Love Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom, and welcome to V'ahavta Yisrael, a Hebrew phrase which means "you shall love Israel." We hope you'll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher, Dr. Baruch, shares his expository teaching from the Bible. Dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zera Abraham Institute based in Israel.

Although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the institute, Dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English. To find out more about our work in Israel, please visit us on the web at loveisrael.org. That's one word, loveisrael.org. Now, here's Baruch with today's lesson.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Amen. We are going to be looking at a transition. The reason I say a transition is because in the second part of our chapter—and we're going to be tonight in Numbers chapter 27—we're going to see a transition away from Moshe Rabbeinu, meaning Moses our Great One, to a different one, and that is Yehoshua ben Nun, which is Joshua the son of Nun.

We're going to see this transition. In the first half of our chapter, we're going to see another biblical principle. There is a man who has died in the wilderness. We'll talk about that significant statement in a moment. What I want you to see is this: this man had no sons. Therefore, his daughters came forth before Moses to ask if they could receive the inheritance. God is going to say yes. We'll see that undeniably.

Let's begin. I would invite you to take out your Bible. Look with me to the book of Numbers, chapter 27. We are now ready for verse 1, where it says the daughters of Zelophehad. Notice the name of this one who has died is Zelophehad. He is the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph.

We see that they are from the tribe of Joseph. Joseph was a man who suffered greatly, but God was always with him. In the midst of these difficult things that Joseph went through, God never left him or forsook him. At the end of verse 1, it says, "These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah." This man had these five daughters.

Look at verse 2. "And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders." This word would be "presidents," but it refers to those who are lifted up above the people. It says, "and all the congregation," but if we look at it, it's from the word "witness," so "and all the witnesses." They were at the door of the tent of meeting, saying—verse 3—"Our father has died in the wilderness."

I want to stop there for a moment because I believe that is a very significant statement. If you do a study of this Hebrew word for "wilderness," midbar, it can also be translated as a desert. It is a barren place where there is no provision. It is very significant that God brought His people into the wilderness for those 40 years.

In the book of Numbers, Israel struggled with faith. They did not believe the word of God. Therefore, God brought them into the wilderness for 40 years. The number 40 represents a transition or a change. He wanted them to spend these 40 years in the wilderness so that they would be changed and they would know how to trust God, believe in Him, and depend upon Him.

Look again at verse 3. "Our father died in the wilderness." I believe that's saying he died trusting in the Lord. "He was not in the midst of the congregation," this "present congregation"—it's a word for "witness" again—"that congregated against the Lord in the witness or testimony of Korah when he sinned and died, and daughters were not to him."

Therefore, they want to know if they are able to inherit from their father. Verse 4 says, "Why should the name of our father be reduced from the midst of his family because there is not to him a son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our fathers." There are relatives, but they want to know if they can receive the inheritance. Let's see what the answer is in verse 5.

"And Moses brought near their case, their judgment." He was bringing their request before the Lord for judgment, and that judgment comes from God. Verse 6 continues as the Lord said to Moses, saying in verse 7, "Thus the daughters of Zelophehad are speaking." This is a statement that they're making a request.

"You shall utterly give to them a possession of the inheritance in the midst of their father's brothers, and you shall cause to pass the inheritance of their father to them." "To them" is in the feminine, so we know it refers to these daughters. Verse 8 says, "And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying..." We find that what is being decided now is not unique for this family alone, but this is going to be a law among the children of Israel.

"If a man that will die, and there is no son to him, you shall cause to pass his inheritance to his daughter. And if there is not to him a daughter, you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. And if there is not to him brothers, you shall give his inheritance to the brothers of his father. And if there is not brothers to his father, you shall give his inheritance to the remaining ones of his close relatives from his family."

We see the inheritance always stays within the family, but there is an order being taught. If there are no sons, it goes to the daughters. It's here in the singular, but it would also imply, as in this case, all the daughters. If there is no daughter, it goes to the brothers. If there are no brothers, then to the brothers of the father, and then to other relatives of that family.

At the end of verse 11, it says, "And he shall inherit it," meaning this inheritance, "and it shall be to the children of Israel for a statue of judgment, just as the Lord commanded Moses." This is a final ruling from God. This is unique because in many other cultures in that part of the world, a woman could not inherit.

This goes along with something true in the scripture: God sees equality. Both before God, men and women have equal value. But we need to see that they have different roles and different callings. They are equal in value and God will use both for His purposes, but it is subjected to the roles that we find in the scripture.

We must understand what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. Certain things are inappropriate for men if they're not a priest, a Levite, or a king. Other things are inappropriate for women, and we see a list of those things within the new covenant regarding what is acceptable and what is not.

Let's press on to this second point: this transition away from Moses and into the leadership of Joshua. Verse 12 says, "And the Lord said to Moses, go up to the mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I am giving to the children of Israel." Again, this is referring to an inheritance. The first part was about daughters inheriting; now we see an inheritance of the land.

Why is that important? Even though there is going to be a transition away from Moses to Joshua, nothing has changed. God is still going to give the land of this inheritance to the children of Israel. There is a new leader, but the same people are going to receive the land. Verse 13 says, "And you will see it, and you will be gathered unto your people, also you, just as Aaron was gathered to your brethren."

God is revealing to Moses that it is time for him to die, and therefore he needs to appoint a new leader for the children of Israel. In verse 14, God goes back to a low time in the life of Moses when Moses and Aaron rebelled against God. "Just as your rebellion against the mouth of My mouth in the wilderness of Zin in this rebellion of the congregation when you did not sanctify Me at the waters before their eyes."

The children of Israel were all assembled. God commanded Moses that he should always sanctify the name of the Lord because God is the one who is providing, not Moses. Moses and Aaron failed to sanctify the name of God, and now there is a consequence for that because they did not glorify God.

"These are the waters of this contention at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin." Verse 15 says, "And Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 'The Lord will...'" Then we have a word for perhaps appointing or commanding. It's a word for making a decision. "The Lord has decided, the Lord God of spirits to all flesh, a man concerning His witness."

Verse 17 says, "which went out before them when he came before them and when he brought them out and when he brought them back." This is an idiom in Hebrew: bringing people out and bringing them back. Normally, that's within a context of war. It speaks about a new military leader instead of Moses.

It's going to be Joshua the son of Nun. He's going to be the one who leads the people out for battle, and he's also going to bring them back. Bringing them back speaks of victory. He is going to be a successful leader. Verse 17 says "that there should not be a witness of the Lord that is like a flock which there is not to them a shepherd."

Moses is being told that God is not going to leave the people without a shepherd. But since Moses is going to soon die, there is a reason for a new leader to be appointed. This leader will be similar to Moses. Just like Moses led the people out and brought them back victoriously, so too will this new leader do the same.

God is promising that although there is a transition to a new leader, the results are going to be the same. God is going to provide victory for the children of Israel. The key word here that repeats over and over is "testimony" or "witness," edah. All of this has to do with pointing to the faithfulness of God.

Look with me to verse 18. "And the Lord said to Moses, you take Joshua the son of Nun, a man whom a spirit is in him." That means a unique spirit, specifically the spirit of God. Joshua was a man of God who was led by the spirit. Verse 18 continues, "And lay your hand upon him." This laying of the hand shows a transition. It shows that the authority that was on Moses is now going to be placed upon Joshua.

Verse 19 says, "And you shall stand him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation, and you shall command him before their eyes." You need to bear testimony that this is God's choice for your successor, the one who is going to lead the children of Israel out and bring them back. This bringing them back is always associated with victory.

Verse 20 says, "And you shall set from your hod." This Hebrew word has to do with honor or glory. Some Bibles will translate it as "authority," but it is not the word for authority. It speaks about something that points to how the people revered Moses and how they trusted in him.

Moses is told to take some of this glory and honor that the people have for him and place it upon Joshua. Verse 20 says, "on account that all the congregation that they should hear." Some will say "obey," but it's simply the word "to hear." The reason for this is very simple: if there is a leader of God and he is speaking the word of God, then we should hear that and implement that into our life.

It's not the word for obedience; it's the word for hearing. The implication is that if we hear God's word, we're going to want to do God's word. "You shall set from your glory upon him on account that all the witness of the children of Israel will hear." Verse 21 says, "And before Eleazar the priest he shall stand and inquire for him in the judgment of the Urim before the Lord."

This one is going to stand before Eleazar the priest, and what comes forth from the mouth of God is going to be the basis for how he is to lead the people out and how he's going to bring them back victorious. We should not ignore something so vital for the joy of the Lord. Everything that this new leader is going to do will be based upon what comes forth from the word of God.

That is what we can expect to experience when we submit to the word of God. You need to ask yourself if you are truly submitting to the word of God. If you're not, and you're trusting in your own perspective, you should realize that is a formula for failure. It is only when you are humble enough to agree with God that you will experience a direction of victory.

Let's move on to verse 22. What is going to be emphasized is how Moses obeyed. He didn't always do so, as we saw at a place called Kadesh. He did not sanctify the name of God, but he's learning. Verse 22 says, "And Moses did just as," a very important term, ka-asher, "just as the Lord commanded him. And he took Joshua, and he stood him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation."

He did exactly what God told him to do. "And he laid his hands upon him and commanded him just as the Lord spoke through the hand of Moses." All of this is being done and it's very important that we see how the scripture is referring to this event. God spoke to Moses, and Moses heard the word of God and carried it out. This brought about a successful transition.

This is what we should be doing. We should always be listening to God for His instructions so that there is a successful transition. At different times for different reasons, we find that one person is going to get old or die, and there has to be a replacement. That replacement needs to be someone who is equally committed to the word of God.

If we're going to experience success, be found faithful, and be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, then we need to be committed to the word of God. That is the only thing that is going to bring joy into our life. If you want to know the power of God in your life, recognize His absolute authority. The name of God, Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey, speaks about a God who is all-transcendent. He is without limitation and has no equal.

There's an expression and a song, "Mi Kamocha," which means "who is like the Lord?" The answer is no one. He is unique. He is omnipotent, He is omniscient, and He is omnipresent. We don't escape God; therefore, we should submit to God. The way that we submit to God is by implementing this book into our life.

Don't lean upon your own understanding or look to yourself. It doesn't matter how you see it; what matters is what the word of God says. It's only when you revere the word of God and honor His word by doing it that you'll find a transition in your life. Remember the expression we learned: "He died in the wilderness."

The wilderness is a place whereby we learn something. There's no provision there, so we have to trust God. It's only when we are demonstrating trust in God that He is going to begin to work in our life and reposition us where He wants us to be. When we are doing the will of God, we are going to have access to God's provision, God's presence, God's power, and God's perspective.

To live a fruitful life and do what God has commanded you to do, you must operate in this world with discernment. Discernment is not natural; it is supernatural. It is something that God provides to those who are committed to serve Him. To the degree that you're willing to place yourself under God's absolute authority, you will also benefit from discernment.

The more rebellious you are, the least likely it is that you'll receive discernment. When you want to carry out your own desires, God is not going to give you discernment. That means you are going to be deceived. That is where a lot of believers are today. Are they saved? Yes, they are, because of faith in the cross. We are His people through this new covenant relationship.

But if we want to experience discernment and have God's provision, it's only when we humble ourselves and recognize God's absolute authority over us. Then God begins to move mightily in our life. God is not weak. Any opposition can be solved by Him, but He's looking to see if we are committed to His word and submissive to His authority.

If you're not committed to recognizing and demonstrating His authority over your life, I have a huge question about whether you have been saved. If you don't understand that with God all things are possible, I really question whether you have been saved. Someone who knows God recognizes that He is the authority. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Therefore, we are called to submit.

Someone who has known God understands that every good and perfect gift comes from Him. He wants to bless us. When we are struggling with obedience, it is often because we are doubting. When we doubt God, we will be unstable in all of our ways. This is not what a child of God who has been born again should be like.

What's for us is an anointing from the Holy Spirit so that we can hear the commandments of God and have the desire to implement His word into our life. When we do that, things begin to change. We begin to know His faithfulness and power and see things from His vantage point. God is a God of truth.

When we see things from a position of truth, we know the victory is ours because of what Messiah has done on the cross. We know that there is going to be an eternal inheritance. The daughters of Zelophehad inherited things of this world, but what interests me is the inheritance of the kingdom of God.

The things in this world are temporary, but the things of the kingdom are eternal. They never wear out. This is what we need to do. As Paul mentions, set your mind on the things upward, not the things in this world. When we do that, God will give us a different perspective. We'll have discernment and we will behave noticeably different. We will have that witness that is pleasing to God. I'll close with that. Until next time, Shalom from Israel.

Guest (Male): Well, we hope you will benefit from today's message and share it with others. Please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of Love Israel. To find out more about us, please visit our website, loveisrael.org.

Again, to find out more about us, please visit our website, loveisrael.org. There you will find articles and numerous other lectures by Baruch. These teachings are in video form. You may download them or watch them in streaming video. Until next week, may the Lord bless you in our Messiah Yeshua, that is Jesus, as you walk with Him. Shalom from Israel.