Biblical Leaders: Moses
Here we are, the second installment of a series on biblical leaders. This series is all about people from the pages of scripture that led in some capacity or another. As always, my hope is to dive into their stories and see what we can glean from their lives and what leadership lessons we can learn. Today we’re going to dive into the life of Moses.
Many of us know Moses as the leader God chose to lead His people out of Egyptian slavery. God used Moses and his staff to bring ten plagues upon Egypt and countless other miracles throughout the journey to the Promised Land. Moses was also a stuttering felon who was hiding out amidst his father-in-law’s sheep when God called him into this leadership role through a burning bush. For this particular post though, I’d like to fast forward a little bit.
Where we pick up in the story, the people are following Moses, or really God through Moses, from Egypt to the Promised Land and find themselves at the edge of a fairly large body of water known as the Red Sea. They also have the Egyptian army hot on their trails looking to bring them back into slavery. Of course the people respond by saying,
"We believe God will deliver us from this like He has everything else.”
No, they begin turning against and complaining to Moses (Exodus 14:11-12). As we know, God split the Red Sea open and allowed the Israelites to walk across on dry land and then have the sea collapse back down onto the pursuing Egyptian army. The people rejoice!
In just a couple chapters later, Exodus 16, the people are hungry and start complaining to and about Moses again (vs. 2-3). God again delivers and rains bread down from heaven for the people to eat. Chapter 17 of Exodus, more of the same:
“Give us water to drink,” (vs. 2) the people said to Moses.
God again provides by having Moses strike a rock with his staff and water flowed, the people drank.
On the red carpet celebrities are often posing for pictures and doing interviews in front these large banners. These banners are known as step and repeat walls because those in front of them are doing just that, stepping from one place to another and then repeating their previous actions. As we follow the story of Moses leading the Israelites, that’s exactly what they were doing, stepping and then repeating. There are countless examples of how God provided, used Moses to lead, and then the people grumble and complain.
So what is the leadership lesson from Moses? I believe it’s one of keeping your focus on God and His mission rather than listening to all the petty criticism. As leaders, we know it’s going to come. People are going to question us, criticize us, and even challenge our place as leaders. Every leader at one time or another has “struck the rock” and provided for their followers and then know the feeling of being criticized for not striking the rock the way someone else would. Let us take a lesson from Moses today and turn a blind eye to our critics and stay focused on what God has called us to lead. We must continue to provide for our people, even when they do a little grumbling.
Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash