Moses, the by God chosen leader

We all know Moses. An extraordinary birth, rescued from the Nile, 40 years in Pharaoh's court, and then 40 years in the desert. This was his "leadership development.” For at the age of 80, God calls him into the desert and appoints him leader over the people of Israel (Exodus 3:10).

Moses feels very incompetent (Exodus 3:11) and tells God so. God does not deny Moses' incompetence but assures Moses of His presence. The "I Am" will be with you. Wonderful right? And this is the same for you and me. It is not about your ability as a leader but whether God is with you. When the "I Am" is with you you can go in that power. His power. So Moses, the leader chosen by God.

A long time later we meet Moses again. By now the people of Israel are out of Egypt and have arrived at Mount Horeb (Exodus 32). Moses - as God's chosen leader - has gone up the mountain to receive the laws from God there. Moses is in the presence of the Lord Himself. How special is that? Are you - as a leader - also regularly in the presence of the Lord? To listen to Him? So He can prescribe His "laws" to you? We as leaders can only lead if we ourselves are led by the Leader - God Himself.

When Moses comes down from the mountain he discovers that the people have turned away from God and now worship a golden idol. How Moses responds here is a wonderful lesson in leadership for us. In verse 11 and beyond of Exodus 32, we read that Moses engages with God about "the destruction" of the people. Moses has God's honor at heart (verse 12) and reminds God of His covenant (verse 13).

When Moses arrives below, he deals directly with the people's idolatry and sin. He destroys the image and addresses the leaders (including Aaron) about their behavior, calling on everyone to take a stand: "Whoever belongs to the Lord must come to me" (verse 26). Deal with sin and make a choice, in other words.

And starting in verse 30, you see Moses going into prayer. He asks for forgiveness for the people and is even saying, "if not, delete me from Your book." Can you imagine your leader doing that for you? Can you imagine your leader doing that for the people you get to lead? That is servant leadership, and thus Moses is a wonderful example of Jesus. The leader. The sufferer.

Finally about Jesus. The serving Servant. This is how we encounter Him in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 53:11. This powerful chapter is about how Jesus - the Messiah - gives Himself and will thereby make many righteous. Jesus is not out for His "benefit," but gives, serves, leads, and suffers.

Do you want to follow Him?

Serve as He serves?

Lead as He leads?

Take the following questions to ponder:

• What do you learn from Moses?
• What spoke to you?
• Would you do the same as Moses did for the people? Why did/did you not?
• What do you need to be a leader like Moses?
• What do you learn from the Old Testament example of Jesus (Isaiah 53)?

Prayer:

"Lord Jesus, how much I can learn from Moses. How he was chosen by you. How he struggled. How he prayed. How he led. How he followed You. Lord will you teach me to go ahead like Moses, following You. Help me to be a servant leader just like him. Just like You. Amen."