“So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.” (Numbers 27:22-23)
Eli Whitney is often credited with first implementing interchangeable parts in the early 19th century. Making small parts that could be swapped out when worn made it much easier to keep weapons, farming equipment, and other tools in working order without having to replace whole units at a time. This practice of replacing small parts to keep larger pieces of equipment operational can actually be traced all the way back to shipwrights in Carthage during the First Punic War (264 B.C.) If the rudder of a ship, the flintlock of a musket, or the teeth of a cotton gin showed signs of wear and tear, no problem! Simply replace the part and preserve the whole. But in truth, the practice of interchangeable parts was in use long before even 264 B.C. Whether we realize it or not, the Lord set up His Church with interchangeable parts as well.
Eli Whitney cotton gin
Consider Moses’ passing of the reigns to Joshua. Moses had, by God’s grace, led Israel through forty of their most difficult years. And in Numbers 27, Moses prepares Israel for his departure by inaugurating his successor: Joshua. You can imagine what the people might have been thinking. “How in the world is this young man supposed to replace Moses? He’s MOSES!”
We run into this attitude in our own church and synod not infrequently. Truly, we give thanks for all who have served the Lord—men and women whom the Lord powerfully enabled to bring comfort, peace, and stability to His people through their work as pastors, teachers, and members. But whenever those whom we have come to rely on are called out of their current form of service, we agonize over that same question: “How are we going to replace them?”
And yet, look at what God accomplished through Moses’ successor. Joshua faithfully led Israel in their conquest against the land of Canaan, achieving victory after victory by God’s almighty power. Through Joshua, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham to give this land as a possession to his descendants so that through the Seed of Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18). And through that Descendant, Jesus Christ, salvation was won and eternal life given to all who confess their sins and seek His mercy. None of this was accomplished by Joshua. It was all God‘s working in and through His people, just as He had with Joshua’s predecessor and every one of His faithful servants before or after.
Even Moses, it turned out, was replaceable. In the church, none of us truly “stand on the shoulders of giants,” as the saying goes. That would make man the foundation of our ministry. Christ’s Church stands on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Himself being our Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-20). And that, thank God, makes each one of us replaceable—so long as we remember that the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, given through Word and sacrament, is NOT replaceable. And as God, in time, swaps us in and out of the roles He calls us to and from, may we take comfort in the knowledge that the Church can and will weather any and every change in Christ.
Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
is associate pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.