We’re just about to start our 6.30 Leadership course here in Dublin, so I have been reflecting a lot on biblical leadership over the last few months. In my own personal bible readings I recently read the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) and was quite amazed about a few things I learned from Moses about leadership, particularly from the book of Numbers and how challenging leadership can be.
Here are a few things I took away from my readings about the complexities of leadership and some of the solutions we find in the scriptures.
(1) The Sheer Numbers (Delegation)
Moses was in charge of moving over 2 million people through a desert. That must have been an organisational nightmare and pushed his mental capacities to the limit as he planned how to move them on.
What was the answer to the weight that Moses felt from the sheer number of people he was leading? Delegation! Firstly his father-in-law Jethro tells him he must raise up people to help him. Exodus 18:17-22 says:
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you… select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens… That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
And then years later Moses was wrestling with God and says to the Lord “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me” (Numbers 11:16). God says:
I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.
We cannot lead alone; the task, the administration, the pastoral weight and the time required is too great for one person. We must raise up other leaders and delegate responsibility.
(2) Jealousy from family/friends (Humility)
One of the striking things about reading the Old Testament is how often the same sin is repeated; the people don’t learn (and nor do we!). In Numbers 12 Miriam and Aaron (brother and sister to Moses) oppose him because they are jealous of his position of leadership. And then in chapter 16 Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Levites no less!) do the same. None of them liked the fact that God had chosen Moses as the leader, their egos felt bruised as they didn’t receive the same power or limelight as Moses.
What is Moses’ response to his close family and friends and their jealous opposition to him? In chapter 12 he beckons them into the tent of meeting (the presence of God) and in chapter 16 he falls facedown before God. In both cases he doesn’t defend himself, but trusts himself to God and lets God decide.
Now in Numbers 12:3 we have an interesting insertion by the editor of Numbers, who says “now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” immediately after Miriam and Aaron oppose him. Why are we told this? Because when you’re truly humble you never feel the need to defend or justify yourself. In fact, humble people are forgiving people so at the end of chapter 12 Moses is pleading with the Lord to heal Miriam of the Leprosy he had inflicted on her in judgement of her jealousy. There was no vengeance in Moses’ heart, no self-righteous spirit and no pride.
And then again in chapter 16 he doesn’t defend himself but asks that God show who is in the right. When you’re truly humble you don’t need to assert yourself or defend yourself, your whole identity and worth is found in God, so you let him justify and defend you.
Jealousy and confrontation is inevitable in leadership and close family/friends will hurt you (they did to Jesus too!), so we must cultivate humble and forgiving hearts – otherwise we’ll become hardened and bitter.
(3) Grumbling and Negativity (Truth & Patience)
Another repeated sin that the Israelites were famous for was their grumbling and negativity. They were never satisfied, and once the smallest trials came to them they forgot God, they forgot the great rescue and salvation out of Egypt, they stopped trusting him and they grumbled. When you read the narrative they seem so fickle; one minute they are elated by the greatest rescue ever, the next they are grumbling and wanting to go back to Egypt. Negativity spreads. Grumbling is contagious. So once a few people within a community start to complain, very quickly it can spread and become lethal.
How do you combat negativity and a lack of gratitude? With truth and patience. The New Testament is going to tell us that leaders need to be like mothers and fathers (1 Thessalonians 2) and two key attributes of parents is that they must speak the truth to their children (when they have done wrong) but also be patient with their children (in their wanderings and mistakes). So Moses speaks the truth to the people and challenges them and shows incredible patience with the people as they stumble through the desert.
People will always grumble and want things differently and leaders must cultivate patience so that they don’t react impulsively and so make matters worse. But, they must also be willing to speak the truth and challenge the people, so as not to pander to their sin and rebellion. Moses is a great example of how to combine patience and truth.
(4) Disappointment (Submission)
There was one famous exception when Moses lost his patience. He disobeyed God and struck the rock twice (Numbers 20:11-12) and the Lord would not allow Moses into the promised land. No matter how much Moses would plead with him (Deuteronomy 3:26) God would not change his mind; because, we are told, “Moses did not trust God enough to honour him as holy in the sight of the Israelites”.
As I read the narrative I feel Moses’ pain and can feel myself getting angry at God. I think to myself “why won’t you let Moses in, after all he has endured for these 40 years… surely you can forgive him this one thing?” However God knows best and we must submit to him and say “your will be done”, as Jesus would later say when he wished for something different from the cross.
Many leaders, because of their hard service and obedience, almost feel God owes them and that their “calling” cannot be questioned, and therefore when God obstructs their plans, they can find themselves derailed. Not matter how much they protest God doesn’t seem to budge. And it is in these moments that our allegiance to God is tested. Are we doing this for God or for our sakes? Are we willing for things not to go to plan but trust that he will do what is best (even if that doesn’t involve me).
Leaders will face disappointment and when that happens you have to trust that God knows best and submit to his will.
(5) Wrestling with God (Honest, Passionate & Persuasive Prayer)
It is remarkable how during the narrative both God and Moses want rid of the Israelites, and the other one has to persuade them to remain faithful. This is brilliantly shown in Numbers 11 and 14.
First in Numbers 11:
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
Moses has had enough and tells God in effect “they are your people…you deal with them…why did you give them to me, I have had enough”. And he wrestles with God and eventually submits again to his task of leadership (with the provision of helpers from God).
However in chapter 14 it’s God’s turn to want rid of them:
The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”
And this time it is Moses who persuades God. Just as in Exodus 32 when God wanted to destroy the people for worshipping a golden calf, Moses appeals to God’s reputation (the Egyptians will hear that you were not strong enough) and promises (you said you were slow to anger, rich in love and a forgiving God) and God relents. What amazes me about Moses’ prayer life with God is that it is honest (he doesn’t hold back), passionate (he is almost preaching at God) and persuasive (he has great arguments as to why God should answer his prayer).
SUMMARY: Leaders will face great tasks (point 1), jealously (point 2), grumbling and negativity (point 3) and disappointment (point 4); and if you’re to survive all that then you have to get good at wrestling with God, and learn how to pray honestly, passionately and persuasively.
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