Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: “Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.” (Numbers 27:1-4)
The above verses of scripture introduces to us the five daring daughters of Zelophehad. These five girls came before Moses at a time when he was numbering the people of Israel in order to determine the allotment of land when they came into the promised land.
There is no mention of the mother of these girls and it is therefore likely that they were orphans here - five young girls without father or mother.
The important things was they still did not enter the promised land, they did not even see it with the eyes but have only heard about it and yet these girls came by faith asking for an inheritance. That is commendable.
And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. (Numbers 27:18-19)
Moses was coming to the end of his leadership. The children of Israel had reached the border of the Promised Land, and because of Moses’ disobedience the Lord would not allowed him to enter.
God instructed Moses to place his hands on Joshua in public to signify the transfer of his leadership to Joshua.
Also, in the New Testament when deacons were chosen (Acts 6:6), they were presented to the apostles, who prayed and laid hands on them. The idea both in the Old and New Testament is the same; the Holy Spirit was at work in these men and the laying on of human hands simply attested to the fact that God’s hand was already upon them.
Apostle Peter exhorts us saying, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). The Greek word here for humble means to have an attitude of a lowly servant.
Joshua served God by faithfully serving Moses in the little for years, and then in due time, he was ready to serve the Lord in the big things.
The same case was with Elisha who served the mighty Prophet Elijah in little things. Elisha was often referred to as being the one "which poured water on the hands of Elijah". (2 Kings 3:11) These were his only credentials. He served even without a title. Today, some people are offended when they are not honoured or mentioned on stage. They even stop attending church or services if they are not publicly acknowledged.
Elisha did become a mighty man of God, but he received his training as a servant! This is the only way true spiritual leaders are formed. It involves a humbling by serving others and learning from those we serve. Someone said, “We can only prepare to lead by following.” It isn’t the bigness or smallness of our duties that is important, but the submitted attitude of our hearts.
Would you like to go the next level? Then get your water pitcher ready and get in line, you could be the next Elisha, the next Joshua!
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 33