dying. We are not better than our fathers or brethren; if they are gone, we are going; if they are gathered already, we must be gathered very shortly.

·       [2.] As an encouragement to us to think of death without terror, and even to please ourselves with the thoughts of it. It is but to die as such and such died if we live as they lived; and their end was peace, they finished their course with joy; why then should we fear any evil in that melancholy valley?

And notice how Moses responded. No argument. But rather his continued care for God’s people, his people. He wanted God (not himself) to appoint another man over the whole congregation. He wanted the people to have a shepherd and not be like sheep without one. And God agreed. This whole idea of a shepherd is developed further in the Bible elsewhere and developed ultimately with respect to Jesus Christ, our shepherd. It is also developed in reference to the pastor-shepherd of a local church. The Greek word for pastor is indeed the word shepherd. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd and the pastors are under-shepherds.

There is an interesting phrase in verse 16. Moses calls God, “the God of the spirits of all flesh”. Chuck Smith says this is where the Mormons get the idea or the doctrine of the ‘eternal spirit of men’. That is, you and I actually existed in heaven, but we had to be tested on earth, so God made a body for our spirit to cohabit while here. If you pass you can become a ‘god’. For more on this, let me refer you reluctantly to Mormon Cosmology. Sad, and yet another reason why The Church of Latter-Day Saints is not part of the true Christian Protestant movement.

So, what does this phrase really mean? Most commentators were silent on the matter. But I did find one, Robert Jamieson, who had something meaningful to say when he wrote:

“The request was most suitably made to God in this character, as the Author of all the intellectual gifts and moral graces [the spirits of all flesh] with which men are endowed, and who can raise up qualified persons for the most arduous duties and the most difficult situations.”

I like that.

God asked Moses to lay his hand on Joshua, the son of Nun, and have him stand before the high priest, Eleazar, and commission him in front of everyone.

In verse 20, God says to Moses that he put “some of” his authority on Joshua.

In verse 21, we read that Eleazar would, on Joshua’s behalf, enquire the judgment of the Urim before the Lord, so that the Israelites will obey him in their comings and goings. And all this happened as God requested.

Smith provides this insight into the Urim:

Now the Urim was a little thing that the priest wore, a little pouch of some kind, that they sought counsel from God through the use of the Urim and the Thummim. Lights and perfections is [sic] what the words Urim and Thummim mean. And some believe that they were just a little pouch and one had a white stone and a black stone and that when they would ask the Lord a question the priest would say, "Now God, show us which one" and he would pull out a stone. If it was the white stone, God would say yes, then they would ask the next question. And you know, they'd mix up the stones and you'd pull a stone again and they would get yes-no answers. So it's sort of a twenty-one question kind of a thing where you get yes-no answers to then ascertain the will of the Lord. Now, God had a more direct relationship with Moses. God said, "Hey, there's no one like this before after where I really speak to the fellow sort of face to face," I mean direct speaking, a very powerful way.

But even Smith agrees that we really do not know what these things were exactly. We do know that whereas Moses went to God, the new leader would enquire of God through the High Priest.

This passage should make the Christian:

1.     Think about those who have died before us (including the great company of witnesses that Paul talks about in the 12^th chapter of Hebrews); and looking forward to seeing them.

2.     Not being afraid to die especially if we are right with God.

3.     Attempt to have set up our affairs on earth in such a way that God will have helped us appoint a replacement for our responsibilities.

4.     Do his or her best to leave a legacy behind that will be a role model for others.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.