Numbers 27:16-17 Explained

"Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd." — Numbers 27:16-17 (KJV)

Moses has just been told he will not enter the land, and his first response is to ask for a successor.

Read it in context: The Book of Numbers. Also gathered under verses about leadership.

Numbers 27:16-17 in context

What does Numbers 27:16-17 mean?

The four verbs are one idiom: going out and coming in is how Hebrew describes the whole of daily leadership, not a march. And 'sheep which have no shepherd' is the image Jesus uses of the crowds in Matthew 9 — the phrase travels from here. Notice who is missing from the prayer: Moses does not ask to be remembered, replaced by his sons, or allowed in.

What is the context of Numbers 27:16-17?

God has shown Moses the country from a mountain and confirmed he will die outside it. Any reaction would be understandable. What Moses asks for is that somebody else be appointed to finish the work — and Joshua is named in the next verse.

How do I pray Numbers 27:16-17?

Pray it about something you will not see finished — a project, a role, a family. Ask for the successor rather than for the extension. The prayer is a model of how to leave, and its striking feature is that it is entirely about the people left behind.

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