Bible 365 - February 18th (print-friendly version)

Numbers 27-29
(Passing the Torch)
February 18th

Produced by The Listening for God Ministry
Copyright 2016

Please refer to one or more Bible versions of your choice to read this section. We recommend that you read at least two versions for added understanding. For your convenience, we have provided six links below, each of which takes you directly to today's chapters in a specific version:

Bible Gateway
Numbers 27-29 (King James Version - KJV)
Numbers 27-29 (New Revised Standard Version - NRSV)
Numbers 27-29 (New International Version - NIV)
Numbers 27-29 (The Message - MSG)

US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Numbers 27 (New American Bible - NAB) (click next chapter for chapters 28-29)

British Bible Society
Numbers 27 (Good News Bible - GNB) (click next for chapters 28-29)

Key Verses

"Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

- Numbers 27:8-11 (NIV)

Summary of Chapters

This set of chapters represents a generational transition in progress. The Israelites had been in the desert for almost 40 years following their divine exodus from Egypt. Of the two million Israelites who had escaped from Egypt, only three of those who had been over the age of 20 at the time of the exodus remained: Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. All the others had passed away, but the next generation had become of age and were ready for the transfer of responsibilities and material possessions. In this context, God provides additional examples for applying one of his rules regarding inheritance, selects a replacement for Moses, and reviews the required offerings and celebrations so that the next generation will uphold them.

We learn in chapter 27 about the five daughters of Zelophehad that came before Moses, Eleazar and the other leaders in order to present an inheritance problem. They wanted to claim the assets of their recently deceased father, who had been a respectable citizen (not part of Korah’s gang). However, there were no explicit laws about daughters inheriting family possessions – only sons. Moses consulted with God and the daughters were vindicated. God added more specific examples to aid the decision-makers in future cases.

These explicit rules would be helpful to the next generation of leaders. Eleazar had already replaced Aaron as high priest and now Moses learns that his time on earth is ending. The LORD appoints Joshua and instructs Moses to begin sharing his responsibilities.

God said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun—the Spirit is in him!— and place your hand on him. Stand him before Eleazar the priest in front of the entire congregation and commission him with everyone watching. Pass your magisterial authority over to him so that the whole congregation of the People of Israel will listen obediently to him. He is to consult with Eleazar the priest who, using the oracle-Urim, will prayerfully advise him in the presence of God. He will command the People of Israel, the entire community, in all their comings and goings."

- Numbers 27:18-21 (MSG)

In chapters 28-29, God provides additional instructions for offerings and reviews the proper ways to celebrate the Sabbath and each festival. The festival descriptions are a re-statement from Leviticus 23.

Reflection and Application

It was interesting to observe that Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah had figured out the correct interpretation of the law of inheritance, but the wise men had to ask God to explain it to them. Maybe these daughters of Zelophehad had already consulted with God, or maybe they had good minds for the law and figured it out on their own. In either case, there is nothing wrong with seeking God’s advice in situations where we don’t know the answer. In fact, this is a very good practice. He is available 24/7/365. All of his consulting services are pro-bono. Oh, and he is also the creator of the universe and the creator of all wisdom. Why not run it past him and see what he says?

It was also a good practice for Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah to stand up for their rights, but to do it in a respectful way. They took their case to the leaders and received a just decision without any conflict. God has provided us with a foundation of laws so that we can work out potential conflicts in a fair and just way.

Sometimes it seems like the stories of the Bible are very male-oriented, for example, the census procedure that only includes men. However, the truth is that God cares for sons AND daughters, as shown in this chapter. We will also be reading many instances of women who played important roles in Biblical accounts. For instance, who was the first person to see Jesus after he had risen from the grave, a man or a woman?

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

- John 20:11-18 (NRSV)

The instructions in todays chapters from the book of Numbers call for daily sacrifice, Sabbath observation, and festival celebrations. These instructions are good reminders to us that it’s important to stop the working parts of our lives to commune with God. Many of us get so busy in our lives that we begin losing sight of God. Therefore it's important to have a daily sacrifice or devotional to reconnect with our Creator. The Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) reminds of the importance of taking time each day to practice silent waiting for God:

None of us is so rushed that it would be impossible to allow for even ten minutes in the day, in the morning or the evening, in which arrangements could be made for silence, in order to place oneself in the presence of Eternity, allow it to speak, question it, and thereby look deep within and far beyond oneself. One might have a few verses of the Bible to read, but it is best to freely allow the soul to take its own way to the Father's house, to the homeland in which it finds peace. Whoever earnestly works at this day by day will be overwhelmed by the golden harvest of the fruit of those times (1).

- Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It’s valuable to receive reminders of the importance of taking time to be with God. We have many reminders in the Bible and in the writings of spiritual leaders from past and present. We also sometimes receive reminders from unexpected sources, like a poster on a sidewalk or a sign on the highway. For example, have you ever seen a highway billboard with white writing on a plain black background that has messages from God? For example, one says:

Let's meet at my house
Sunday before the game.

- God

An anonymous person or organization created this series of Public Service Announcements with terse messages from God and paid to have them posted throughout the country. I have seen them on interstate 95 in Connecticut and heard of their existence in other places. I recently received an email that reported an observance in Dallas, Texas, and received a link to a web page that displays all the variations of this billboard, which collectively represent God's loving and disciplinary nature. You can see this web page by clicking the following title: God's Billboard

Questions and Prayers for Further Reflection