Numbers 27-29

Numbers 27-29

One purpose of the census of Numbers 26 was to figure out who would possess each portion of the Promised Land. Based on the numbers that they gathered, Moses and Joshua would be able to determine how much land to give to each tribe of Israel, and how much to give to each clan within those tribes. Numbers 27 deals with a special case, with a group of women who had not been counted in the census. The census was a count of all the men in Israel, not women and children. So this group of sisters found themselves not represented since their father had died in the wilderness. They asked Moses what could be done to ensure that they had their father’s inheritance, since they had no brothers. So God gave Moses a new command that dealt with a person’s inheritance. He outlined a series of steps that they were to take in the case that a man had no son to which he would give his inheritance.

After this episode, God told Moses that he was going to be allowed to see the land, but that he would never get to enter into it. God was going to allow Moses to go up on the top of a mountain that overlooked the Promised Land, but because of his sin, he too would die before Israel entered the land. So Moses asked God about a successor. He knew that the people of Israel needed someone who could lead them, a man who followed God’s commands. God picked out Joshua from among the people of Israel and told Moses to commission him in front of the Israelites so that they would know that he had been chosen by God. He would then work alongside Eleazar when Israel entered the land.

Think of how far Joshua had come at this point. He had once been an ordinary man who happened to live in “Israel.” He grew up hearing the stories of what God had done in Egypt. He knew who God was and did not question His authority. In today’s terms, he would have been “raised in a Christian home.” He was then chosen to join the spies that would scout out the Promised Land. Out of that group, he was only one of two who came back with a good report, trusting that God would indeed enable them to take back the land. Then, when the people rebelled immediately after the spies came back, he did not join in their rebellion. He stood by his beliefs and continued to trust that God would keep that promise. Now, God has chosen to use him to lead Israel into that land. Joshua was just an ordinary man, but he placed his faith in God, and as a result, God was able to use him in mighty ways. It did not mean that his life was always easy, for like Moses, people hated him because of what he said and stood for. But Joshua continued to follow God.

Although Joshua was promised this leadership role, Moses was still in charge for a time. There were still some laws that God needed to give Israel, and He had chosen to give them through Moses. Leviticus was all about the different laws, and it began by describing the different types of offerings that were to be made. Now, in Numbers 28-29, God outlines a series of required offerings. There were two types of offerings in Israel, freewill offerings, and this list of required offerings. The freewill offerings were given whenever they needed to be given. For instance, there were certain offerings used to give praise or to ask for forgiveness. The offerings listed in these two chapters were primarily used at the times of the various feasts. They aided in worship, helping the Israelites in giving thanks to God for all He had provided them. Although we do not make sacrifices as the Israelites did, we still give to God. Like Israel, there is a sense in which we should give so much back to God, what we call the tithe. But our giving should not end with just what think is “expected” of us. We should give above and beyond the tithe, freely (freewill offerings). When we have the ability to give more, and living in America, we all really do, we need to consider giving more than our tithe. If God has blessed us with much, then we ought to help those in need. In fact, we see all throughout the Bible how God commands His children to take care of the poor.

Matt