-Lessons In Leadership
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MOSES IN THE WILDERNESS
Lessons In Leadership
One of the great things about people in the Bible is exactly that – they were people, just like us. Therefore, the life of every person in the Bible provides us with either good or bad examples which we, as God’s people, ought to either imitate or avoid. Moses is no different. The 40 years this man spent leading two million or more other people (also like you and me) are full of many valuable lessons for us to observe and learn from.
How To Lead
Moses was, first of all, a leader. Effective spiritual leadership is one of the gifts God provides for the benefit of His people. In Romans 12:3-8, where this gift is listed, Paul seems to be emphasizing, “Whichever gift you have, use it well!” In this light, those who lead are told they need diligence (v. 8). A key question to ask when observing those in positions of leadership is, “Do they slack off when they become tired or when the work is discouraging?” As we will see, Moses did become tired and the work did become discouraging, but he never slacked off or gave up.
Many readers are also in positions of leadership in some way; this could mean weekly preaching, occasionally teaching in Sunday School, consistently working behind the scenes in a ministry, or even responsibly leading a family. Further, each of us is at least simply an example to someone else. All these situations involve leadership to some degree, so we all can be encouraged to be diligent – to keep going even when we’re tired of the responsibility or when it doesn’t seem worthwhile.
Those feelings were certainly familiar ones to Moses. The single common thread throughout his entire career of leadership in the wilderness was that the Israelites complained a lot. In fact, nearly every time the people as a group came to talk with Moses, it was to register a complaint about something. Imagine such a scenario: You are leading a group of people on a trip, and the only time they ever talk to you is when they want to complain! No compliments, no recognition of your commitment to them, no questions about how you feel – just complaints.
The books of Exodus and Numbers record many of these experiences. The wilderness journey began with the glorious victory of the Lord at the Red Sea, when the people sang triumphantly as they watched their enemies perish beneath the waters. Then they began walking. And only three days later they were complaining! The first time was because the water was bitter (Ex. 15:22-24). Later, they complained because they were hungry (Ex. 16:2-3). But then they also protested because they didn’t like the food they received (Num. 11:4-6).
When they arrived at the border of Canaan the first time (less than two years after leaving Egypt, according to Num. 11:11), they complained because they were afraid to go in and conquer the land (Num. 13:32-14:4). This was such an affront to God that He told them to continue traveling in the wilderness; so, they continued complaining. One group objected to Moses’ leadership; then, when God acted to cause their deaths, the rest of the people protested that Moses had “killed the people of the Lord” (Num. 16:41, NKJV). At other times, the Israelites complained for no clear reason – perhaps they were just tired of traveling (Num. 11:1; 21:4-5).
How To Survive
What a group to lead! How could Moses put up with them? There appear to be two main sources for his continued diligent leadership: a consistent prayer life with God, and an intense shepherd care for the people.
These two points are connected. Moses was a praying man, and in most (if not all) of his recorded prayers we hear him either speaking about or else interceding for the people. To start with, his habit was to begin each new segment of Israel’s travels with a prayer for the Lord’s protection; then, when the next destination had been reached, he would request the Lord’s continued presence with the people (Num. 10:35-36). Additionally, we often see Moses responding to the murmurs of the people by crying to the Lord about the problem.
This was his recourse from their very first complaint in the wilderness, when the people cried out for fresh water. Moses pleaded with the Lord, who showed him a tree which sweetened the bitter waters of Marah (Ex. 15:23-25). He continued his prayer vigil for the people even in the most extreme failure. When Aaron had made a golden calf and the people began worshiping it, Moses pleaded with the Lord to pardon the people, even at his own expense: “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin – but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book” (Ex. 32:32).
These words reflect a tremendous desire for the spiritual blessing of the Israelites. Yet, think for a moment how often the shepherds of the Bible pleased God and were effective leaders of His people. The Bible’s first shepherd, Abel, is recorded as the first man to bring a sacrifice before God (Gen. 4:4). David, once a shepherd boy, was God’s prime example of a man after His own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). Amos the prophet had been a herdsman (Amos 7:14-15). The Lord Jesus Himself is seen as the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11). Moses is among this great list of shepherds. He had previously tended sheep in the desert for 40 years, and now God used him to shepherd His people (Ps. 77:20). No doubt this shepherd’s attitude toward the work of leadership kept Moses from turning away from the work God gave him; he had compassion on the people, who needed care just like sheep.
We can only be effective servants of God if we have this same viewpoint. Sheep simply need a shepherd, one who can provide tender care and firm yet loving guidance. Feeling that the growth of God’s people depends only on what we can offer, or believing that they need to be kept harshly in line, will prevent us from being effective in the lives of others.
Perhaps the most significant mention of Moses as a man of prayer, whose shepherd heart was toward the people, comes in the Bible hundreds of years after his lifetime, during the time of Jeremiah. At that time, Israel and Judah had so wholly backslidden that the Lord told Jeremiah He wouldn’t listen to prayers for the people even if Moses himself was praying (Jer. 15:1). This reference not only shows how far away the people had gone, but it also demonstrates the high level of recognition given to Moses as a man of prayer. Because he spoke so intimately with the Lord, Moses was even called a friend of God: “The Lord spoke to Moses … as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11). Among all the Old Testament characters, only Moses and Abraham share this title of “friend” with God.
How Weak We Are
But Moses had his shortcomings, too, and we can learn from these as well. For example, he did get discouraged because the work seemed to be too much for him. In Numbers 11, when the people complained about having to eat manna and wanted meat instead, Moses cried to the Lord, saying, “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me” (Num. 11:14). He felt it would be better for him to die rather than feel so wretched and overburdened (v. 15). In this prayer, it seems that Moses emphasized his own lack of ability. Sometimes we may also feel that work for the Lord is too burdensome because we too are doing the same.
The Lord’s response was to provide help for the work, and this is good for us to recognize too. Although it may be necessary for us to stand alone for the Lord at times, like Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Ki. 18), it is good for us to remember that we are never the only servants the Lord has available. Elijah was later told of 7,000 other faithful believers (1 Ki. 19:18). Here, Moses was given 70 helpers who would assist him in bearing the burden of the people. We should want to stand with others when we can; each helps the other (Eccl. 4:9-10), and the effects of combined, shoulder-to-shoulder effort are multiplied, not just added. Deuteronomy 32:30 describes this – how one might chase a thousand, but two could put ten thousand to flight.
This low point in Moses’s leadership, before God provided additional support, illustrates another of his weaknesses. He was a man of fiery passion who could become inflamed quickly. Though Moses was generally very self-controlled and meek (Num. 12:3), his passion and energy sometimes caused him to react incorrectly. On this occasion in Numbers 11, he asked that his life be taken away. Back in Egypt before his role was recognized, Moses had killed a soldier who was beating an Israelite. Then, perhaps most seriously, in Numbers 20:7-12, his passion led him to disregard God’s directions for providing water for the people. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses hit it with his staff and called the people of Israel “rebels.” Psalm 106:33 states that he spoke “rashly with his lips.” His unbridled passion on this occasion cost him the opportunity to enter the Promised Land with Joshua and the rest of Israel.
It is significant to note here that the Bible teaches that the easiest way to sin is with the lips (Jas. 3:2). This is especially ironic, because Moses’ lips were nearly always engaged in prayer for the people; now, suddenly, he speaks against them. This should be a warning for us; it is very easy to become ensnared in unwholesome talk against other believers, letting our passion and energy run away with us.
How Bright The Future
James 5:17 describes Elijah as one with a nature and passions like our own. We may easily apply such a description to Moses as well. He struggled with discouragement and disillusionment, and he needed help to continue the work; but he did indeed continue. Primarily, he was able to do so because he talked to God about the people (his praying lips) and to the people about God (his shepherd’s heart). These two aspects of any believer’s life will always produce God-glorifying results in the lives of others.
By Stephen Campbell
With permission to publish by: Sam Hadley, Grace & Truth, 210 Chestnut St., Danville, IL., USA.
Website: www.gtpress.org
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