Num 27:15-17, Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, "May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd." 
Last week, we saw how Moses expressed to God his desire for the Lord to make every provision for a leader for the Lord’s people. He did so even knowing the fact that the new generation was going into the Promised Land without him. He had spent more than 40 years struggling with this obstinate people. He had gone before them unto Pharaoh for their release from their slavery in Egypt. He also went before the Lord for the sake of the people’s preservation every time they rebelled, and complained, and murmured, and committed idolatry and were unfaithful and unbelieving. Still Moses had his heart open to them and unto them for the sake of the very testimony of the Lord before all the nations. He knew that all those countries were intensely watching for the demise of the Children of Israel to use it as an accusation against the Lord God Jehovah. 
Still, Moses was not going to know the joy of the physical inheritance of the land because he and Aaron had not treated God as holy. They had acted in anger and frustration before the people and the Lord. Aaron was now dead and Moses would only be seeing the land from a distance, from the top of the mountain. Then he would be the last of the first generation to die in the wilderness.
Dr. Allen provides a most poignant picture of how Moses dealt with this utter disappointment at the end of his time on this earth. In spite of this devastating blow, he had the good of the people at the forefront of his thoughts after he had blessed the Lord. 
Quote, Thus we see that Moses’ reaction to this reassertion of his restriction from enjoying the land is to give a blessing to the Lord and to offer a prayer for his successor. Here is the Moses of old! Gone is his terrible moment of anger. He has the good of the community at heart. He does not grieve at his own loss but desires a successor so that at last the people will be able to enjoy the end of their salvation. In this sense his life will not have been for naught. He does not select his own heir. This is not a hereditary post nor one that was his to dispose – only the Lord can provide a successor to Moses. Since the Lord knows all men, He will be the judge of the inner qualities demanded for the task.
The successor to Moses was not chosen because of a blood relationship to Moses; he was not a king. Nor was he chosen by popular election for Moses had not been elected by the people – something they had constantly reminded him! ....The successor was to be appointed directly by God. The Lord is King; Moses is only an agent. The successor was not to be a figurehead or a symbol but a leader who goes before his people, leading them in the direction they should go. He is pictured as a shepherd, one needed by the flock. Moses’ concern was that his flock not be left without a shepherd. End quote.
    	In our reading of this chapter we saw that the Lord chose Joshua to shepherd the people. God knew that the nation needed a strong and capable leader who would seek the way of the Lord throughout the process of conquering the land and dividing it among the tribes. The Lord knew the heart of Joshua and all the rightful steps were followed by Moses and Eleazar to anoint Joshua as witnessed by the whole nation before Moses died. This would allow the mantle of leadership to be placed upon the one whom the Lord had chosen. Joshua’s appointment would be such that none could argue against it or contest it. 
It also meant that the people had someone who would shepherd them completely in line with the will of God as Moses had done through all the wandering in the wilderness regions. The people would not be left without a shepherd of the flock, the agent of the Lord to show them the way.
	This is what we want to take to heart, that God loves us so much that He has always and eternally given us that Shepherd Who will guide and care for His flock to the utmost. The heart of Moses was simply the mirrored expression of the very heart of God that His people will never be without the care and the direction and the protection and the staff of His correction for our eternal benefit and blessing.
	The Lord voiced this through the Prophet Jeremiah as we can read together in Jeremiah 3, verses 14-19. Please open to it in your Bibles. 
Jer 3:14-19, 'Return, O faithless sons,' declares the Lord; 'For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And I will bring you to Zion.' "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. "And it shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the Lord, "they shall say no more, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord.' And it shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again. "At that time they shall call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the Lord,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor shall they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. "In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance. "Then I said, 'How I would set you among My sons, And give you a pleasant land, The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!' And I said, 'You shall call Me, My Father, And not turn away from following Me.' 
    	What a glorious picture is set before us in this imagery expressed by the Lord. There is the beauty of unity as the nation, that was at enmity from within and viciously battling itself is brought together by the Lord. There is the peace and the comfort and the increase foretold. All the former things are set aside and forgotten as the people, as we look to the Lord and see Him as Our Father. In His light, we are His children and we follow Him forevermore.
	The prophet continues this theme in proclaiming the voice of God to us in Jer 23:3-8. In this passage is the pronouncement of Our Lord Jesus Christ as the means and the surety and the righteousness of the Lord’s utmost care and keeping of His flock. 
Jer 23:3-8, "Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply. "I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the Lord. "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The Lord our righteousness.' "Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when they will no longer say, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,' but, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.' Then they will live on their own soil." 
    	Did you catch one of the most wonderful of God’s promises to you and to me and to all who belong to Him? …and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing… We live in a world beset with fear and terror. There is constant uprising and rebellion and anger and hatred and destruction that perpetually surround us. Every day people are killed senselessly or injured or maimed or beaten or robbed. 
On top of that are all the terrible diseases and illnesses that attack our bodies, not to mention the tremendous hardships of aging and physical decay. Add to all of this the myriad of responsibilities that daily multiply, causing us to suffer panic and depression and anguish, if we do not learn to trust the One Who has us well in hand. This promise is in effect because of the …righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land…. We have nothing to fear in Jesus Christ because of His absolute victory over sin and death! 
	Now read what the Prophet Ezekiel has to say in his encouragement to us of the care that God provides for you and for me, for each one of His flock, in Ezek 34:11-16. Please turn to this passage in order to read it together.
Ezek 34:11-16, For thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. "As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. "And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. "I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in good grazing ground, and they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. "I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord God. "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. 
	Of tremendous importance to us in this passage is the fact that it is the Lord Who will do this! It is not up to you or me. He is the One Who will perform His excellent work in gathering us together and in meeting our every need. He is the One Who will feed us. He is the One Who will give us rest! He is the One Who will seek us when we have gone astray! The whole responsibility for our daily lives is set upon the shoulders of the One Who so loves us and cares for us and guards us and provides for us! That is why we can be settled in the truth …and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing…  
    	Later in Ezek 34:23-31, The Lord again gives us His tremendous account of how He will directly care for and keep us in His peace and safety - today, tomorrow and forevermore. Ezek 34:23-31, "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. "And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. "And I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. "And I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing. "Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. "And they will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. "And I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore. "Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," declares the Lord God. "As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God," declares the Lord God. 
	The witness of the Lord to the nations, as was always the concern of Moses in his shepherding of the Israelites, is also voiced by the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezek 37:24-28. This passage specifically details how the Lord, as the Shepherd of His people, will be seen by all the nations as the Lord God Almighty. 
Ezek 37:24-28, "And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes, and observe them. "And they shall live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons, and their sons' sons, forever; and David My servant shall be their prince forever. "And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. "My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. "And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever."'" 
    	Our final passage in dealing with the answer of Moses’ prayer for the people of the Lord to have a shepherd to guide and to keep and to protect and to care for them is found in John 10:11-18. Herein, Our Lord Jesus, Himself, states the truth that He is The Good Shepherd. Furthermore, He is not just the shepherd of the flock of Israel, but of all the flock, which fully includes you and me. 
	John 10:11-18, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. "He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. "He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock with one shepherd. "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." 
	The heart of Moses for the testimony of the Lord and for the safekeeping of the Chosen people of God is fulfilled in its entirety in Jesus Christ. What Moses sought from the Lord with some of his last breath as the Prophet and the shepherd of God was directly answered with all the glory of God’s love and grace and mercy in the giving of His Only Begotten Son. So be it!
Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, "May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd. Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is Ezek 34:11+12. For thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. "As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. Amen.