Among those “hordes” of people, God took serious consideration of the dilemma of Zelophehad’s name and inheritance. This account speaks to me about how important it was to Him that a family held on to its inheritance. Why would it be so important to God that a family maintain its possession of their portion of the Promised Land? It’s worth prayerful consideration.
Moses’ prayer for a leader to replace him made a difference for the nation of Israel. Joshua led the nation into the Promised Land and saw them settled. When it came time for him to say his farewell, however, he did not make the same request of God, and the result was disastrous. We’ll read about it in the book of Judges. These experiences remind us that we can’t take God or His provision for granted. We need to ask Him for what we need.
Imagine how intimidating it would be for any leader to follow Moses! Moses was rightly revered as a great leader; who could live up to his example? The people had threatened to turn back under Moses’ leadership many times; there was a real possibility that they would refuse to follow the new leader, who was going to be leading them into battle, no less. If they questioned Moses’ leadership, who could possibly fare better? God made provision for handing over leadership in such a way that the people would be inclined to accept Joshua, and they did. We must appreciate our God-given leaders for the precious gift they are, and support them.
This account of the required animal sacrifices reminds us that worship of God was expensive to God’s Old Covenant people. Their wealth was measured in these animals. Does our worship of God involve sacrifice? Further, the given remedy for sin required daily attention, and special attention throughout the year. Do we give it any less attention?