Moses Pleads For a Man to Replace Him Lest The People Be As Sheep Without a Shepherd On His Departure (Numbers 27:15-17).
But the heart of Moses is revealed in his reaction. The people had caused his downfall, but he still yearned that they might be watched over and cared for. And he pleaded with God to provide them with a suitable shepherd.
‘And Moses spoke to Yahweh, saying, “Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in, that the congregation of Yahweh be not as sheep which have no shepherd.”
Moses thought back over his long experience of these people and he pleaded with Yahweh to provide someone who would be as patient with them as he had been. It would have to be a man of patient spirit, of tender spirit, of compassionate spirit, of merciful spirit. But Who better to provide such a man than Yahweh, the God of ‘the spirits of all flesh?' Man had been made of flesh, of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7), but God had breathed breath into him and he had lived (Genesis 2:7). And He Who had put that breath within man could surely therefore arrange for a man who had a spirit which could enable him to shepherd this people.
Compare here Numbers 16:22 where Yahweh being the God of the spirits of all flesh (because He had imparted that spirit) was expected to be compassionate for that reason. He had made man what he is.
What was needed was a man who, like a shepherd, would go out in front of them to protect them and watch for the dangers that lay ahead. He would also need to be one who came in among them to bring Yahweh's message to them and to encourage them. He had to be one who could lead them out to face their destiny, and who could lead them in the right way, and he had to be one who could bring them in again safely to the shelter of the camp. So he prayed that God would appoint such a man.