7-5-26 Passing on Leadership (Numbers)

Pastor Ken wraps up his series on Numbers by looking at Moses as he passes on his leadership and comes to the end of his time on earth.

Transcript

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You know, flights over to Europe and back are not exactly my idea of fun, but I got to watch two movies on the way over and two on the way back. You know, and like most Americans, I've seen enough movies to probably be equivalent of a PhD in movies, and you guys have seen a lot of them too, and you know one of the things that often happens in movies, one of the things that's a trope, as they say, a metaphor, something that occurs again and again is the dying scene of the hero or protagonist. From good old Bear Baloo in the jungle book to the latest Marvel movies, you have that moment where something happens and everybody is touched, and it's their last moments, and everything grows quiet, even if it's the middle of the battle, and they take a long time sometimes to be there to hear the words and feel the feelings and have the exchange of the last time of the hero, where real feelings come out, deep meanings are shared, secrets are given, instructions for the future. Sometimes it seems, well, most of the time it seems a little unrealistic how it's done, but it plays upon our emotions and it makes us think. Well, there is a Bible version of that, and we're going to look at it today as we wrap up the series on the wilderness, starting with Numbers chapter 27, verses 12 through 23. And please stand as you are able for the reading of God's word. The Lord said to Moses, Go up this mountain of the Aberim range and see the land that I have given to the Israelites. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zen when the congregation quarreled with me. You did not show my holiness before their eyes at the water. These are the waters of Meribeth, Kadesh, and the wilderness of Zen. Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint someone over the congregation, who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd. So the Lord said to Moses, Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand upon him, have him stand before Eliezer the priest and all the congregation and commission him in their sight. You shall give him some of your authority, so that all the congregation of the Israelites may obey. But he shall stand before Eliezer the priest, who shall inquire for him by the decision of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the Israelites with him, the whole congregation. So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eliezer the priest and the whole congregation. He laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord had directed through Moses. This is the word of God for the people of God. Please be seated. So Moses is told that his demise is near. He gets to see the promised land, but he doesn't get to enter into it. He goes upon the local mountain, we find out elsewhere Mount Nebo, which is in the Aberim range, a mountaintop about 2,700 feet high, and he's able to look over the Jordan River, the Jordan Valley into the Promised Land for a great distance. He's told that he doesn't get to enter because of his rebellion against God. His lack of patience, his frustration at the time, his striking of the rock at Amib Kadesh, his rebellion and failure to show God's holiness, he placed himself by that rebellion in the wilderness generation. And the wilderness generation passes away in the wilderness. I've been around people that have limited time here on earth and know that that's coming, and I'm sure you have too. I think especially of my late wife and the news that she had stage four colon cancer. I remember going back home and looking up the odds, and it was a 5% chance of her lasting five years. She actually only lasted two. But I also remember a conversation when the doctor was tearing with her and saying, you know, I know it's hard for somebody at this point in life to face that, but you will know people who go suddenly between now and when you go who have no time for preparation. And it was true. And as hard as it was to face that, it gave an opportunity for her to prepare, to have conversations with her children, to have dealings and to leave things behind and to let people know what she thought of them before. It's a time where people who are in that situation get a new clarity about what's important in life. What to focus on, what to be a part of. It's a clarity that all of us should have because all of us basically have limited time, even though we don't want to see that. But notice Moses' concern when God tells him, it's about time for you to go. He immediately says, God, you need to take care of the people. You need to appoint leadership to continue to lead them. Moses' thoughts don't go for himself. No, whoa, poor me. They go immediately to caring for the people of God and appointing a successor. It shows part of the reason that he is such a great leader is that he really cares about his people. He's shown that again and again through his life, and even at the end, he does the same thing. You know, many great leaders in history struggle with the idea of succession. How do you pass on leadership? Alexander the Great conquered an empire, was in the process of Hellenizing or bringing the Greek culture to large areas of the Middle East when he died, and his empire was torn apart by his generals who could not agree who was in charge next and fought with one another for hundreds of years. Napoleon, at the top of his power, controlling much of Europe, tried to gain a plan of succession for his son by divorcing Josephine and marrying an Austrian princess, the daughter of one of his enemies, the Austrian emperor, with the idea that a child they had would be allowed to stay on the throne when he was gone. Of course, it didn't work, and his son never was able to reign. One of my favorite Kurosawa movies is one called Ron. It's a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear, which is about a king who knows that he's about to pass on. He has three children and he wants to set things up, so each one of them will have a realm and they'll all three work together. It's a tragedy, of course, because it doesn't work out that way at all. Succession is hard, but God will not let Israel fail in having a leader to carry on. Joshua will indeed become their leader. He will indeed provide the leadership they need for the next phase, which is the going in and taking the land itself. Now, he won't be the equal of Moses. In fact, he'll have to rely on Eliezer the priest and the sacred Urim to determine whether it's time for battle or time not to have battle, the going out and coming in that it talks about. He'll be a military leader primarily, but he will be appointed and anointed by God, and he will provide good leadership for the people. God will ensure that Moses' request, God's desire for their future, will truly happen. Now let's go to the very end of Deuteronomy and look about what happens when Moses actually does pass. Deuteronomy 34, 1 through 12. Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo to the top of Piscah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land. Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb and the plain, that is the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there. Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab at the Lord's command. He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses on the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the period of mourning for Moses was ended. Joshua, son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him, and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses. Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unequal for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all of his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. Moses goes to meet his Maker at the very edge of the promised land. And an era ends as Moses wraps up his journey here on earth. Those first five books of the Bible are associated with him. In fact, in German Bibles, they're called 1 Moses, 2nd Moses, 3rd Moses, 4th Moses, and 5th Moses. And there are paintings of Moses writing with tears running down his face as he writes of his own demise in Deuteronomy 34 and Numbers 27. But think about this, folks. I talked about those Hollywood death scenes, some of which last a long time. Moses is told in Numbers 27, and there are nine more chapters in Numbers. And there are 33 chapters in Deuteronomy before we get to the 34th chapter. So we have a long time between when God tells him it's your time to go, and when he actually goes. Mitch Album wrote a book called Tuesdays with Maury. It was about his relationship with an older friend who had a terminal illness and limited time on earth, about the conversations they would have every Tuesday, and about the older man sharing his experiences and his wisdom and his learning before his time was up, so that the younger man and everybody who read his book could benefit from that experience. Moses is told it's time for you to pass on. And then God gives him a chance to emphasize to the people what's really important, what they need to do and not do, what's really the focus. In fact, the whole book of Deuteronomy, which uses that word remember again and again, which retells a story, which goes over the Ten Commandments again, which presents this history and tells the new generation, this is what you need to know to stay faithful to your God, to have a good life, to live in such a way that you glorify Him. This is how you learn from the mistakes of the past. Have you learned from any of your mistakes? You know, sometimes we don't learn and we have to repeat the mistake again before it finally comes home. Other times the pain is enough that we get the lesson and we learn from that mistake. But you know, one thing I've discovered is it's a whole lot less wear and tear on you to learn from other people's mistakes rather than having to make them yourself. And Deuteronomy basically says, learn from that wilderness generation how to be better in your own life. And Moses uses that time to remind them. And of course, the most important lesson that is emphasized again and again is trust in the Lord your God. Listen to the Lord your God, follow the commands of the Lord your God, be obedient to the Lord your God. Have we learned that lesson? Take a look with me at Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 10, verses 6 through 13. Paul writes, Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play. We must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents, and do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example. And they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages has come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing is overtaking you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing, he will also provide the way out, so that you might be able to endure it. Have we learned from Israel in the wilderness? You know, this is my second series on the wilderness. I did the wilderness of Exodus a couple years ago, and then this time the wilderness of numbers. Have we learned from the experience of Israel in the wilderness? You know, it's easy to trust God when you're worshiping in church, when everything's going well, when the bills are paid and the job's going well and the family's great and everybody's getting along. But that's not the wilderness, is it? It's a lot harder to trust God when you're hungry or you're thirsty or you're in a new situation or you're feeling threatened or you're tired or you're disoriented, all the things that happen in the wilderness. But Moses keeps emphasizing to them, that's exactly when you need to trust God. It's when things aren't going well. When things are a struggle, when the pain is there. That's exactly when you need to put your faith in him. Moses is unique. He is the central figure, at least till you get to David in the Old Testament, and he will certainly be missed. He provides so many roles in his ministry. He's the leader that leads the people. He's the deliverer that, with the power of God, brings them out of slavery. He is the lawgiver that goes up to the mountain to bring God's law down to the people, their constitution, if you will. He's the intercessor who prays for the people to be forgiven when they rebel against God. He is the shepherd that leads them through the wilderness. He is the teacher that teaches them about God. He is the prophet that predicts what will happen next. He's 120 years old, we're told, when he dies, and he doesn't have cataracts, and his testosterone level is still high. It's an amazing guy that we see here. A guy who was able to deal directly with God, who had a relationship with the Father that was really basically unequaled until Christ. That they were friends, that they worked together to get this stubborn people through the wilderness. No wonder Israel mourns him for 30 days and weeps for him. But don't be mistaken, folks. Notice those verses I read, the source of Moses' success, the reason that he's so extraordinary. It says, There was never been one who the Lord worked through in this way. He did wonders that the Lord sent him to do. You know, my parents, very ordinary people. My mom dropped out of high school. My dad was a radio repairman. They lived in a little town in Oklahoma. They weren't city people, they weren't sophisticated, educated. But my mom would say, you know, those people put on their pants the same way we do, one leg at a time. No matter how important they were. Well, Moses put his pants on one leg at a time if he wore pants in those days. But God worked through him in extraordinary ways. God did incredible things through him. When the God is the source of our success, it's incredible and it passes on well to the next generation. The key to Christian's leadership, I think, is really two things. Number one, stay focused upon Christ. Obey God, follow God, trust in God, whether it's popular or unpopular, whether people are willing to go along with you or not, do what God calls you to do. And number two, love the people that God sends you to minister to. And Moses fulfills both of those in incredible ways. He does so, though, by relying upon God's spirit and God's power. He was extraordinary as a man of God. He had his failures, he had his problems, but God used him to do incredible things. He looked forward to the salvation that we know through Jesus Christ. In fact, the New Testament tells us he experienced and saw that. Remember when Jesus takes the three key disciples up on the Mount of Transfiguration and Moses and Elijah meet him there and talk to him about God's plan of salvation, about him going to the cross, about what God is doing in the long prophesied moment where he brings salvation to us. Jesus God's Son is superior to Moses in all ways. Moses was a great leader, but Jesus is the one who saved us, including saving Moses. And as a community, as a church, as a family, as individuals, we need to learn from Moses to be a good follower of Jesus Christ. To trust in Christ, to obey Christ, to be the people who are willing to do what Christ calls us to do, to keep our focus on Him and not let the scary things of the world around us or the troubles that are a part of our world distract us. To listen to God and to be faithful to Him. We're celebrating 250 years of our nation's birth. George Washington, who had a little bit to do with the success of that rebellion against the British, said it was almost a miracle that America made it through that, a battle against the biggest superpower of the world, and yet was successful. I would say maybe it was a little understatement for him to say it was almost a miracle. I think it was a miracle in many ways. But as Jordan mentioned, for us to keep that miracle going, that hope, that opportunity, that ability to worship in peace, to live in security, to be able to live up to the potential of who we are, not controlled by structures that are human-made and human-run. To be able to trust in the providence and the faithfulness and the mercy of God is what we need to go into the future. To realize that lesson that goes way back past Moses. Keep your eyes focused upon God. Obey Him, follow His commands, trust in Him, and He will teach us to love one another and to be the people He calls us to be. He will provide not only for our future, a glorious future in His kingdom, but for our present walk through the valleys of this world. Will you pray with me, please? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your incredible love. We thank you for leaders like Moses that have taught us so much about what it means to trust in you, what it means sometimes to fail, what it means to succeed, what life is really about. Help us to trust in you every day in our journey, Lord, to be your people in truth, in action as well as in name. Help us to be open to all that you have for us. Bless our nation. Help it to be all that you call it to be. Help us to put Jesus Christ center and front in our life that we might be his people and that we might do great things through the power of your spirit. For we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.