Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 27-29.

When God told Moses that his days were coming to an end, Moses asked God to appoint someone over the community so that “the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”  As I read that today I was reminded of what Matthew wrote about Jesus in chapter 9 verse 36

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Which is entirely appropriate, since Jesus is the Greek transliteration for Joshua, and it was Joshua whom God appointed over the community.  Matthew wrote that after Jesus saw the people as being like sheep without a shepherd, He told His disciples that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, so they should ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers.  Here Moses asked God to send someone to go out and come in before His people, someone to lead them out and bring them in.  God told Moses to give authority to Joshua before the people.  Jesus told His disciples, and through them us, to lead His people and to seek out those whom God had sent to do likewise.  Moses had been teaching Joshua how to lead God’s people for many years at this point.  Or, to put it another way, Moses had discipled Joshua.  In the same way, Jesus sent His disciples out to disciple people of all nations.  Moses laid his hands on Joshua and commissioned him to lead God’s people.  In the same way, we should accept whatever leadership role God has called us to, and then we should lay our hands on those God brings to us and commission them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.