And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain”
The Old Testament books of Exodus and Numbers, tell of a man named Moses. Moses was appointed by God to lead a nation out of slavery.
God had earmarked a new land for His chosen people to inhabit, and Moses was to get them there. Moses had to approach the Pharoah and request that the Israelites be allowed to leave Egypt. However, the Pharoah would regularly harden his heart and refuse Moses’s request. When the Pharoah eventually conceded, Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea to Mount Sinia. There, Moses would regularly meet with God and receive instructions for His people.
Not only did God provide a safe passage for the Israelites in the desert, but He also provided food, water and shelter. Regardless, the Israelites would time and again grumble, moan and sin. Their behaviour resulted in God’s anger towards them – to the point where He wanted to destroy them all. Each time Moses would intervene and plead with God on Israel’s behalf. God would hear Moses’ requests and reconsider.
One day Moses also found himself in a position where he too did not follow God’s exact instruction. During one of their meetings God told Moses that because of his sin, he would see the ‘Promised Land’, but he would not enter it. Moses would die in the desert.
When the time came for God to appoint Moses’s successor, He once again met with Moses to give His instructions. Moses could have pleaded with God to reconsider or tried to reason with God. He could have tried to explain why he disobeyed or justified his actions. just as he had done many times on behalf of the nation he led. However, he did not.
Reading this was truly inspiring and I have had this story in my bones for weeks.
Moses: He did not have it all together, but he responded when God called him. He was not the most eloquent, but he boldly spoke the words of God over a nation. Moses displayed many qualities of a great leader: he was brave; he was humble; he walked closely with God. He had put the needs of the people that he led, above his own. This is the kind of Spiritual leader that is always worth following.