Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 266
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IMMERSE
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BEGINNINGS
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followers, who rebelled against the Lord; he died because of his own sin.
But he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear from
his clan just because he had no sons? Give us property along with the rest
of our relatives.”
So Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord replied to
Moses, “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must
give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them
the property that would have been given to their father.
“And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man
dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters. And if he
has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no
brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. But if his father has
no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. This is
a legal requirement for the people of Israel, just as the Lord commanded
Moses.”
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. After you
have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, 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.)
Then Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, you are the God who gives
breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 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.”
The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in
him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before
the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people.
Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel
will obey him. 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.”
So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar
the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and
commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded
through Moses.
