When I was in high school, I was on the mile relay team and the most crucial part of the race was passing the baton. If you dropped the baton or had a difficult hand off, you would lose precious seconds that would be hard to make up. Our story of Moses follows God’s plan to hand the leadership baton to Joshua. Joshua, not Moses, would take the Hebrew people on the next leg of their journey.
When God commissions leaders, as He did with Joshua, He releases a mantle over them. These mantles give them the supernatural ability to complete their mission. Joshua was a leader God would use to conquer the promised land they were about to enter.
Before Joshua ever received his own mantle, he had the chance to experience the effects of the mantle that rested on the shoulders of Moses. We find one of the most striking examples of this in Exodus 17, the story of Moses commissioning Joshua to take his soldiers and go down in the valley to fight Amalek.
During the battle, Moses went up on the mountain and held up his hands. When Moses got tired and dropped his arms, Joshua began to lose the battle. When Moses lifted up his arms, Joshua won. It became clear to the Israelite leadership that Joshua’s victory was directly related to Moses raising his hands. So, they put a leader on each side of Moses to help support his arms until Joshua won the battle and defeated Amalek (Ex. 17:8-13).
In our story, Moses was about to be taken to heaven. He was 120 years old and the work God had for him was done. But there was one more step for Moses to take. The Lord wanted Moses to pass the mantle of leadership to Joshua. Num.27:22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. 23 Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses. [1]
Moses did his part and now Joshua would do his part. Each part was important to help build the Kingdom of God. The success of the transfer depended on each person only doing their job and not trying to do someone else’s job. This takes humility. Where is the Lord calling you to humbly carry out your part in building the Kingdom? Is it passing the mantle? Is it encouraging someone? Is it praying for someone? Is it quietly working behind the scenes where no one notices? Take time to pray and ask the Lord what your part is.
To hear more about passing the mantle, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/the-footsteps-of-moses/passing-the-mantle
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Nu 27:22–23). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.