Numbers

Numbers 27: God provides for His people

Begin in prayer

Before hearing a family’s request and Moses’ prayer for a shepherd, let us bring our needs to the Lord. Please ask Him to show us His care and lead us to Jesus.

Yahweh is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works.

Psalm 145:17

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Teach us to bring our needs to You, and show us Jesus, the Shepherd who cares for His people. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Zelophehad’s daughters come before Israel’s leaders because their father died without sons, and they ask for his inheritance. Moses brings their case to God, who grants it and gives Israel a law for inheritance in such cases. Then God tells Moses to see the land from Abarim before he dies, because of his rebellion at Meribah. Moses asks that Israel will not be left like sheep without a shepherd. God appoints Joshua, who has the Spirit, and commands that he receive authority before the whole people. Moses lays his hands on him and commissions him, with Eleazar to seek God’s direction for the people’s movements.

As you read Numbers 27, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God hears His people’s needs and gives them a shepherd to lead them.

Zelophehad’s daughters ask for a share of the promised land because their father has died without a son. Moses brings their case before God, who says they are right and protects their father’s inheritance. The law then gives Israel an order for inheritance when a man dies without a son. As one family’s future is secured, Moses must face his own approaching death. His sin at Meribah still means he cannot lead Israel into the land. Moses asks God to give the people a shepherd, and God appoints Joshua, a man in whom is the Spirit. The Lord cares for the family seeking land and the congregation needing a leader.

How does Numbers 27 show us that God hears His people’s needs and gives them a shepherd to lead them?

God hears the daughters and gives them a just inheritance.

The daughters ask why their father's name should be lost from his family because he had no son (verse 4). Their father died in his own sin, and they do not ask for land because he was innocent. God says their request is right, and his inheritance must pass to them.

God’s servant seeks care for the people he must leave.

Moses must die before entering the land because he rebelled at Meribah. He asks the God who gives life to appoint a leader for the congregation. The people need someone to lead them in and out, as sheep need a shepherd.

God gives a leader who must follow His direction.

Joshua already has the Spirit when God commands Moses to lay a hand on him. His public commissioning shows Israel the authority God gives Joshua, so the people may recognise and obey him. Yet he must seek God’s direction through Eleazar, so the people’s journey remains under the Lord’s command.

Memorise

Yahweh said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.

Numbers 27:18

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, where do I try to find safety without coming to Jesus the Shepherd?

Moses asks that Israel may not be “as sheep which have no shepherd”. God answers by appointing Joshua. He does not leave His people without care when their leader must die.

We have wandered from God through our sin, and we need a Shepherd who can deal with our guilt. Jesus gave Himself for His sheep, bearing their sin and punishment on the cross. He rose from the grave, His saving work complete. His sacrifice is enough to bring them home to God.

Turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus. The Shepherd receives guilty people who seek His mercy and forgives their sin. Please bring Him the need you cannot answer for yourself. His death has secured His people, and His living care will never fail them.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God hears those who bring their needs, and Jesus gave His life to rescue His sheep. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for hearing the needs of His people and giving them a shepherd, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:36

Father, thank You for caring for the daughters who sought their inheritance and the people who needed a leader. Please turn each of us from sin and lead us to trust Jesus. Teach us to bring our needs to You and to listen to Your Word with humble and willing hearts. Amen.