Authority
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. And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. Numbers 27:18-20
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The authority given to Moses was clear to Israel. Yet, it didn’t go without challenges from time to time (see Korah and constant grumbling). Yet, the signs and wonders displayed by God through Moses was unquestionable. It didn’t matter if it was in Egypt or in the Wilderness, Moses was marked by authority because of his heart of meekness. God trusted Moses because he honored God’s glory and kindness to Israel.
Now, Moses is transitioning the leadership of Israel to Joshua by his own request. He didn’t want to leave Israel as sheep without a shepherd. This is where things get interesting. In Numbers 27 we come across this directive from God:
And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
Some? What’s up with some? Moses is about to be taken to glory and He only gives some and not all? Isn’t that strange? Although I haven’t figured out the depths of this yet, I have discovered some gems on the some.
Some authority was enough for Israel to recognize their new leader.
We are told in Joshua’s record that Israel recognized that God was with Joshua “as He was with Moses.” The authority that was given to Joshua was the authority of leadership. God set the man in place to lead well. To keep them holy and obedient so that they would and could possess the promised land.
Today, there is a great rebellion against authority. We have lost our trust with authority because we’ve placed them in the same category as God. They aren’t God. They are human beings that God has simply anointed to lead. The humility of the Joshua generation was what separated the generations of Moses and Joshua. One generation embraced their authority to lead while the other challenged Moses every step of the way.
Today, God still honors those who have been set in authority over them. He blesses the people that recognize and align with the authority they have on the job, church, and even at home.
You don’t have to look further than the rebellion going on in our own nation against authority to see why the blessing of God is not present. Our motto is “who do you think you are” and not offering prayers and thanksgiving to God for those in leadership.
Some authority was given because all authority wasn’t needed.
Moses had complete authority because of his task. Moses had to set everything in order again for Israel. A tabernacle, Levitical priesthood, commandments and ordinances and the list grows from here. Joshua didn’t have this authority because it wasn’t his assignment.
What about your authority? Are you trying to exert authority in an area that doesn’t belong to you? You’ve been given authority in your sphere according to the Apostle Paul. Are you using that authority? We see, today, a great abuse of authority because it’s misplaced. We are trying to stick our nose into places that we have no business giving our authority a whirl. Now, we have a generation of authority drunk keyboard ninjas that produce zero fruit. They are operating in misplaced authority.
Let’s learn from Joshua’s some.
Today, we can see how effective Joshua (type of Christ) was because of the authority and assignment he was faithful to execute. What would the body of Christ look like today if we each found our place of authority? I believe it would look like the early church. Stephen and the boys were working the food pantry with signs and wonders. The apostles were exerting their Jesus given authority among the believers teaching the kingdom and executing signs and wonders by the power and presence of God. The apostle Paul was stewarding his authority as a voice to the Gentiles. Planting churches on 3 missionary trips he was faithful in all of his sphere.
Let’s understand that Jesus gave the church “all authority” to defeat the realms of darkness. He didn’t give you the authority to tell everyone what to do. You have been given authority, use it well where God has set you.
————————
The authority given to Moses was clear to Israel. Yet, it didn’t go without challenges from time to time (see Korah and constant grumbling). Yet, the signs and wonders displayed by God through Moses was unquestionable. It didn’t matter if it was in Egypt or in the Wilderness, Moses was marked by authority because of his heart of meekness. God trusted Moses because he honored God’s glory and kindness to Israel.
Now, Moses is transitioning the leadership of Israel to Joshua by his own request. He didn’t want to leave Israel as sheep without a shepherd. This is where things get interesting. In Numbers 27 we come across this directive from God:
And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
Some? What’s up with some? Moses is about to be taken to glory and He only gives some and not all? Isn’t that strange? Although I haven’t figured out the depths of this yet, I have discovered some gems on the some.
Some authority was enough for Israel to recognize their new leader.
We are told in Joshua’s record that Israel recognized that God was with Joshua “as He was with Moses.” The authority that was given to Joshua was the authority of leadership. God set the man in place to lead well. To keep them holy and obedient so that they would and could possess the promised land.
Today, there is a great rebellion against authority. We have lost our trust with authority because we’ve placed them in the same category as God. They aren’t God. They are human beings that God has simply anointed to lead. The humility of the Joshua generation was what separated the generations of Moses and Joshua. One generation embraced their authority to lead while the other challenged Moses every step of the way.
Today, God still honors those who have been set in authority over them. He blesses the people that recognize and align with the authority they have on the job, church, and even at home.
You don’t have to look further than the rebellion going on in our own nation against authority to see why the blessing of God is not present. Our motto is “who do you think you are” and not offering prayers and thanksgiving to God for those in leadership.
Some authority was given because all authority wasn’t needed.
Moses had complete authority because of his task. Moses had to set everything in order again for Israel. A tabernacle, Levitical priesthood, commandments and ordinances and the list grows from here. Joshua didn’t have this authority because it wasn’t his assignment.
What about your authority? Are you trying to exert authority in an area that doesn’t belong to you? You’ve been given authority in your sphere according to the Apostle Paul. Are you using that authority? We see, today, a great abuse of authority because it’s misplaced. We are trying to stick our nose into places that we have no business giving our authority a whirl. Now, we have a generation of authority drunk keyboard ninjas that produce zero fruit. They are operating in misplaced authority.
Let’s learn from Joshua’s some.
Today, we can see how effective Joshua (type of Christ) was because of the authority and assignment he was faithful to execute. What would the body of Christ look like today if we each found our place of authority? I believe it would look like the early church. Stephen and the boys were working the food pantry with signs and wonders. The apostles were exerting their Jesus given authority among the believers teaching the kingdom and executing signs and wonders by the power and presence of God. The apostle Paul was stewarding his authority as a voice to the Gentiles. Planting churches on 3 missionary trips he was faithful in all of his sphere.
Let’s understand that Jesus gave the church “all authority” to defeat the realms of darkness. He didn’t give you the authority to tell everyone what to do. You have been given authority, use it well where God has set you.
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