Numbers 27:1-23 NKJV
27 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad 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; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord.
6 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
12 Now the Lord said to Moses: “Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 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.” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”
18 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; 19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. 20 And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 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.”
22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
One of the most important benefits God had promised to the Israelites was the possession of land in the Promised Land. Each tribe, and each family within each tribe, was to receive an inheritance that would belong to each family and be passed down from generation to generation, from father to son, since the man was the divinely established head of every household.
But what if a father had only daughters? The Lord answered that question for Moses and the Israelites in the first part of today’s reading. The daughters were next in line to inherit from their father if there were no sons, so that the family’s property remained with the family. Women were not the leaders in Israelite society, but neither were they outcasts. They were included among the heirs of the Promised Land, together with the men. So it is also in Christ’s kingdom, where “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
In the second part of the reading, we see Moses pleading for the people once again. Even though Moses would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land, he does not complain to the Lord about it. Instead, he pleads for a capable leader to replace him, “that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” So the LORD appointed Joshua to be that shepherd. He gave Joshua authority over the people and demanded their obedience to him. He also promised to give His word to Joshua by means of the Urim and Thummim that were in the breastplate worn by the high priest.
Jesus (whose name is Joshua in Hebrew) once lamented that, by His day, the people of Israel were indeed “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). So the Father appointed Jesus to be our true Shepherd, to conquer our enemies for us, and to lead us safely into our promised inheritance. Jesus alone conquered sin, death, and devil for us through His death and resurrection. And He still guides us to heaven, not through a single earthly leader, but through all the faithful pastors whom He places among us to shepherd us through this wilderness below. Let us pray: Father in heaven, we thank You for our Good Shepherd, and for all the shepherds who serve faithfully under Him. Use them to guide us safely to our heavenly home. Amen.