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Matthew Henry |
N U M B E R S
CHAP. XXVII.
Here is,
I. The case of Zelophehad’s daughters determined,
II. Notice given to Moses of his death approaching,
III. Provision made of a successor in the government,
1. By the prayer of Moses,
2. By the appointment of God,
ver. 18, &c.
| The Daughters of Zelophehad. | B. C. 1452. |
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1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the
son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the
families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names
of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and
Tirzah.
2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest,
and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the
company of them that gathered themselves together against the
LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no
sons.
4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his
family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a
possession among the brethren of our father.
5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.
6 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely
give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s
brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to
pass unto them.
8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If
a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance
to pass unto his daughter.
9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his
inheritance unto his brethren.
10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his
inheritance unto his father’s brethren.
11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his
inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family,
and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of
Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Mention is made of the case of these daughters of Zelophehad in the
chapter before,
It should seem, by the particular notice taken of it, that it was a
singular case, and that the like did not at this time occur in all
Israel, that the head of a family had no sons, but daughters only.
Their case is again debated
upon another article of it; and, according to the judgments given in
their case, we find them put in possession,
One would suppose that their personal character was such as added
weight to their case, and caused it to be so often taken notice of.
Here is,
I. Their case stated by themselves, and their petition upon it
presented to the highest court of judicature, which consisted of Moses
as king, the princes as lords, and the congregation, or elders of the
people who were chose their representatives, as the commons,
v. 2.
This august assembly sat near the door of the tabernacle, that
in difficult cases they might consult the oracle. To them these young
ladies made their application; for it is the duty of magistrates to
defend the fatherless,
Ps. lxxxii. 3.
We find not that the had any advocate to speak for them, but they
managed their own cause ingeniously enough, which they could do the
better because it was plain and honest, and spoke for itself. Now
observe,
1. What it is they petition for: That they might have a possession in
the land of Canaan, among the brethren of their father,
v. 4.
What God had said to Moses
he had faithfully made known to the people, that the land of Canaan was
to be divided among those that were now numbered; these daughters knew
that they were not numbered, and therefore by this rule must expect no
inheritance, and the family of their father must be looked upon as
extinct, and written childless, though he had all these daughters: this
they thought hard, and therefore prayed to be admitted heirs to their
father, and to have an inheritance in his right. If they had had a
brother, they would not have applied to Moses (as one did to Christ,
for an order to inherit with him. But, having no brother, they beg for
a possession. Herein they discovered,
(1.) A strong faith in the power and promise of God concerning the
giving of the land of Canaan to Israel. Though it was yet unconquered,
untouched, and in the full possession of the natives, yet they petition
for their share in it as if it were all their own already. See
God has spoken in his holiness, and the Gilead is mine,
Manasseh is mane.
(2.) An earnest desire of a place and name in the land of promise,
which was a type of heaven; and if they had, as some think, an eye to
that, and by this claim laid hold on eternal life, they were five wise
virgins indeed; and their example should quicken us with all possible
diligence to make sure our title to the heavenly inheritance, in the
disposal of which, by the covenant of grace, no difference is made
between male and female,
(3.) A true respect and honour for their father, whose name was dear
and precious to them now that he was gone, and they were therefore
solicitous that it should not be done away from among his
family. There is a debt which children owe to the memory of their
parents, required by the fifth commandment: Honour thy father and
mother.
2. What their plea is: That their father did not die under any
attainder which might be thought to have corrupted his blood and
forfeited his estate, but he died in his own sin
(v. 3),
not engaged in any mutiny or rebellion against Moses, particularly not
in that of Korah and his company, nor in any way concerned in the sins
of others, but chargeable only with the common iniquities of mankind,
for which to his own Master he was to stand or fall, but laid not
himself open to any judicial process before Moses and the princes. He
was never convicted of any thing that might be a bar to his children’s
claim. It is a comfort to parents, when they come to die, if, though
they smart themselves for their own sin, yet they are not conscious to
themselves of any of those iniquities which God visits upon the
children.
II. Their case determined by the divine oracle. Moses did not presume
to give judgment himself, because, though their pretensions seemed just
and reasonable, yet his express orders were to divide the land among
those that were numbered, who were the males only; he therefore
brings their cause before the Lord, and waits for his decision
(v. 5),
and God himself gives the judgment upon it. He takes cognizance of the
affairs, not only of nations, but of private families, and orders them
in judgment, according to the counsel of his own will.
1. The petition is granted
(v. 7):
They speak right, give them a possession. Those that seek an
inheritance in the land of promise shall have what they seek, and other
things shall be added to them. These are claims which God will
countenance and crown.
2. The point is settled for all future occasions. These daughters of
Zelophehad consulted, not only their own comfort and the credit of
their family, but the honour and happiness of their sex likewise; for
on this particular occasion a general law was made that, in case a man
had no son, his estate should go to his daughters
(v. 8);
not to the eldest, as the eldest son, but to them all in copartnership,
share and share alike. Those that in such a case deprive their
daughters of their right, purely to keep up the name of their family,
unless a valuable consideration be allowed them, may make the entail of
their lands surer than the entail of a blessing with them. Further
directions are given for the disposal of inheritances,
“If a man have no issue at all, his estate shall go to his brethren; if
no brethren, then to his father’s brethren; and, if there be no such,
then to his next kinsman.” With this the rules of our law exactly
agree: and though the Jewish doctors here will have it understood that
if a man have no children his estate shall go to his father, if living,
before his brethren, yet there is nothing of that in the law, and our
common law has an express rule against it, That an estate cannot ascend
lineally; so that if a person purchase lands in fee-simple, and die
without issue in the life-time of his father, his father cannot be his
heir. See how God makes heirs, and in his disposal we must
acquiesce.
| Moses Warned of His Death. | B. C. 1452. |
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12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount
Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of
Israel.
13 And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto
thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.
14 For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin,
in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water
before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in
the wilderness of Zin.
Here,
1. God tells Moses of his fault, his speaking unadvisedly with his lips
at the waters of strife, where he did not express, so carefully as he
ought to have done, a regard to the honour both of God and Israel,
Though Moses was a servant of the Lord, a faithful servant, yet once he
rebelled against God’s commandment, and failed in his duty; and
though a very honourable servant, and highly favoured, yet he shall
hear of his miscarriage, and all the world shall hear of it too, again
and again; for God will show his displeasure against sin, even in those
that are nearest and dearest to him. Those that are in reputation
for wisdom and honour have need to be constantly careful of their
words and ways, lest at any time they say or do that which may be a
diminution to their comfort, or to their credit, or both, a great while
after.
2. He tells Moses of his death. His death was the punishment of his
sin, and yet notice is given him of it in such a manner as might best
serve to sweeten and mollify the sentence, and reconcile him to it.
(1.) Moses must die, but he shall first have the satisfaction of seeing
the land of promise,
God did not intend with this sight of Canaan to tantalize him, or
upbraid him with his folly in doing that which cut him short of it, nor
had it any impression of that kind upon him, but God appointed it and
Moses accepted it as a favour, his sight (we have reason to think)
being wonderfully strengthened and enlarged to take such a full and
distinct view of it as did abundantly gratify his innocent curiosity.
This sight of Canaan signified his believing prospect of the better
country, that is, the heavenly, which is very comfortable to dying
saints.
(2.) Moses must die, but death does not cut him off; it only
gathers him to his people, brings him to rest with the holy patriarchs
that had gone before him. Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, were his
people, the people of his choice and love, and to them death
gathered him.
(3.) Moses must die, but only as Aaron died before him,
And Moses had seen how easily and cheerfully Aaron had put off the
priesthood first and then the body; let not Moses therefore be afraid
of dying; it was but to be gathered to his people, as Aaron was
gathered. Thus the death of our near and dear relations should be
improved by us,
[1.] As an engagement to us to think often of dying. We are not better
than our fathers or brethren; if they are gone, we are going; if they
are gathered already, we must be gathered very shortly.
[2.] As an encouragement to us to think of death without terror, and
even to please ourselves with the thoughts of it. It is but to die as
such and such died, if we live as they lived; and their end was
peace, they finished their course with joy; why then should we fear
any evil in that melancholy valley?
| Joshua Named as Moses’s Successor. | B. C. 1452. |
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15 And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying,
16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man
over the congregation,
17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before
them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in;
that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no
shepherd.
18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of
Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the
congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.
20 And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all
the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask
counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at
his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in,
both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the
congregation.
22 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua,
and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the
congregation:
23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as
the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
Here,
I. Moses prays for a successor. When God had told him that he must die,
though it appears elsewhere that he solicited for a reprieve for
himself
yet, when this could not be obtained, he begged earnestly that the work
of God might be carried on, though he might not have the honour of
finishing it. Envious spirits do not love their successors, but Moses
was not one of these. We should concern ourselves, both in our prayers
and in our endeavours, for the rising generation, that religion may
flourish, and the interests of God’s kingdom among men may be
maintained and advanced, when we are in our graves. In this prayer
Moses expresses,
1. A tender concern for the people of Israel: That the congregation
of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd. Our Saviour
uses this comparison in his compassions for the people when they wanted
good ministers,
Magistrates and ministers are the shepherds of a people; if these be
wanting, or be not as they should be, people are apt to wander and be
scattered abroad, are exposed to enemies, and in danger of wanting food
and of hurting one another, as sheep having no shepherd.
2. A believing dependence upon God, as the God of the spirits of all
flesh. He is both the former and the searcher of spirits, and
therefore can either find men fit or make them fit to serve his
purposes, for the good of his church. Moses prays to God, not to send
an angel, but to set a man over the congregation, that is, to
nominate and appoint one whom he would qualify and own as ruler of his
people Israel. Before God gave this blessing to Israel, he stirred up
Moses to pray for it: thus Christ, before he sent forth his apostles,
called to those about him to pray the Lord of the harvest that he
would send forth labourers into his harvest,
Matt. ix. 38.
II. God, in answer to his prayer, appoints him a successor, even
Joshua, who had long since signalized himself by his courage in
fighting Amalek, his humility in ministering to Moses, and his faith
and sincerity in witnessing against the report of the evil spies; this
is the man whom God pitches upon to succeed Moses: A man in whom is
the Spirit, the Spirit of grace (he is a good man, fearing God and
hating covetousness, and acting from principle), the spirit of
government (he is fit to do the work and discharge the trusts of
his place), a spirit of conduct and courage; and he had also the
spirit of prophecy, for the Lord often spoke unto him,
Josh. iv. 1; vi. 2; vii. 10.
Now here,
1. God directs Moses how to secure the succession to Joshua.
(1.) He must ordain him: Lay thy hand upon him,
v. 18.
This was done in token of Moses’ transferring the government to him, as
the laying of hands on the sacrifice put the offering in the place and
stead of the offerer; also in token of God’s conferring the blessing of
the Spirit upon him, which Moses obtained by prayer. It is said
Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his
hands on him. This rite of imposing hands we find used in the New
Testament in the setting apart of gospel ministers, denoting a solemn
designation of them to the office and an earnest desire that God would
qualify them for it and own them in it. It is the offering of them to
Christ and his church for living sacrifices.
(2.) He must present him to Eleazar and the people, set him before
them, that they might know him to be designed of God for this great
trust and consent to that designation.
(3.) He must give him a charge,
v. 19.
He must be charged with the people of Israel, who were delivered into
his hand as sheep into the hand of a shepherd, and for whom he must be
accountable. He must be strictly charged to do his duty to them;
though they were under his command, he was under God’s command, and
from him must receive charge. The highest must know that there is a
higher than they. This charge must be given him in their sight,
that it might be the more affecting to Joshua, and that the people,
seeing the work and care of their prince, might be the more engaged to
assist and encourage him.
(4.) He must put some of his honour upon him,
v. 20.
Joshua at the most had but some of the honour of Moses, and in many
instances came short of him; but this seems to be meant of his taking
him now, while he lived, into partnership with him in the government
and admitting him to act with authority as his assistant. It is an
honour to be employed for God and his church; some of this honour must
be put upon Joshua, that the people, being used to obey him while Moses
lived, might the more cheerfully do it afterwards.
(5.) He must appoint Eleazar the high priest, with this breast-plate of
judgment, to be his privy-council
(v. 21):
He shall stand before Eleazar, by him to consult the oracle,
ready to receive and observe all the instructions that should be given
him by it. This was a direction to Joshua. Though he was full of the
Spirit, and had all this honour put upon him, yet he must do nothing
without asking counsel of God, not leaning to his own understanding. It
was also a great encouragement to him. To govern Israel, and to conquer
Canaan, were two hard tasks, but God assures him that in both he should
be under a divine conduct; and in every difficult case God would advise
him to that which should be for the best. Moses had recourse to the
oracle of God himself, but Joshua and the succeeding judges must use
the ministry of the high priest, and consult the judgment of urim,
which, the Jews say, might not be enquired of but by the king or the
head of the sanhedrim, or by the agent or representative of the people,
for them, and in their name. Thus the government of Israel was now
purely divine, for both the designation and direction of their princes
were entirely so. At the word of the priest, according to the
judgment of urim, Joshua and all Israel must go out and come in;
and no doubt God, who thus guided, would preserve both their going out
and their coming in. Those are safe, and may be easy, that follow God,
and in all their ways acknowledge him.
2. Moses does according to these directions,
He cheerfully ordained Joshua,
(1.) Though it was a present lessening to himself, and amounted almost
to a resignation of the government. He was very willing that the people
should look off from him, and gaze on the rising sun.
(2.) Though it might appear a perpetual slur upon his family. It would
not have been so much his praise if he had thus resigned his honour to
a son of his own; but with his own hands first to ordain Eleazar high
priest, and then Joshua, one of another tribe, chief ruler, while his
own children had no preferment at all, but were left in the rank of
common Levites, this was such an instance of self-denial and submission
to the will of God as was more his glory than the highest advancement
of his family could have been; for it confirms his character as the
meekest man upon earth, and faithful to him that appointed him in all
his house. This (says the excellent bishop Patrick) shows him to have
had a principle which raised him above all other lawgivers, who always
took care to establish their families in some share of that greatness
which they themselves possessed; but hereby it appeared that Moses
acted not from himself, because he acted not for himself.
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