Numbers 27:12-23

The Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range, and see the land that I have given to the Israelites.¹ When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was,because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin² when the congregation quarrelled with me. You did not show my holiness before their eyes at the waters.”³ (These are the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh,⁴ appoint someone over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd.”⁵

So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit,⁶ and lay your hand upon him; have him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. You shall give him some of your authority,⁷ so that all the congregation of the Israelites may obey. But he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the decision of the Urim⁸ before the Lord; at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the Israelites with him, the whole congregation.”

So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.⁹ He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation; he laid his hands on him and commissioned him—as the Lord had directed through Moses.¹⁰

1 Moses at least gets to see the promised land.

2 Still unclear how Moses rebelled.

3 What would showing God's holiness have looked like?

4 “The God of the spirits of all flesh” is an interesting form.

5 Funny that Moses is the one telling God not to let the people be sheep without a shepherd.

6 Joshua is “in the spirit”, otherwise no word is given on his qualifications for the role.

7 Only “some” of his authority?

8 “Urim” were unmentioned until now. My Study Bible says they were a set of stones used by priests to determine the will of God.

9 Moses is obedient.

10 Again, Moses's obedience is emphasized, despite his previous disobedience being mentioned in the same passage.


Take-home: Moses cannot enter the Promised Land due to his sin, but ensures that the people will still have a shepherd to lead them.