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One-sentence summary: A new generation is numbered, Moses prepares to die, and Joshua is inaugurated as the new leader of Israel to lead them into the promised land.
Israel is in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. After the plague, the Lord speaks to Moses and Eleazar the priest and tells them to take a census of Israel, of all the men aged 20 and above who are able to go to war. And altogether, there are 601,730. The Lord speaks to Moses and tells him that the land will be divided by lots to the tribes as an inheritance, with the larger tribes being given the larger portions. None of the men numbered were of the men who were numbered by Moses in Aaron in the wilderness of Sinai, because the Lord had said they would die in the wilderness. However, Caleb and Joshua were the exception.
Some daughters of the tribe of Manasseh (from Joseph) stand before Moses, Eleazar, the leaders, and all the congregation by the door of the tabernacle, asking if they can be given a portion among their father's brothers since he their father no male heirs. Moses inquires of the Lord, and He says that they have spoken what is right and that they should be given an inheritance. The Lord gives a new law for Israel for what to do in the case that a man has no male heirs. The Lord tells Moses to go up to Mt. Nebo to view the land He is giving to Israel. He says that after he has seen it, he will also be gathered to his people. The Lord reminds him that he rebelled against His command to hallow Him before Israel at Meribah. Moses asks the Lord to choose a man to lead the people in their comings and goings so that they will not be like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord chooses Joshua and says that His spirit is in him. He tells Moses to set him before Eleazar and the congregation and to inaugurate him in their sight and to give him some of his (Moses's) authority so Israel will obey him. Eleazar is to inquire of the Lord for him, and Israel will come and go at his word. So Joshua is inaugurated with the laying on of Moses's hands.
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
So much of Israel's journey out of Egypt and into the promised land is very sad. It is definitely not a cute children's story or for the faint of heart! It is a sobering tale and a warning to us.
God is the God of new beginnings!