Moses said to the Lord, “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community 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.” (Nu 27:15–17)
The forty years after the Exodus was a time of tests and trials for the Israelites, and a time of troubles and endurance for Moses. For forty years, there was not a single day when the Israelites did not worry Moses. They grumbled against God and Moses about not having food and water and being on a rough journey. They quarreled with one another, sometimes betrayed Moses like the followers of Korah, and angered him by making idols and worshiping them. They kept on complaining until Moses lost patience and committed a sin, and eventually Moses failed to enter the land of Canaan.
Although the Israelites complained against Moses, Moses did never complain against the people. For decades, he led the Israelites patiently. When God was enraged, he asked God to forgive them even at the risk of having his own name removed. Even at his last moment, he was worried that the Israelites would have no leader to guide them when he died, and so he asked God to set up a leader for them.
This reminded us of our Heavenly Father. Both at His first and second coming, Father guided His children with His infinite love and grace for forty-long years although they did not understand His love but rather troubled Him with constant complaint. Although Father always worried about His children, He did never complain against them, but prayed for them up until the last moment of His life on earth.
The scene of Moses asking God for blessings upon the Israelites reminds me of how our merciful Heavenly Father lived His life on earth.