Friday's Treasury Reading

On Friday, we read from Numbers 27, where Moses is told he will not enter the Promised Land. He asks God to appoint a successor so that "the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd." Of course, the immediate successor was Joshua, but those words immediately made me think of our true Joshua, who during His public ministry had compassion for the crowds, "because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36).

The parallels between Joshua and Jesus are many, but I had never seen or considered this one before. Then add Ezekiel 34, which speaks of those who should have shepherded Israel but didn't, so God promises to be their shepherd and sends the Good Shepherd. For, of course, the Law (Moses) cannot lead us into the Promised Land of Heaven - only Jesus can do that.