Passing the Torch

My son’s choir in church sang the song, “The Lord is my strength and my song….Sing with Moses and the people”. How many of these songs of strength continue to inspire the young and old even today? “Alleluia, Alleluia. Oh give thanks to the Lord, and praise his name forever”. He has been promised a special yellow bead at the end of the year, which he will string to his choir chain he wears around his neck if he learns this song by heart.

Moses was inspired by the Holy Spirit as he faithfully wrote the holy scriptures of the Israelites in the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch gave the Israelite’s faith definition, form and structure. In the wilderness we witnessed the birth of a nation, the start of a community of faith. The children of Israel were a people that loved and worshipped God (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41). What has been the contribution of the children of Israel to the world because of their holy scriptures? It was through Moses that the Ten Commandments came into existence. The Pentateuch and Ten Commandments lay the foundation stones for the Old Testament. The Israelites had been suppressed by the Egyptians and had wandered through the wilderness for 40 years. They were ready to occupy the Land of Canaan.

Moses had been a dominating figure in the lives of Israelites and now the time had come to pass on the leadership to someone who was younger. Joshua himself must have been well into his eighties. God told Moses to lay his hands on Joshua, and to present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community and publicly to commission Joshua with the responsibility of leading the people. He told him to transfer all his authority to him so that all the people will obey Joshua. Here was Moses setting a trend for the smooth transition of effective leaders. Moses was a leader who was humble enough to set another in his place, to be led henceforth under his directions.

What does being an assistant to one of the biggest leaders and major contributor baring St. Paul in the history of the Bible for 40 years mean? How does one slip into the shoes of such a dominating figure as Moses? It is only human to compare. These are problems many new leaders face. The book of Joshua is similar to the Acts of the Apostles. Here Moses laid down the laws. Now Joshua moves on to uphold the law and keep the message alive in the future community of Israelites in Canaan.