Lange Commentary - Numbers 27:12 - 27:23

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Lange Commentary - Numbers 27:12 - 27:23


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FIFTH SECTION

The Consecration of Joshua introduced by the announcement of the death of Moses, with reference also to the speedy entrance of Israel into Canaan

Num_27:12-23

12And the Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. 13And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. 14For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.

15, 16And Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.

18And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 19And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. 22And Moses did as the Lord commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: 23And he laid his hands upon him and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

[Num_27:20. Hearken, without the object. See Exo_7:16; Isa_1:19. The object is easily supplied from the context.—A. G.].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Deuteronomy 31-34 completes this section. It is clear from the whole context, that we are not dealing here with two successive sections, but with one having two closely related divisions; and that the first, of which here, the command of Jehovah to Moses to ascend Mount Nebo before his end, the fulfilment of which is not related here, serves as an introduction to the consecration of Joshua as the successor of Moses (in his position as leader of the hosts, though not in his prophetic office), and indeed with express reference to the approaching entrance into Canaan. [The command stands here probably in its natural and chronological order. It follows naturally upon the regulations as to the inheritance of the land. It was given to bring to the mind of Moses, afresh, what he had known before, that he was not to lead the people into that land, that his career was near its close, and to stimulate him to do all that he could, while he was still living, to provide for the welfare of his people in the future. The first and most essential thing was the choice and consecration of his successor.—A. G.].

Num_27:12-14. Moses is commanded to ascend Mount Nebo, in order to finish his work with the view of Canaan before his death. Here again he is reminded of his sin in the wilderness of Zin, in which also Aaron shared. The workings of passion, which in its inward violence and agitation may have, to some extent, shortened his life, seem to have been concentrated in that passionate act. The command here is left somewhat indefinite. Get thee up into this mountain Abarim. Subsequently it becomes more definite. Abarim becomes Pisgah, and Pisgah Nebo. Comp. Com., chap. 34, the Bible Lexicons, and Num_20:12. [The double ëַּàֲùֶׁø is not causal, but comparative, indicating that as he had sinned with Aaron he must die also, with only the sight of the promised land; or that as they had sinned, they must bear the penalty of that transgression. Hirsch draws the distinction between the occurrence at Rephidim and at Kadesh, not only that the one was at the beginning and the other at the close of their wanderings, but that at Rephidim the water was to flow upon the blows with the rod of Moses, while at Kadesh it was the word of Moses which was to open the fountain. When Moses used the rod he did not sanctify Jehovah. He failed to recognize the efficacy of the word, and that they were now at the transition point, passing from the immediate supernatural divine support and security, into the ordinary, natural method of life. In His view Moses and Aaron had reached the end of their course; they had led the people through this more exclusively miraculous period, and there removal therefore while it was as a punishment for their sin, was natural and necessary also, their specific work being finished.—A. G.].

Num_27:15-23. A preliminary account of the consecration of Joshua. Although Moses had for a long time previously been familiar with the thought that Joshua, already for nearly forty years his military captain, would at one time replace him in that capacity as his successor, he did not venture with his human estimation and choice, to anticipate the divine decision. It was, too, in full accordance with his noble self-forgetful disposition, to ask for the appointment of his successor.

Num_27:16. Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh set a man over the congregation.—All flesh has the same likeness, but the spirits of all flesh are endlessly different. God alone knows and tries the spirits, and therefore He alone selects the right persons. In such an emergency, too, His decision alone is satisfactory. Comp. Num_16:22. The destined man must be the shepherd or the leader, the prince or captain of the people, since the people must not be without a shepherd.

[Num_27:17. Go in and out as descriptive of the private life, while to lead out and lead in designates his public official walk; one who in his private personal, and in his official life, should be an example to the people, and so be fitted to direct and influence them in their private and public obligations.—A. G.].

Num_27:18. Upon this Jehovah designates Joshua the son of Nun as the man whom He has chosen. For in him is the Spirit.—Spirit: Knobel, “Insight and wisdom.” Keil: “The higher power breathed into his soul by God, which quickens and shapes his moral and religious life,” and here “the spiritual qualifications necessary for the office which was to be entrusted to him.” The Spirit however is a developed fulness of life, here with reference to his particular calling as a leader of the host.

Moses, however, must consecrate him before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, by the imposition of his hands (transferring his official dignity) and give him a charge, the instructions which were connected with this ordination service. [The spiritual gifts which he possessed did not dispense with the necessity for the external consecration, nor would this consecration have been of any avail without the gifts.—A. G.].

Num_27:20. And thou shalt put some of thine honor ( äåֹø ) upon him. Moses could confer upon him his princely or his judicial office, but not the prophetic calling; for that calling Jehovah reserves to Himself, and it could not be made an official institution. Elijah could initiate Elisha into the prophetic order and school, but he could not make him a prophet. Eleazar was not a prophet, although as high-priest he administered Urim and Thummim, the substitute for prophetic decisions. [The eminence and authority of Moses were not to be fully transferred to Joshua, but in part. He became vice-leader. Bible Com.: The transference of this honor to Joshua is not parallel to the communication of the spirit which rested upon Moses to the seventy elders, Num_11:17; Num_11:25; for though Moses in elevating Joshua to his new office, did not part with any of his own spiritual gifts, he yet necessarily shared henceforward with another that power which hitherto he had exercised alone.—A. G.].

Num_27:21-22. By these decisions Joshua must direct his steps when he needed divine direction. The oracle is here designated merely by the Urim, because in the administration of men so consecrated it was pre-eminently Urim, the true source of light. [Moses had direct access to God, Joshua must use the means instituted to meet such cases of doubt or perplexity—the High-priest and the Urim.—A. G.].

Num_27:23. The consecration of Joshua was carried out in accordance with the prescribed regulations, as it is more fully related in Deut. Keil: “All the congregation denotes the whole body of heads of the people, or the college of elders, representing the congregation and conducting its affairs.” But beyond doubt the commander would be presented to his whole army at his installation, and it is expressly said in Deu_31:7, before the eyes of all Israel.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

[It is not keenness of insight, or large culture or wide experience in affairs, but the gifts of the Spirit which qualify men for high official duties. Endowments, native or acquired, are not dispensed with, but neither are they sufficient. The crowning qualification is the Spirit, given by Him in whom the Spirit dwelleth without measure.]

HOMILETICAL HINTS

Wordsworth finds a typical meaning in the narrative. Moses the law, and Joshua Christ. The law brings men to the border of the promised blessing, Christ gives them actual possession, etc. God will not leave His people without a shepherd.

The ascent upon the mountain Abarim. From a mountain, the servants of God take their departure from the earth, although for the most part in a spiritual sense: Jacob, Gen_45:27. Aaron upon Mount Hor, Moses upon Nebo, Joshua at Shechem, Elijah, Christ from the mount of Olives. Moses a type also in the arrangement for his departure. Jehovah as the God of the spirits of all flesh. Behind the uniformity of the flesh and outward appearance, there lies concealed an endless variety of individual spirits which Jehovah alone can estimate according to their true worth and destination. The spirits of men, their spiritual characteristic features, are veiled by the external manifestation. Still they will be brought to the light, a. by the Spirit; b. by the age; c. in the last day or by the judgment. The consecration of Joshua and the determination of his calling. [Henry: God tells Moses of his faults, although a faithful, honorable and favored servant. He must hear of his faults and others likewise. God will show His displeasure against sin, even when in those who are nearest and dearest to Him.” The mitigation in the death of Moses. 1. He leaves his people provided for. 2. He has the sight of the promised land. 3. His death is being gathered to his people.—A. G.].