Tag: Numbers 26-27

Names

Numbers 26-27 

A census, a bunch of Hebrew names… seems difficult right?! More so in English, it’s easier in Hebrew, and the names have so much meaning! 🙂  When I first lived in Israel and learned Hebrew, names were difficult… Achinoam, Yonatan, Shaked! Hebrew names have meaning seen in the letters themselves, unlike English, so that makes it easier! It’s surprising how many adults I meet in America that don’t know what their name means.  In the Israeli hospitals where our children were born NO ONE ever asked what the new baby’s name was! The baby was identified by the mother’s first name and her mother and father. Then later named within 30 days after they were born according to their personality/character. They don’t measure the length of the baby either so as to not stretch it out after being curled up inside the womb.

Moses wasn’t allowed to lead these new people into the Promised Land. So he asked that God pick a new leader over the people. “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” (27:16,17)

The LORD chose Joshua, “a man in whom is the Spirit.”(27:18) Interestingly, the Hebrew name of Joshua is basically Jesus/Yeshua. They have the same meaning, the LORD saves. Like Joshua was chosen by God to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, so Yeshua was chosen by God to lead all people into the Promised Kingdom to those who trust in him. Both were chosen to shepherd and lead the people.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  John 10:11

-Stephanie Schlegel

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What does your name mean?! Have you seen any special connections in your name over your life span?

2. How can calling someone a bad name be hurtful? What effect does it have on people to call them a good name?!

3. What are we known for? Isn’t it a great compliment of Joshua that he was filled with the Spirit? May we be filled with the fullness of God and walk in His Spirit like Joshua did.

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Daughters of God

Numbers 26-27

Numbers 27 7 NIV
In our passage today, in Numbers 27:1-11, the five daughters of Zelophehad (what a name) face issues concerning land inheritance. Upon the death of their father, Zelophehad, the five sisters boldly approached Moses and other leaders to ask for the property that rightly belonged to their father’s clan (vv. 2-4). Moses brought their case before the Lord, who said the women are “right.” He proceeded to establish the legal requirement for handling such cases in the future (vv. 6-11). At first glance, this may seem to be a slow and boring account of how property rights for women were established among the Israelites in the ancient Near East, but there is a lot to learn here.
Land is among God’s promises to Abraham (see Gen. 12:1; 13:14-17; 15:7). It’s an inheritance of God’s children, an expression of their covenantal relationship with Yahweh. There are theological implications for the daughters of Zelophehad and anyone who might disinherit their land. For their “father’s name to disappear from his clan” (v. 4) is to be cut off from the Lord’s covenant community. This explains why the five sisters are “right” in their request.
The case of the daughters of Zelophehad sets the precedent for future Hebrew families without male heirs. The Lord’s response reminds readers that He is always making a way for women to have full rights to His covenant community and His blessings. God the Father watches over the socially vulnerable and cares for them as His children. If you ever feel vulnerable just know that God will always fight to keep you in His covenantal love just as He did for the women of that time.
Andy Cisneros
Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+26-27&version=NIV
Tomorrow’s reading will be Numbers 28-30 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan