One Year Bible and Commentary for Friday, March 18th

Click Here to Listen to the Readings

Click Here to Read Numbers 26:52-Numbers 28:15

Moses Commissions Joshua to Be the New Leader

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.”

Joshua had two leadership qualities. One, he was obedient to the Lord when he went to spy on the land. Two, he didn't get intimidated by the size of the people, because he knew that if the Lord was with them they had nothing to fear.

The public laying on of hands was important as it let the whole community know Moses was transferring his God ordained leadership to Joshua. When pastors get ordained today, other pastors and members of the community lay hands on them, as they are called to a particular congregation. 

Notice too the Spirit was in Joshua. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came on particular people, at particular times, for particular tasks. In this case it was the Holy Spirit who would guide Joshua with the help of the priests. When Joshua needed direction from the Lord, he was to stand before Eleazar, the priest, who cast sacred lots to determine what they should do. 

'The Urim ("lights") and Thummim ("perfections") were gemstones that were carried by the high priest of Israel on the ephod / priestly garments. They were used by the high priest to determine God’s will in some situations. Some propose that God would cause the Urim and Thummim to light up in varying patterns to reveal His decision. Others propose that the Urim and Thummim were kept in a pouch and were engraved with symbols identifying yes / no and true / false." (GotQuestions.org)

Click Here to Read Luke 3:1-22

One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.

John was baptizing people on both sides of the Jordan. It was a baptism of repentance where people turned from their sins to prepare for the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus would give them. Jesus too was baptized and this was important for several reasons:

1. Jesus did not get baptized because he needed to repent and be cleansed from his sin. Though Jesus was human, he was sinless. If he was not, he would have had to die on the cross for his own sins. 

2. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus, as the Holy Spirit came on the disciples on Pentecost. From this point forward Jesus' public ministry is done in the power of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom came through him by the Holy Spirit to heal sicknesses and cast out demons. 

3. The Father said these important words, "You are my Son, and with you I am well pleased". Jesus' relationship with His Father was similar to our relationship with our own fathers. Jesus was obedient to His Father and also longed for His Father's approvaI. I love the translation in the NLT, "You are my dearly loved Son and you bring me great joy." 

In the same way God loved His Son, he loves you. He created you perfectly in His image, and He delights in you. His deepest desire is to be in relationship with You and made that possible by sending His only Son to die for you. 

Do you realize God is pleased with you and you give him great joy?

Click Here to Read Psalm 61

Click Here to Read Proverbs 11:16-17

 


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