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Moses said to the LORD, 16 "May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community 17 to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD's people will not be like sheep without a shepherd."
Numbers27:15-17
If you've just been told that you are soon going to die, what would your first thoughts be?
Two verses previously God has told Moses that the time has come to die: `Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go up this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was`
I am amazed and humbled at Moses' response! He does not spare a thought for himself, but his thoughts go immediately to the Israelites with the concern that they will need a leader.
Moses is concerned that the leader will be someone appointed by God. He describes God as the "God of the spirits of all mankind" which echoes the sentiment we read at the appointment of David: "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."(1Sam16:7) Moses wants the best possible godly leader for the Israelites.
Furthermore, Moses longs for a leader who will lead by example going out and coming in (presumably to the presence of the Lord and then back to the people) and then leading the people like a shepherd. (Remembering that in Palestine the shepherd leads the sheep rather than driving them.)
This is the true heart of leadership - caring about the people you lead. Moses is a great example to us.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
