THE REUBENITES AND Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. 2So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said, 3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon—4the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. 5If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”
6Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? 7Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them? 8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. 9After they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the LORD had given them. 10The LORD’s anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: 11‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—12not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.’ 13The LORD’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.
14“And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the LORD even more angry with Israel. 15If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the desert, and you will be the cause of their destruction.”
16Then they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children. 17But we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land. 18We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance. 19We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”
20Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle, 21and if all of you will go armed over the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies out before him—22then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free from your obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the LORD.
23“But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. 24Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”
25The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “We your servants will do as our lord commands. 26Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead. 27But your servants, every man armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the LORD, just as our lord says.”
28Then Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes. 29He said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the LORD, then when the land is subdued before you, give them the land of Gilead as their possession. 30But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan.”
31The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the LORD has said. 32We will cross over before the LORD into Canaan armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan.”
33Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.
34The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. 37And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim, 38as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
39The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair. 42And Nobah captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah after himself.
33:1Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2At the LORD’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages:
3The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out boldly in full view of all the Egyptians, 4who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had brought judgment on their gods.
5The Israelites left Rameses and camped at Succoth.
6They left Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert.
7They left Etham, turned back to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol.
8They left Pi Hahiroth and passed through the sea into the desert, and when they had traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham, they camped at Marah.
9They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
10They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
11They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.
12They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.
13They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
15They left Rephidim and camped in the Desert of Sinai.
16They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.
17They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
18They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.
20They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.
21They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27They left Tahath and camped at Terah.
28They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.
29They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.
30They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.
32They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.
33They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.
36They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.
37They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the border of Edom. 38At the LORD’s command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. 39Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.
41They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
42They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
43They left Punon and camped at Oboth.
44They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab.
45They left Iyim and camped at Dibon Gad.
46They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.
47They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, near Nebo.
48They left the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. 49There on the plains of Moab they camped along the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.
50On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the LORD said to Moses, 51“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. 53Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.
55“‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’”
34:1The LORD said to Moses, 2“Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries:
3“‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern boundary will start from the end of the Salt Sea, 4cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon, 5where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Sea.
6“‘Your western boundary will be the coast of the Great Sea. This will be your boundary on the west.
7“‘For your northern boundary, run a line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor 8and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad, 9continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.
10“‘For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Kinnereth. 12Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea.
“‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’”
13Moses commanded the Israelites: “Assign this land by lot as an inheritance. The LORD has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, 14because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. 15These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
16The LORD said to Moses, 17“These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. 18And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land. 19These are their names:
Caleb son of Jephunneh,
from the tribe of Judah;
20Shemuel son of Ammihud,
from the tribe of Simeon;
21Elidad son of Kislon,
from the tribe of Benjamin;
22Bukki son of Jogli,
the leader from the tribe of Dan;
23Hanniel son of Ephod,
the leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;
24Kemuel son of Shiphtan,
the leader from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph;
25Elizaphan son of Parnach,
the leader from the tribe of Zebulun;
26Paltiel son of Azzan,
the leader from the tribe of Issachar;
27Ahihud son of Shelomi,
the leader from the tribe of Asher;
28Pedahel son of Ammihud,
the leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”
29These are the men the LORD commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
HOME ON THE RANGE. When the Israelites conquer the Transjordanian lands of kings Sihon and Og (21:23–35), they do not intend to permanently occupy them. They are bound for the Promised Land, the borders of which (ch. 34) coincide with those of the Egyptian province of Canaan on the other (western) side of the Jordan River during the fifteenth to thirteenth centuries B.C.1 These borders indicate that Israel is to displace the Egyptian presence on the continent of Asia. However, when members of the tribes of Reuben and Gad look around them east of the Jordan, they like what they see. They have cattle, and the land is ideal cattle country. How can they do better than this?
When the Reubenites and Gadites approach Moses and other leaders to request the Transjordanian territories as their possession (32:1–5), they cause a major misunderstanding by concluding their petition with the words: “Do not make us cross the Jordan” (v. 5). Moses “hits the roof” and delivers one of the most sizzling speeches of his oratorically distinguished career (32:6–15). He assumes that they are faithless, indolent cowards, trying to get out of fighting for Canaan, and he accuses them of discouraging (lit., “restraining [nwʾ ] the heart of”) the other Israelites from crossing over into the Promised Land (v. 7) as the majority of scouts sent from Kadesh had discouraged (also nwʾ ) the earlier generation (vv. 8–9).2 Although he does not mention Dathan and Abiram, Moses cannot have forgotten that they were Reubenites (16:1).
Moses thinks he has just aborted a rebellion by a “brood of sinners” (32:14), and no doubt expects the representatives of Reuben and Gad to slink away “with their tails between their legs.” He must be surprised when they courageously come closer (ngš) to him instead (32:16). They clarify their intentions and outline a plan for their men to go not just with the rest of the Israelites, but to be deployed in advance of them3 to help them fight for their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan (32:16–18). Moses approves, provided that they will follow through (32:20–24). So the Gadites and Reubenites reinforce their promise by repeating it, referring to their idea as their lord’s (Moses’) command (32:25–27). They are rapidly learning the art of diplomacy!
When Moses grants Transjordanian land to Gad and Reuben, he also allots a portion east of the Jordan to half of the tribe of Manasseh (32:33). The biblical text does not explain why Manasseh enters the picture at this point. Perhaps after Reuben and Gad pave the way with Moses, some Manassites decide they want to live in the Transjordan too. In any case, it serves Moses’ interests to have the tribe of Manasseh straddling the Jordan. At least members of the half-tribe of Manasseh on the east will have a strong vested interest in assisting their fellow tribesmen on the west and making sure that the Reubenites and Gadites join them in this. Later the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan do make good on their pledge to send their army across the Jordan in front of the other Israelites (Josh. 4:12), after which they return home (22:9).
Incredible journey, homeward bound. Numbers 33 provides a straightforward list of “forty distinct stages between Egypt and the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Canaan.”4 Condensed as it is, the summary does not make room for value judgments on the Israelites’ behavior. The point is where the Lord has led them.
God’s people maintain a balanced perspective by reviewing their journey and remembering how he has led. In this way they simultaneously reinforce their sense of dependence on him and confidence that he will take care of them each step of the way. As one member of an urban church replied when her pastor asked how she was getting along: “I find myself living somewhere between ‘thank you, Lord’ and ‘help me, Jesus.’”5
The summary in Numbers 33 is more complete than the accounts in Exodus and earlier in Numbers, which concentrate on places where memorable events have occurred.6 While we know the overall contours of Israel’s movement from Egypt to Canaan, modern scholars have not succeeded in definitively working out all the details because there is inadequate evidence to pinpoint all the locations named in the Bible.7 Remember that the Israelites were camping in an uninhabited area, without building anything that would remain.
Because archaeological remains dating to the period in question (Late Bronze Age II, about 1400–1200 B.C.) have not yet been found at key sites such as Dibon, east of the Jordan (33:45–46), a number of scholars reject the reliability of the biblical record, even to the extent of denying that Israel’s journey from Egypt occurred at all. In response, C. R. Krahmalkov points out the witness of Late Bronze Age Egyptian topographical lists:
In short, the Biblical story of the invasion of Transjordan that set the stage for the conquest of all Palestine is told against a background that is historically accurate. The Israelite invasion route described in Numbers 33:45b–50 was in fact an official, heavily trafficked Egyptian road through the Transjordan in the Late Bronze Age. And the city of Dibon was in fact a station on that road in the Late Bronze Age.8
Verses 3–15 cover journeys from Egypt to the Desert of Sinai (cf. Ex. 12–19). Numbers 33:4 adds that the Lord has accomplished judgment on the gods of the Egyptians. In other words, the plagues (Ex. 7–12) were not simply to discomfort the Egyptians; they were strategically calculated to attack their religious system by displaying God’s power over things they worshiped. Another addition by Numbers 33 is in verses 12–14, which name Dophkah and Alush as the stops between the Desert of Sin and Rephidim (cf. Ex. 17:1).
Numbers 33:15–16 includes the Desert of Sinai, where the tabernacle was constructed and the laws of Leviticus were given, as just another stop along the way. Taberah (11:3) is not included, apparently because it was sumbsumed under Kibroth Hattaavah as the same place, or very close by, with no journey recorded between the two locations.9 Verses 16–49 cover the decades of travel from the Desert of Sinai to the plains of Moab by the Jordan River (cf. Num. 10–25), listing many place names that we have not encountered earlier in Numbers because no noteworthy events occurred there during the years of wandering (cf. Deut. 2:1).
Kadesh raises a question that remains unresolved. According to Numbers 33, after leaving the Desert of Sinai (33:16a), the Israelites camped at Kibroth Hattaavah (33:16b; cf. 11:34–35a), at Hazeroth (33:18a; cf. 11:35b; 12:16a), and then at a series of places not mentioned earlier in Numbers (33:18b–36a), before arriving at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin (33:36b). This is the Kadesh where the “waters of Meribah” were located (20:1–13; Deut. 32:51) and from which Moses petitioned the king of Edom for passage (Num. 20:14; Judg. 11:16–17).
From Kadesh they went to Mount Hor, where Aaron died in the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt (Num. 33:38–39; cf. 20:22–29). This was at the end of the desert wandering, as the Israelites were making their way toward Moab (see 33:40–49). The question is: Why doesn’t Numbers 33 mention the long stay at Kadesh (Barnea; cf. 12:16; 13:26; 32:8; Deut. 1:19, 46; 2:14)? Was it perhaps a different Kadesh from the one where the Israelites stayed thirty-eight years later?10
The summary of past journeys in Numbers 33 returns to the present at the plains of Moab by the Jordan, where the Israelites are encamped (33:49). Here, across from Jericho, the Lord instructs them how to treat the Canaanites when they cross the Jordan: Drive them out, destroy all their objects of worship, and settle in their land, dividing it up by casting lots (33:50–56).
Numbers 34 addresses the settlement and division of the land. First, the boundaries of the Promised Land are specified in the order: southern (34:3–5), western (34:6), northern (34:7–9), and eastern (34:10–12), aside from the Transjordanian territory of the Gadites, Reubenites, and half-tribe of Manasseh (34:13–15).11 Next, chapter 34 lists the leaders who will be responsible for dividing up the land (34:16–29). Reuben and Gad are not represented among these leaders because their inheritance is on the other side of the Jordan (see ch. 32).
Bridging Contexts
“YOUR SIN WILL find you out.” It is understandable that Moses overreacts to the request of the Reubenites and Gadites to settle in the Transjordan (Num. 32:6–15). He has long and hard experience with fickle failure to honor commitments. Even after Moses accepts their plan, he engages them in extended dialogue to confirm the agreement as a legal contract and spell out contingencies (32:20–33).
It is much the same today. If you agree to buy or sell a major item, such as real estate, or if you take out a bank loan, there is a substantial legal process that follows the initial agreement. The reason why a loan contract requires special safeguards is because the borrower receives money before performing the obligation to pay it back. When people already have what they want, as the Gadites and Reubenites will, the natural tendency is to relax and neglect their commitment.
At Nineveh, Iraq, in 1989, I needed one worker on the last day of our excavation season to re-cover and thereby protect some partially exposed Assyrian skeletons that had been crushed at the entrance to the Halzi Gate when the city fell in 612 B.C. Since our regular workers had already been dismissed, our director found it convenient to pay the local man who had been guarding our site to help me with the job. Until he did the work, his pay was a loan. However, having received his pay, he had no incentive and was in the process of leaving without performing his obligation. Because the job had to be done that day and I could not do it all myself, I imitated our Iraqi foreman by shoving him back to work amid a torrent of the most fluent Arabic I have ever mustered.
There is a saying that “possession is nine-tenths of the law.” So modern law protects a lender from a borrower’s default by enforcing the right of repossession or seizure of collateral. But how could the Israelites foreclose on two entire tribes if they refused to budge in order to help the other tribes across the Jordan? A civil war to force their cooperation (cf. Judg. 20) would defeat the purpose of strengthening Israel’s position against its enemies.
Recognizing the danger inherent in loaning the Reubenites and Gadites territory that they would already possess, Moses warned: “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23). There was a higher authority with power to enforce the contract.
Moses did not say that God would directly punish them. Rather, he said that their sin (ḥaṭṭaʾt) itself would find (Qal of mṣʾ ) them. In other words, sin would inevitably boomerang back to haunt them with evil results. In the Bible this prominent theme is often expressed by the metaphor of evil deeds returning on the heads of those who perpetrate them.12 Today we say, “chickens come home to roost” or “what goes around comes around.”
The Lord holds people accountable by bringing to completion the consequences inherent in their own actions.13 Thus, key Hebrew terms for moral evil (including ḥaṭṭaʾt, pešaʿ, and ʿawon; see comments on Lev. 16) can refer both to sinful acts and their consequences, implying that the consequences are inseparable from the actions themselves.14
For the Israelites as a whole, their sin will find them if they fail to drive out the Canaanites, destroy their idolatrous objects, and obliterate their places of worship (33:52). There can be no attempt to preserve the culture of these people, even in an anthropological museum. Needless to say, this is “politically incorrect” today. But if the Israelites bond to the Canaanites and their culture, they will bond to their sins. If God’s people permit remnants of spiritual “cancer,” they will set themselves up for overwhelming “metastasis.” Détente would be the prelude to defeat.
The Lord warns: “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them” (33:55–56). By later failing in this regard, the Israelites do indeed bring on themselves untold misery during the long and dark period of the judges (see esp. Judg. 1–3).15
Contemporary Significance
DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITY. Dwight L. Moody understood the value of delegating responsibility, saying, “I’d rather get ten men to do the job than to do the job of ten men.”16 Because Moses was running a nation, he had to delegate in all kinds of ways, but this was not always easy for him. Jethro found him trying to do the job of ten men and urged him to appoint judges, which he did (Ex. 18:13–26). The Lord found him crushed by the burden of leading the people and instructed him to choose seventy elders, which he also did (Num. 11).
H. Finzel lists several reasons why it is difficult for leaders to delegate: fear of losing authority, fear of work being done poorly, fear of work being done better, unwillingness to take the necessary time, fear of depending on others, and lack of training and positive experience.17
Moses was not jealous for his own authority or afraid that others could do things better than he could (see Num. 11:29). Nor would this former prince of Egypt have lacked training. However, Moses was concerned for God to maintain authority (e.g., 16:5–11), and he was conscientious, knowing that the stakes involved in cooperation with the divine will were high. So when it came to matters of crucial importance, it is not surprising that he would have some reservations about depending on others, especially when even his own brother let him and the Lord down by making a golden calf at Sinai (Ex. 32).
The way a leader should supervise those who follow him or her depends, of course, on their levels of motivation, interest, and skill.18 P. Hersey and K. Blanchard present a model of situational leadership involving four styles of supervision, which are to be applied according to the readiness of the followers. Fully “delegating” is best for people who are able and willing or confident. If they are able but unwilling or insecure, it may be necessary for a leader to be “participating” with them in getting a job done. “Selling” people on doing a job through dialogue and clarification to support their motivation and commitment is helpful if they are unable but willing or confident. For those with low ability/skill and willingness, strongly “telling” people what to do, whether they like it or not, is the approach that works.19
If we don’t feel comfortable with the strong way God and Moses ordered the Israelites to do things or else, we should keep in mind that these people had just come out of slavery. In many areas of life, a lot of them had low interest, motivation, and skill, so they needed the “telling” approach. Even if we are well motivated, highly skilled, and therefore ready for someone to lead us by “delegating,” we can still learn a lot from prescriptive passages of the Pentateuch. Formulation of messages as law in this part of the Bible is part of the leadership style and does not invalidate the messages themselves as “legalistic.”
Although Moses was cautious about delegating some tasks, one of his greatest strengths was the fact that he believed in his people more than they believed in themselves.
It’s easy to have faith in people who have already proved themselves. It’s much tougher to believe in people before they have proved themselves. But that is the key to motivating people to reach their potential. You have to believe in them first, before they become successful, and sometimes before they even believe in themselves. French writer and moralist Joseph Joubert said, “No one can give faith unless he has faith. It is the persuaded who persuade.” You need faith in others before you can persuade them to believe in themselves.20
Theodore Roosevelt said: “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”21 Finzel agrees that an effective leader does not micromanage or make decisions behind the backs of workers. He tells of a boss who gave a new employee a challenging problem to work on, but when the young man had toiled long and hard to come up with an impressive report, the boss simply said “Looks good, Sam . . . but we’ve decided to take another approach with that project.” The boss failed to give him the authority, freedom, and respect that should have gone with the assignment. Nor did he bother to check up on how Sam was doing.22
That was not Moses’ style. When he assigned a job, he delegated the authority necessary to accomplish it. He did not overmanage by hovering over and interfering with his subordinates, but with his respect for the responsibility of others, he expected and demanded that tasks be done right for the sake of God and Israel (e.g., Lev. 10:16–18; Num. 31:14–18).
When Christ was about to leave his earthly ministry in order to commence his priestly ministry in heaven, he commissioned his followers in Matt. 28:18–20:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Finzel draws attention to the fact that Jesus “promised to follow up on that delegation by His presence: ‘Surely I am with you always.’ He is going to hold His followers accountable, but He also intends to encourage them along the way. Excellent practice of delegation!”23
The messages and styles of Moses and Jesus teach us both the message and method of our mission. Bound for our promised Paradise, we are not to hoard tasks or the authority that goes with them, but to pass them on as Christ multiplies empowerment the way he did the loaves and fish (cf. Matt. 14; Mark 6; Luke 9).