Numbers 27:21

_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._ He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him. The leader under the theocracy was different from other commanders. In the whole of his public conduct he was to act merely as the minister of God, and therefore to wait for his instructions. AFTER THE JUDGMENT OF URIM BEFORE THE LORD. The only person permitted to make application for divine direction, in special circumstances of public interest and importance, was the high priest, attired in his pontifical robes. He was to station himself before the veil which concealed the mercy-seat-the symbolical residence of Yahweh (see the notes at...

21._And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest. _Joshua is here subordinated to the priest on one point, viz., to inquire of him by the Urim and Thummim: for, as we have seen before, (237) the dignity of the priesthood was exalted by this symbol, that the prince should consult God by the mouth of the priest, who, being clothed in the sacred Ephod, the emblems of which were the Urim and Thummim, gave replies as the interpreter of God Himself. This passage, then, shows that the rule of Joshua was not profane; as in all legitimate dominion religion ought surely to hold the first place; for, since all things depend upon God, it is absurd that they should be separated from His service. משפט _, mishphat, _that is, judgment, is here used for a rule, or prescribed course of action, as if he were commanded to seek the Law (238) from the

15-23 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 be maintained and advanced, when we are in our graves. God appoints a successor, even Joshua; who had 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 man God appoints 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. He has the spirit of government; he is fit to do the work and discharge the trusts of his place. He has a spirit of conduct and courage; he had also the Spirit of prophecy. That man is not fully qualified for any service in the church of Christ, who is...

Verse Numbers 27:21. _ELEAZAR THE PRIEST - SHALL ASK_ COUNSEL _FOR HIM_] Here was a remarkable difference between _him_ and _Moses_. God talked with Moses face to face; but to Joshua only through the _medium_ of the high priest....

AND HE SHALL STAND BEFORE ELEAZAR THE PRIEST ... - Joshua was thus to be inferior to what Moses had been. For Moses had enjoyed the privilege of unrestricted direct contact with God: Joshua, like all future rulers of Israel, was to ask counsel mediately, through the High Priest and those means of inquiring of God wherewith the high priest was entrusted. Such counsel Joshua seems to have omitted to seek when he concluded his hasty treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:3 ff). JUDGMENT OF URIM - See Exodus 28:30 note....

EXPOSITION MOSES AND JOSHUA (Numbers 27:12-4). NUMBERS 27:12 AND THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES. IT is impossible to determine the exact place of this announcement in the order of events narrated. It would appear from Numbers 31:1 that the war with the Midianites occurred later, and certainly the address to the people and to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:1 presupposes the formal appointment here recorded; but the chronologer of the concluding chapters of Numbers is evidently very uncertain; they may, or may not, be arranged in

AND HE SHALL STAND BEFORE ELEAZAR THE PRIEST,.... This was for the honour of God, whose priest Eleazar was, and whose oracle was consulted by him; for it is said z, the high priest did not come into the presence of the king but when he pleased; and he did not stand before him, but the king stood before the high priest, as it is said, "and before Eleazar the priest shall he stand"; though it is commanded the high priest to honour the king, and to rise up and stand when he comes unto him; and the king does not stand before him, but when he consults for him by the judgment of Urim; and his posture seems to be different from other persons that consulted; for the same writer a observes, in answer to a question, "how do they consult? the priest stands, and his face is before the ark, and he that consults is behind him, and his face to the back of the priest;'' whereas here Joshua stood befor...

AFTER THE (_ See Scofield) - (Exodus 28:30). _...

4. THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD, THE DEATH OF MOSES AND HIS SUCCESSOR ANNOUNCED CHAPTER 27 _ 1. The daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1)_ 2. Moses' death announced and his request (Numbers 27:12) 3. Joshua appointed (Numbers 27:18) The question of the daughters of Zelophehad was concerning their inheritance. Their father had died in the wilderness and there were no sons. They expected and claimed a possession among the brethren of their father. They fully counted on the Lord and His goodness, though their case was not met by the previous instructions. “It is impossible for God to be like a poor man, who says, ‘You expect more good than I am prepared to bestow.' God could not m

THE RIGHT OF DAUGHTERS TO INHERIT, IN DEFAULT OF MALE ISSUE. To guard against the alienation of property from a family through the absence of male heirs by natural descent, the system of the Levirate marriage was instituted (Deuteronomy 25:5 *, p. 109); and that law, which assumed that only males could inherit, is here supplemented by another law allowing daughters, in default of sons, to become heirs. For a qualification of the present law, see Numbers 36; and for the fulfilment of the claim made by Zelophehad's daughters, see Joshua 17:3 f *. NUMBERS 27:3. The denial that Zelophehad (a Manassite) was implicated in the rebellion of Korah presumes that Korah led a movement of the secular tribes against the