Transfer of Peace

Transfer of Peace

(Numbers 27:12-23)

Yearly Theme:  “Peace is…”

Series Title:  “Peace in the Wilderness”

February 14^th, 2021

Something to think about:

Is peace easy or hard during change and transition?  How many of you have had transitions or change come at you over this past year?  How many of your lives have been significantly altered by situations or circumstances that you didn’t plan on or expect?  Many of us have.

And while change is hard, and transitions in life are often difficult, it is possible to navigate these things not only with grace, but most importantly, with peace.  With this in mind, let’s consider our passage of Scripture today, from the book of Numbers.

We come upon the scene in the later part of the book of Numbers in the Old Testament where Moses is nearing death, and the people of God are preparing to enter the Promised Land after a 40-year stint of punishment in the wilderness.  In the short amount of time remaining, Moses appeals to God for a successor to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land so that they are not like sheep without a shepherd, and God obliges this request.  Let’s take a closer look… 

Numbers 27:12-23 (NLT),

¹²  One day the LORD said to Moses, “Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. ¹³  After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, ¹⁴  for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵  Then Moses said to the LORD, ¹⁶  “O LORD, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. ¹⁷  Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

¹⁸  The LORD replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. ¹⁹  Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. ²⁰  Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. ²¹  When direction from the LORD is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the LORD—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”

²²  So Moses did as the LORD commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. ²³  Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

So, what’s the main takeaway from this passage?

Key Point:  “There is peace in the godly transfer of authority and leadership.”

What can learn from this passage about peace in the godly transfer of leadership?  Well, we can learn that there was…

• Peace of mind for  .

Numbers 27:15-17 (NLT), ¹⁵  Then Moses said to the LORD, ¹⁶  “O LORD, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. ¹⁷  Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

• Promise of a future for God’s  .

Numbers 27:18-19 (NLT), ¹⁸  The LORD replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. ¹⁹  Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people.

• Change is hard, but  .

Numbers 27:22-23 (NLT), ²²  So Moses did as the LORD commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. ²³  Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

Something to take home:

You have a choice as to whether or not you follow the path of peace during life’s transitions.  You can resist the changes that God puts in place and become a miserable person, or you can embrace the changes that God ordains with peace and hope for the future.  The truth is, in Christ the future is set.  For the believer in Christ, there is the hope of salvation and life everlasting.  However, for the one who rejects Christ, there is only hopelessness, desperation, bitterness, resentment, fear, and anger.  The choice is yours.  What will you choose?

Key Point:  “There is peace in the godly transfer of authority and leadership.”