The Succession of God's People

All right, I better jump into it because otherwise I won't finish. So today we're actually gonna be doing a topical. Matt, if you wanna turn channel, what am I? Channel four down just a hair. You can hear it ringing ever so slightly.

The Theme of Succession in God’s Leadership

We're gonna be doing a topical lesson today and it is going to be on the succession of God's leaders. We're gonna be talking about the succession of God's leaders today. One of the more interesting ways in which God has worked within his own creation, which of course is something we talk a lot about.

We've talked about it many times before is that he does it through his people. Of course, we have marvelous examples of some of those people throughout the Bible. We have guys like Enoch and Noah and Melchizedek, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, and so on.

I mean, there's dozens and dozens of examples we could use. But where it gets really interesting or even more interesting perhaps is when there is some light that is shed on the succession of these people of God, quite literally carrying out God's will.

And in some cases, even providing us with his revealed word, depending on if they were a prophet or whomever it may be, Solomon, David, where they actually gave us God's word, seeing the succession of people from one generation to the next carrying out such large work can be a really interesting thing to look at.

And we have some very important examples of what God's succession plan looked like throughout the Bible. But today, as kind of a means of introduction to our next study, which I'll introduce in a little bit, we're gonna look at a few of the most significant successions of leadership or the next generation of God's men that were commissioned to carry out his work on earth.

So we can look at the men themselves, but what we're doing today is we're looking at the transfer of power, if you will, the transfer of blessing, I guess, would be an even better way to put it. And we're gonna start by looking at Moses to Joshua.

Moses and Joshua: A God-Appointed Transfer of Authority

So we're gonna look at the succession from Moses to Joshua. Let's start there. If you wanna turn to Numbers chapter 27, class.

I'm turning.

I know you're turning. It's just funny seeing you out there all by yourself. We have our friends right there as well, though. I know you guys are turning with us. Numbers chapter 27, and let's start in verse 12.

And remember, we're looking at the succession from Moses to Joshua. It says in verse 12, "'And the Lord said unto Moses, "'Get thee up into this mount.'".

Hold on one second.

Okay. Sorry, Maya.

This mount, Abraham?

Yeah.

Well, my iPad messed up a little bit. "'And the Lord said unto Moses, "'Get thee up into this mount, Abraham, "'and see the land which I have given "'unto the children of Israel. "'And when thou hast seen it, "'thou shalt be gathered unto thy people, "'as Aaron thy brother was gathered.

"'For ye rebelled against my commandment "'in the desert of Zin, "'in the strife of the congregation, "'to sanctify me at the water before their eyes, "'that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh "'in the wilderness of Zin.'".

Now, before we move on, it kinda goes without saying that at some point, Moses, as awesome as he was, would have needed a successor. He would have needed someone to take his place. However, the end of Moses' ministry, as we'll see in just a second, had a little bit, a little tinge of bitterness to it as well, due to his grave sin at the water of Meribah that the Lord was just referencing there in verse 14.

You guys recall when the Lord commanded Moses to strike the rock, water would flow from it, and then later he said to speak to the rock, and that the water would flow from it. And instead, Moses struck it twice.

So, Moses committed a great sin there, it was an abomination because it was a total break of a type or picture of Christ's crucifixion. It was supposed to represent his crucifixion and then his relationship with us post-resurrection, but instead, Moses struck the rock twice, as if Christ would be crucified twice.

It was a tremendous sin. And the Lord reminds Moses here that he will not enter the promised land because of that sin, though he will see it with his own eyes, which of course was a massive deal in its own right, but still not quite the same.

And his time as the leader of God's people will come to an end. So, then comes the successor of Moses, which of course, no doubt, would have been a tremendous honor, but also a tremendous burden as well.

Moses knew that it was necessary and God knew exactly to whom Moses needed to impart his leadership because the Lord had already handpicked him long before this particular moment. If you guys want to, we're in Numbers chapter 27.

Just finished reading through verse 14 and picking up at verse 15 now. Numbers 27, verse 15. And Moses spake into the Lord saying, let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them and which may go in before them and which may lead them out and which may bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.

So, Moses here shares his heart with the Lord, perhaps burdened by the idea of these stiff-necked people, which he's been leading for decades now at this point, being without a God-fearing leader like himself.

You gotta wonder what Moses was thinking after all the strife they had put him through and him knowing that he was such a significant player in God's work. He was probably a little bit burdened about the idea of him eventually leaving and what would happen to these people.

Now, imagine the burden, just to put it in modern day terms for something that we may be able to sympathize with a little bit more. Imagine the burden of a pastor who has faithfully led a flock his entire ministry knowing that one day he would not be their shepherd anymore.

Certainly, Moses would have been feeling that but on a larger scale than perhaps anyone else in history. If you think about all of the godly men that had a significant ministry that eventually had to be passed on to someone else, if there was anyone that had a burden for making sure that was gonna be done right, it was probably Moses.

And again, you can think of that burden in modern terms as well. Great men of God in this century, in the last century that led a wonderfully fruitful ministry and all of these great things, leading people as a pastor and then one day that would come to an end and when it does, they have to pass it on to someone else.

Sometimes they're fortunate enough to find a great successor but most of the time it's kind of sad but they don't and their ministry can dwindle and the power isn't there anymore. And so there are examples like that too but either way, there could be a burden for sure.

Let's look at verse 18. And the Lord said unto Moses, "'Take the Joshua, the son of Nun, "'a man in whom is the Spirit, "'and lay thine hand upon him "'and set him before Eleazar the priest "'and before all the congregation "'and give him a charge in their sight.

"'And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him "'that all the congregation of the children of Israel "'may be obedient. "'And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest "'who shall ask counsel for him "'after the judgment of Urim before the Lord.

"'At his word shall they go out "'and at his word shall they come in, "'both he and all the children of Israel with him, "'even all the congregation.'". Now, not only will the people look to Joshua for the wisdom needed to be a successful nation but even God's priest here, Eleazar, will seek the counsel of Joshua and together they will discern the needs of the people.

So, again, a tremendous honor, tremendous blessing and power that's about to be imparted upon Joshua. Verse 22 says, "'And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. "'And he took Joshua "'and set him before Eleazar the priest "'and before all the congregation "'and he laid his hand upon him "'and gave him a charge "'as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.'.

This was basically the effective transfer of power, if you want to call it that, the point of succession between Moses, the great prophet of God, perhaps the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, to Joshua, the soon-to-be conqueror of the promised land himself.

But Joshua, in addition to receiving Moses' honor and Moses' blessing and him putting his hands on him and all of those things kind of ordaining him to some degree, Joshua also receives his own commission directly from the Lord even after Moses has given him the honor and blessing to press forward as Israel's new leader.

So if y 'all wanna look at another passage, turn over to Joshua chapter one. We're just gonna read the opening verses of that really quick. And you'll see that in addition to Moses imparting this blessing and honor and these things to Joshua, God himself reaffirms it.

He does it later once Moses is gone, once Moses has been buried. Well, he wasn't buried, I suppose, but after he passed away in the mountain. And now Joshua has the keys to the nation, so to speak. Let's look at this, what it says in just Joshua 1 .1.

Now, after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses, my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all the people under the land, which I do give them, even to the children of Israel.

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and under the great sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your coast.

There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them.

Only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses, my servant, commanded thee. Turn not from it, to the right or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, and thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. So the succession from Moses to Joshua has just taken place.

And for anyone that joined a little bit late, whether online or otherwise, what we're talking about today is the succession of God's leaders. That is today's topic. So this is the first example we're looking at.

Now, there are some very important things to note about these events that we just read about in Numbers and now in Joshua. Number one, no matter how godly or how great a particular man is in leading God's people, his ministry will eventually come to an end.

It kind of goes without saying, but it is an important component here because I feel like a lot of people can get wrapped up under the leadership of a particular guy that is amazing and not think about the fact that one day he'll be gone and what's gonna happen to this ministry.

There's a lot of power here now, but what about when he's gone? So it goes without saying, but again, it doesn't matter how great they are, eventually that ministry will come to an end. But number two, because of this, those men are held responsible for seeking God's guidance and finding the next man to pass their leadership over to.

So they have to put thought into it. They have to prepare for when that day comes. It's ultimately the Lord, number three, that picks the successor, as we learned in the story we just looked at. But that doesn't negate the responsibility of man.

In this case, it was Moses pleading with the Lord to quote, set a man over his people. So let me read that again. It's ultimately the Lord that picks the successor. The successor is in God's hands, but that does not negate the responsibility of man.

Moses still had to come to the Lord, share his heart and share his concern for the people he had been leading and let the Lord know, set a man over this congregation. And then number four, the next successor is blessed by the predecessor.

So that happened, Moses is blessing Joshua, as this transfer takes place, the next successor is blessed by the predecessor and commissioned by God himself. So that's what we just saw there. And I believe that this pattern is more relevant to the way in which God works through his shepherds today than we may even realize.

In other words, yes, there are differences in the dispensations of time, but the framework of God passing his power from one man of God to the next, even in the 21st century, isn't all that different.

The framework is the same, even with the obvious differences between the Old Testament prophets and today aside, the framework is still very close to the same. And I want you guys to keep that in mind as we go through these examples.

Let's watch for this pattern in a couple of other examples. Let's take a look at David in his transfer of power to Solomon, the succession from David to Solomon. Let's go to 2 Samuel chapter seven. 2 Samuel chapter seven.

And we have quite a few verses to read. I'm not sure if we'll be able to get through all this today. Let's see, seven, let's start at verse one, perhaps, maybe not. Okay, let's start at verse one. And it came to pass when the king sat in his house and the Lord had given him rest around about from all his enemies, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.

And Nathan said to the king, go do all that is in thy heart for the Lord is with thee. And it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came into Nathan saying, go and tell my servant David, thus saith the Lord, shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt,.

Even to this day,.

But have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. This is God talking. Verse seven, in all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, why build ye not me a house of cedar?

Now therefore, so shalt thou say unto thy servant David, thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheep cot, from following the sheep, to be the ruler over my people over Israel. And I was with thee, whithersoever thou wentest and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.

Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more and neither shalt the children of wickedness afflict them anymore as before time.

And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies, also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee a house. And when thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels and I will establish his kingdom.

Note verse 12, that's an important piece to all this. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men, but my mercy shall not depart away from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee, thy throne shall be established forever. According to all these words and according to all the vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

So it's interesting because David wants to build the Lord a house and the Lord says, yes, that will happen, but it'll be through your seed. And of course, God is here prophesying to Nathan to go tell David that I'm gonna raise up a seed after you and we'll establish his kingdom and all of these great things.

He's prophesying about Solomon, of course. Now, David didn't know this yet. This is a long time before David even met Bathsheba, let alone Solomon being conceived. But the Lord is telling him, I will bring a seed after you and we'll be with him forever.

So we have God setting the succession plan for David here. He says, quote, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels and I will establish his kingdom. Of course, he's talking about Solomon.

He hadn't even been conceived yet.

So David didn't know that. He didn't know it would be Solomon necessarily, but God knew exactly how David's succession plan would fall into place decades before it would need to. But it's worth noting a stark contrast in one particular area between Moses and David.

In other words, the way Moses handled his succession plan, the way David handled his. Moses was quick to seek wisdom from the Lord regarding his successor, if you guys recall, from that Numbers passage, and even asked God to rise up the white person.

David, on the other hand, was told by God directly in what we just read, that his successor would rise up. It would be his own lineage. But we find a really curious scene at the end of David's life. You have David laying in his bed as an old sick man, and totally unbeknownst to him, you have this guy, Adonijah, taking his throne.

And it then took Bathsheba going to David to get him involved and to ultimately crown Solomon as the next king. So it worked out. Solomon was crowned king. The succession plan that God told Nathan about decades prior happened.

But where was David? Why hadn't he prepared everything that needed to be prepared before he was in a state of bedrest as an old sick guy waiting to essentially die? He was essentially on his deathbed at this point.

He may have remembered God's promise to him, but he hadn't made it known to his people or set anything in motion to actually move forward with God's succession plan. And I think we can learn a lot from that.

Remember point four a second ago, or point three, it's ultimately the Lord that picks the successor. This story is no different. He picked Solomon before he was ever thought of by his parents, but that doesn't negate the responsibility of man.

David should have been preparing for this succession long before he entered bedrest and you have some tyrant try to take his throne from the human viewpoint. All that is very, very bad. It wasn't gonna thwart God's plan, but David was held responsible for making this happen and he failed essentially.

I mean, Bathsheba had to come in and fix some of it, get him involved and it was kind of a mess. Let's go over to 1 Kings 2 now. We have quite a few passages we're gonna read through as quickly as we can.

1 Kings chapter two, and we'll read the first nine verses and then maybe skip and read another as well. So, all right, God told Nathan who told David about the succession plan. David failed to some degree.

He didn't do his part, so to speak. Remember the whole point of this lesson, the idea of there being successors for God's leaders is that God is working with his people. So he doesn't want us just laying around waiting for him to do all of it.

I mean, that's not exact. It's very rare that that's how God does anything. Almost always he works through his people. So he told David the plan and then David goes and is just waiting out his days as an old man with a virgin keeping him company until he dies.

And he didn't do anything to actually prepare for what God wanted him to do. All that's behind him now is one of his wives, one of his many wives had to come in and set him straight and all this stuff.

But now here we are, David is about to give a charge to Solomon, his successor. Now the days of David drew nigh, this is verse one of chapter two. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die. And he charged Solomon, his son saying, I go the way of all the earth, be thou strong therefore and show thyself a man and keep the charge of the Lord thy God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes and his commandments and his judgments and his testimonies as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest thyself.

I think it's interesting as a side note that David's definition of being a man is to obey God. Isn't that interesting, to obey his commandments, his law. Verse four says that the Lord may continue his word, which he spake concerning me saying, if thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth, with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man on the throne of Israel.

Moreover, thou knowest also, this is really interesting here. Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab, the son of Zerui did to me and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel unto Abner, the son of Ner, and unto Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he slew and shed the blood of war in peace and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins and in his shoes that were on his feet.

Do therefore according to thy wisdom and let not his whorehead go down to the grave in peace, but show kindness unto the sons of Barzillia, the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table.

For so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom, thy brother, and behold, thou hast the Shimei, the son of Jera, or Gera, and Benjamite, a Benjamite of Behurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim.

I can say all these to myself, but when I try to say them out loud, I can't say any of them. But he came down to meet me at Jordan and I swear to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

Now therefore, hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man and thou knowest what thou ought to do to him, but his whorehead bring thou down to the grave with blood. Isn't it interesting that some of David's last words to Solomon are to go avenge some of David's grievances?

David lived a very interesting life, that is for sure. And then look at verse 12. Then set Solomon upon the throne of David. His father and his kingdom was established greatly. So there we go. There is the succession from David to Solomon.

Totally different between Moses and Joshua. A lot of lack of care and a lot of interesting counsel. Now Solomon, of course, because of his faithful prayer, did receive the wisdom he needed to take the succession plan and do something with it.

But David didn't do all that great on his part. So there were certainly some differences there, but what are the common factors? Number one, again, David's ministry, his kingship had to come to an end.

Because of this, he was held responsible for seeking God's wisdom and finding that next successor. He didn't do that part very well, but God stepped in nevertheless, because he had already set the successor in place.

And he did that with Solomon. And then the next successor is blessed by the predecessor. That happened certainly between David and Solomon. Let's look at one more example here. Let's look at Elijah to Elijah.

Elijah and Elisha: The Mantle of Prophetic Succession

Elijah to Elisha is one more example of what succession can look like in the Bible. From the human viewpoint, again, David had some shortcomings, but the framework was still there. It was still the same framework.

Let's see if we can see that again in this story. After a very fruitful season of ministry and having expended his energy, Elijah the prophet was refreshed by rest and a supernatural provision of food for a 40-day journey to the mountain of God.

Near the end of his ministry, Elijah spent a lot of one-on-one time with the Lord and was provided for. Much like the Israelites were in the wilderness, he was provided for supernaturally. And on the mountain alone, God spoke to Elijah to give him perspective on the condition of his people and showed him who to install in leadership positions.

There were two kings that he wanted him to bless and to anoint, and he wanted him to find a replacement for himself. So God is telling Elijah on the mountain, it's time for your succession. It's time for someone to follow in your footsteps, and I want you to go find that replacement.

Skip over, you can stay in 1 Kings, but skip over to chapter 19 now and start at verse 15. And it says, and the Lord said unto him, go, return thy way into the wilderness of Damascus. And when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be the king over Syria, and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel.

So there's the two kings that he wanted him to put in power. And Elisha, the son of Shaphat, of, I'm not even gonna try that just at the moment, shalt thou anoint thee to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass that him, yeah, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

Yet I have left me 7 ,000 in Israel, all the knees which did not bow down to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him. So he departed thence and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him, and he with the 12th.

And Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon Elisha. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, go back again for what I have done to thee.

And he returned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and slew them and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen and gave unto the people and they did eat. Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him.

Now, Elijah is a great example of a saint that finished well. He was a faithful servant. He was a prophet of the Lord and was rewarded for it in a lot of very unique ways, including, not limited to, but including being translated into paradise without having to experience the first death.

If you guys recall, Elijah is the one that will shortly go up in a chariot of fire. He never died. The Lord just took him alive into paradise. But before that happened, the Lord commissions Elijah with appointing not only the two kings, but also his successor is the next great prophet of God.

And we just saw the first interaction between Elijah and Elisha, his successor. But now go to 2 Kings 2. It's just a few pages over. 2 Kings 2. And let's read this together. We're almost done. We'll start wrapping up in just a second.

Chapter two, let's start in verse nine. And it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha, ask, what shall I do for thee before I be taken away from thee? And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

Isn't that a neat request by Elisha, looking at this great man of God, knowing he's about to leave supernaturally. And he says, please give me a double portion of your spirit. Knowing what he was about to do, what he was about to be responsible for.

The successor who he was to become, give me a double portion of your spirit. And Elijah said, thou hast asked a hard thing. Thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee.

But if not, it shall not be so. Very interesting stuff. And it came to pass, verse 11. It came to pass as they still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder.

So they split them in two. They're no longer walking together. They're separated. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it. And he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.

And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. And he stood up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and went back and stood by the bank of Jordan. Think about the burden that Elijah just experienced, knowing that Elijah is now gone and it's now just him.

So the succession just took place. There's no more Elijah. It's just Elisha. His mentor is gone. He got the double portion of his spirit, but he's still alone now to carry out the Lord's work. It's an honor, but it's also a great burden.

And he took the mantle of Elijah in verse 14 that fell from him and smote the waters and said, where's the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither and Elisha went over.

So he just parted the sea with the mantle of Elijah. And when the sons of the prophets, which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

So there you have the establishment of Elisha with God's power ready to continue the work that Elijah was doing just moments prior. So what can we learn from these stories? Well, one of the things, of course, is the need for a strong succession plan to continue the Lord's work on earth as it is in heaven.

It is of utmost importance. That is, of course, one of the major keys to all three of these stories, even though there's some interesting variances in the way it was handled. Moses and Elijah both handled it wonderfully.

David, not so much, but even still, the framework was there and the succession did take place. It's of utmost importance that these succession plans are made and that they are played out. And I would say, especially in cases when a particularly giant man of God is finished with his ministry.

In other words, in cases where you have a giant of the faith and his ministry is coming to an end, it is especially important then for that man to seek wisdom from God in how to move forward with a succession plan.

Who will he pass the baton onto next, so to speak? And even though you can see some differences, like I said, in these three stories, the fundamentals of all three were the same. A great giant of the faith finished his ministry.

The Lord ultimately appointed the successor. The successor then received the blessing of the predecessor. And finally, the successor continued the work that was left to him, being blessed by the Lord himself.