NUMBERS

Numbers Chapter 27

• Numbers 27:1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 
• Num 27:2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 
• Num 27:3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. 

Here in the Old Testament we have those that were aware of the curse of original sin. They knew that because of sin, death came upon all mankind. This was the reason for sin offerings and the service of the tabernacle to make restitution and offerings for sin so that even though the body had to die, the soul would be saved. The blood of animals of course could not cleanse them of sin but it pointed toward the sacrifice of the Messiah to come. His death would count for those in the Old Testament dispensation also but only those that were in obedience to the law showing faith in that perfect one to come.

Every time they brought a sacrifice for an offering they were supposed to be saying in their hearts that they needed forgiveness and were looking to God to provide their salvation. When we come to Christ today we no longer have to bring a sacrificial offering because Jesus became that sacrifice but we do come to Him for forgiveness of sins  by trusting in Him to grant us the salvation of our souls  It works the same way except one was before Christ and we are after Christ. We are acknowledging that we are sinners in need of God's salvation and that salvation was provided through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God. 

Moses spoke of this prophet we now know as Jesus Christ the one who came to save us from sin. 

• Hebrews 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 
• 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 
• 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 
• 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 
• 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 
• 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 
• 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 
• 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 
• 15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 
• 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 
• 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 

All previous offerings and sacrifices were set in place temporarily until the perfect one the Messiah was to come. Jesus came the first time to make a final offering for sin. He will come the second time to set up His everlasting kingdom. This is where the Jewish people got confused. They were looking for a mighty warrior and conqueror not a savior from sin. The sin offering had to take place first though before He could give them military victory over their enemies. That happens at the literal visible Second Coming of Jesus the Christ and savior of the world. 

Moses wrote of this coming Messiah:

• Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 
• 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 

We see that this prophet is none other than Jesus Christ the Messiah. 

These women who came before Moses and Aaron recognized that their father died in his own sins that all of us have and not because of rebellion or unbelief like those that died in when Korah and his company rebelled against Moses and against God. 

• Numbers 27:4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. 

This was a rare case. The father died without leaving a son so the daughters desired to be given an inheritance which would have been given to the sons if he would have had sons. 

• Numbers 27:5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. 

Moses as was his custom sought the Lord before making any decision. That is an example for all of us to follow.

• Numbers 27:6 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
• 7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. 
• 8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. 
• 9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. 
• 10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren. 
• 11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses. 

This keeps the inheritance in the family. Notice that the female is not left out. Most women who marry will share in the inheritance of those they marry but in this case their father was entitled to an inheritance which would have been lost if they had not have asked to receive his inheritance. So they made a claim to have that inheritance since there were no male heirs. God allowed the females to receive the inheritance. 

God has a place for the female gender. He is not against women. He chose a woman to bring forth His own Son into the world when the Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us. Women have a special place in the heart of God and are not just property of men. Men are their protectors not their dictators. When we read the accounts of Jesus when He lived upon the earth, we see how Christ deals with women and that shows us how God views women. 

In John chapter 4 we read of the woman at the well and Jesus telling her of the living water that she can have by believing upon Him. All gifts of the spirit are for women as well as men. 

• Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 
• 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 
• 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

Christ died for all our sins. For those who believe in Him, the curse of the law is removed. Part of that curse that came upon all mankind is the curse upon women. He removed that curse as well as the curse of eternal damnation for breaking the law of God. That is what sin is: The transgression of the law of God. 

The woman still suffers the pains of childbirth in the physical but in the spirit her curse is removed. She is equal to man in Christ. This does not give her any authority to usurp the authority let's say of a man who is given the authority to lead a local church for example. If a man has authority over a certain congregation, a woman or in fact anyone else cannot usurp that authority.

The only time when someone's authority is usurped it is when they become so apostate from the truth that those with discernment have to remove him from his position as leader. We have to be careful though and only do such things with much prayer and tears making sure that we are not acting under an assumption, false reports or listening to a false accuser. 

A woman is under the godly and I repeat "godly" authority of her godly husband. If she has a husband that is not godly and is not living for the Lord, submission to him is limited to that which is pleasing to God. If a husband demands that his wife help him rob a bank for instance, cheat in business, defraud the insurance company etc., she must not follow him and break a higher law that says, "Thou shalt not steal." God comes first before any spouse but we must through much prayer and study of the word make sure that it is God we are listening to. 

• Numbers 27:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. 
• 13 And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. 
• 14 For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. 

As an example to those that follow God had to keep His word concerning Moses and not make an exception. It was very serious to not sanctify and give glory to God before the eyes of the children of Israel. Moses was the closest representation to God that the people had. When he messed up it had to be corrected or else others would copy after him. 

In all that we do for the Lord whether it be preaching, teaching, evangelizing etc. God must be the one who is lifted up in the eyes of the people. We must not draw followers after ourselves but after Christ. A good example is in the case of John the Baptist. John said many times. He (Christ) must increase and I must decrease. Jesus Christ the Son of God is the way of salvation. He is the one that we must bring people to. Never ourselves. 

We are to gather together for fellowship and worship, in fact the bible says we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. We need to love one another as Christ loved us. Aside from that though our purpose should always be to lead people to Christ not ourselves. We do not want anyone to follow us but follow Christ. We are to make disciples and teach them to seek the Lord and be filled with the spirit and to walk in the spirit thereby following the Lord, not us so that the minute we would get in error, those we led to Christ would be able to still follow the Lord.

Hopefully none of us would ever fall into error and sin but if we did we would want our brethren to keep on following Christ not those of us who may mess up. 

• Numbers 27:15 And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, 
• 16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 
• 17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd. 
• 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; 

There is a day that was to come when their only shepherd is Christ. Where all can know the Lord one on one and follow Him by way of His Holy Spirit that He gives to all who obey Him. God's gifts to the church are spirit filled workers, helpers and teachers but we still as individuals must learn to study the word and walk in the spirit. It is no longer supposed to be a one man show.

A church can have a godly leader to help us learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and to guard the flock against false teachers but we all should be partaking in spiritual things and not be so dependent upon the leader. The gifts of the spirit are poured out on different individuals so the whole body can work together, not just the pastor. He doesn't give us those gifts to just sit and let the pastor do everything just because he is the only one being paid. Actually he is paid to be a pastor and guard the flock not to preach or teach. Gifts of the spirit are freely given and freely we should give forth that which God has blessed us with. 

Jeremiah prophesies of this day:

• Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 
• 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 
• 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
• 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. 

At this time though they needed a godly leader full of faith to lead them into the land of Canaan for the day of Christ was not yet come. 

• Numbers 27:19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 

Until Christ came to fulfill the law and usher in a new covenant, they needed a leader such as Joshua but also a spiritual leader, a priest. After Christ the priest as intercessor and as one who does the sacrifices is no longer needed as Christ fulfilled the law of sacrifices and also remains as high priest and the only intercessor between God and man. 

• Numbers 27:20 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. 
• 22 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: 
• 23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. 

What an awesome responsibility they had. Later when studying the Old Testament especially the time of the kings, we read how the priesthood became corrupt and greedy of gain rather than care for the people's needs. When the king or the priest forsook God, the whole nation forsook Him except for a small remnant who stayed true to God's word. 

We still have that today. We see the majority of the world following the ways of the world while a small remnant will remain true to God's word and faithfully obey the words of Jesus Christ. 

I hope many who read these words will determine to follow Jesus until He returns again. 

• Luke 12:37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 
• 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 
• 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 
• 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 

Even so come Lord Jesus. DC