Day 67 - Sheep without a Shepherd

In Numbers 27 Moses is given the chance to see the land of promise, but he is not allowed to enter due to his not honoring the Lord as holy before the people. There could easily have been bitterness on the part of Moses, but that’s not the reaction we get. Instead we see a tremendous heart for the people of God.

15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” (Numbers 27:15–17 ESV).

This is such a beautiful plea to the Lord. Moses does not want the people to be shepherd-less. Obviously this replacement was Joshua, but we cannot miss the clear pointing to Jesus. Jesus looked out over the people with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd (cf. Matthew 9:36). But even further, this Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep.

Take some time a read through John 10:1-18 and meditate on our Good Shepherd.