Numbers 27:18-21

¹⁸ And 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;

¹⁹ And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.

²⁰ And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.

²¹ And 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.

Explanation:

God told Moses how to set up the next leaders for success.  He told him to take his replacement, Joshua the Son of Nun, and do three things with him.

First, he was told to lay his hand on him.  Laying a hand on him could signify a blessing, or a dedication to an office.  There is a sense in doing this in the transfer of authority.

Second, he was to set, or present, Joshua to Eleazar the priest.  He was to do this in front of the people as well.  Joshua was to replace Moses, and Eleazar had replaced Aaron.  Their leadership was to be shared.

Third, he was to charge Joshua.  To charge meant to commission or command.  He gives only some of his honor to him at this time.  Now in matters of decision, Joshua was to go to Eleazar to inquire of the Lord.  Eleazar would use the Urim, part of the priestly garb, to know what to do.

Application:

God takes leadership seriously.  When it was time to choose a new leader, he wanted Moses, Joshua, Eleazar, and the people to know what His choice.  He wanted everyone to believe that He was involved throughout the whole process, and that He would be with them in the future through these leaders.

Joshua was ready to be leader because he had been faithful in his responsibilities already.  We should take leadership seriously like God does.  That means we should be faithful in the tasks and roles that we are given, and we should seek for God to be involved in our leadership at every level.  We should be faithful currently, and look for faithful capable people to commission to lead as well.

Response:

• Always be looking to train and equip others.
• Seek God’s direction in the execution and delegation of responsibilities.