Numbers 27
The Lord Predicts Moses' Death and the Entry into Canaan (Numbers 27:12-23)
Verses 12-13 (NIV): "The LORD said to Moses, 'Go up this mountain of the Abarim and see the land I have given the Israelites.
After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered.'"
God counted each army for the conquest of Canaan among the second generation of the Exodus in preparation for the conquest of Canaan.
After completing the census for each tribe, preparations for the conquest of Canaan are underway, along with the reorganization of the military.
In the midst of this, the text presents a question and answer regarding whether the five daughters of Zelophehad, who died without a son,
could receive the land allocated to their father, and it records the appointment of Joshua as Moses’ successor.
1. The faith and courage of Zelophehad’s five daughters
1) The five daughters asked that they receive the inheritance their father would have taken.
2) They came forward in the conviction that God had already given the land of Canaan as an inheritance.
3) Their action shows deep trust in God's justice.
4) They made a legitimate, rightful request: "Give us an inheritance also."
2. Moses presents their request to the LORD
1) Verse 5 records, "Moses brought their case before the LORD."
2) Moses sought God's will and waited for God's judgment.
3) The LORD clearly ruled that the claim of Zelophehad’s daughters was right.
4) God acknowledged and affirmed their legitimate rights.
3. Moses is told he will not enter Canaan
1) God declared that Moses must complete his mission and then return to his people.
2) God commanded Moses to go up Mount Abarim and view the land of Canaan.
3) How must Moses have felt as he looked upon the promised land from Abarim?
4) Moses surely longed to set foot on the land of promise with his own two feet.
Conclusion: Why Moses was barred from entering Canaan
1) For the reason given in verse 14, Moses could not enter the land.
2) God treated Moses' act of weak unbelief as a serious offense.
3) Today we are raised as a royal priesthood and God's plenipotentiary representatives.
4) God held Moses strictly accountable for his failure.
Hearing this Word from God, Moses might have despaired, yet he offered no complaint or resentment. Moses' concern was for the people of
Israel who would remain after his death. So, although his role was ending, he asked God to choose a leader to replace him for the sake of
the Israelites who had not yet entered Canaan. Moses was a leader who put the welfare of the Israelites before his own well-being,
a leader who would even risk his life for the Israelites (Exodus 32:32). Therefore, Moses pleaded that a leader like himself be appointed
as his successor. In verse 17, Moses pleaded, “May he appear before them and lead them out and come in before them, so that the LORD’s
people will not be like sheep without a shepherd,” and Joshua was appointed as his successor. May each of us also be appointed
as such leaders for world evangelization, in the name of the Lord.