And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him; all the congregation.” So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses. (vv.18-23)
Here in chapter 27 God tells Moses to, “Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (vv.12-14)
Moses was first told he would die before coming to the Promised Land in Numbers 20. It was still many months until Moses would climb to the top of the mountain, able to see the Promised Land but not able enter it and die there (Deuteronomy 34). Yet God told him of it here, so as to prepare his heart for the right time.
After hearing of his coming fate, Moses does not try to talk God out of it or complain – his only concern seems to be for the congregation, for the people, not for himself. That they would have someone to lead them out and bring them in, that is, to give guidance and direction for the sheep to follow. (Jesus was also moved with compassion when He saw the people as sheep without a shepherd: Mark 6:34). Moses is modeling the nature of Jesus here by his concern for God's people.
God then tells Moses to, "Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him: Up to this point, Joshua was mostly known by his servant-like association with Moses (Exodus 24:13). That time as Moses’ humble servant prepared him to take the leadership he was now called to. This public presentation and laying of hands on Joshua was important. It let the whole nation know that Joshua was now the leader and the nation should expect to follow him. And so we see the new generation taking over. Joshua and Eleazar are now to work together (vv.21-22), as did Moses and Aaron.
Replacing a spiritual leader, teacher, pastor and shepherd is never easy. And, it is usually not the most obvious person that God has in mind for the job. King Saul seemed the obvious choice to be a great leader yet it was David, a shepherd boy, the runt of the litter, that became the man after God's own heart. So when replacing someone in leadership always pray for God's wisdom and give Him the chance to save you from the tragic consequences of a bad decision.
The Truth: "For the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
