Moses

Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it" (Exodus 4:13).

For Christians, Moses is one of the great men of all time.  He is regarded as a fine example of confident leadership.  He grew up as an adopted prince of Egypt; he was raised with the finest education available at that time.  But he threw his privileges away to become God’s champion to the people of Israel.  He stood before the most powerful king in the world and demanded freedom for those held in slavery.  He led the fleeing Israelites through the Red Sea, water piled up in walls to either side as they escaped on dry ground.  He stood in the Lord’s presence on Mount Sinai, receiving the Law of God written personally by the Mighty One.  When the Israelites angered God with their faithless conduct, he pleaded with the Lord for mercy on their behalf.  He led them over a span of four decades until they stood at the edge of the Promised Land. 

Yet for all that, Moses was not always an inspiring or confident leader.  When still a prince of Egypt, he committed second degree murder in defense of a Hebrew slave; instead of winning their loyalty, this unlawful act only made the Israelites suspicious of him.  As a result of the crime Moses had to flee Egypt and he spent 40 years in the wilderness tending cattle.  When God spoke to him from the burning bush, Moses tried every argument he could think of to avoid going back—he only gave in when the Lord became angry at his resistance.  And there’s this: during the years when Moses spoke to the people as God’s representative, he got into the habit of wearing cloth over his face.  You see, after spending time in the Lord’s presence, Moses’ face shone with a holy radiance that eventually faded away.  Moses started wearing a veil so the Israelites would not see that his face was going back to normal.  Moses had considerable skills as a leader, but there were times when his behavior did not inspire confidence.

We often fail as leaders too.  We are given responsibility and we shy away from doing things that look tough, or we try to avoid criticism through the use of deception.  Moses is an example for us that is both good and bad.  Thankfully, we can always rely on God’s leadership.  He frees us from slavery to sin through forgiveness—forgiveness that Jesus died to make available to us.  His Spirit guides us on the path to heaven, the Promised Land where we want our journey through life to end.  There are times when we fail as leaders; praise God that His leadership is forthright and can always be depended on.