Leaders & the Law

And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
Deuteronomy 17:19-20

This requirement that Israel's king maintain a personal relationship with God through the Law was meant to help secure strong spiritual leadership. The king was to handcopy the Pentateuch (see Deuteronomy 17:18). He was to keep it handy and read from it daily.

The benefits of such a daily regard for scripture were personal and also protective for the nation. Personally, the king would learn to fear God by such commitment to His Word. He would learn to keep the Law and do what God commanded. This would keep the king tender toward God. It would keep God clearly in control of the kingdom because the king answered to God and looked to God's Word for guidance and leadership himself.

The nation would be protected if the king did this. He would not be easily swayed from putting aside God's instructions for the nation. Idolatry would be difficult if he daily practiced this discipline of reading God's Law. God promised a long rule and a strong family to the king who would practice daily study in the Law. The nation in turn would benefit from the rule of a spiritually healthy king and his sons after him. Leaders who obey God will bless many generations.


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

leaders building leaders

And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses.

Numbers 27:22-23

 

Every good leader finds other people to continue leadership. In the case of Moses, God provided Joshua. But Moses had a strong desire for assurance that the leadership of Israel would pass into capable hands (Numbers 27:15-17). I think Moses knew God’s choice would be Joshua. But he waited to hear from God, and then followed God’s desires completely in the choice and manner of appointment.

 

I am looking at this account with a little more humility these days. I have had 21 years of ministry, and I might get to enjoy another fifteen or twenty more. Best case: I am at the halfway point of my ministry service. Mill Creek has been blessed recently with a fine crop of motivated and gifted people in their 20’s and 30’s. It is time to spend a big chunk of my ministry investing myself in these new leaders so that the next godly generation will follow Jesus.

 

As I look at Moses’ life from this point in Numbers until the end of Deuteronomy, I will look for principles from him that will assist me in developing these leaders. God… give me a Joshua! It is what God has called me to do at this stage of my life. I am excited about it.

 

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Administration as God’s desire

This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.

Numbers 26:51

 

The second large census taken of Israel recorded in the book of Numbers was for determining the fighting force of Israel’s army. At this point they have already taken some parts of the land through defense against their aggressors. It is important to realize that the 600,000 number represents men only who were twenty years of age and fit for war (Numbers 26:2-4). Following levitical guidelines, this number probably consisted of men from age 20 to 50 who were physically fit for warfare.

 

The actual number of Israelites was much higher when older men, those not physically capable of warfare, and women and children were factored into the tally. Easily this was a number of over one million people in the encampment. Israel was a large, mobile, city on the move. They needed places to settle. God was preparing them for the next step.

 

Although this census is to me one of the sleepier moments in the Penteteuch, I draw a lesson from it.  It is all about advance planning. God wanted Moses fully aware of the “boots on the ground” at his disposal. It was vital for Joshua’s future success. If God sees it as important and commands it, then I should not shrink from administrative duties for the greater cause of the Kingdom.

 

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celebrity failures

And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them."

Numbers 20:12

 

Moses and Aaron eventually fell into the same condition as their generation. They failed to believe and trust God. In the waters of Meribah Moses chose to display his anger dramatically. He made it more important than strict obedience to God’s command. That is why this swift sentence came upon them. It was a horrible offense against a wise and holy God. When you read Moses’ speech in front of the rock, it is clear he has his personal interests at heart, more than God’s holiness.

 

Spiritual leadership can experience the same difficulty today. It is so easy to let personal feelings and emotions get in the way of obeying God’s call. And if we are not careful, we will certainly draw attention away from the God we are supposed to be leading people to know, love, and understand.

 

I know there have been times in my ministry service where I have miserably failed by drawing attention to my own personality or feelings. It is easy to do. People like the drama. They will be drawn to entertainment and entertaining them can be easy and lucrative (see Benny Hinn), but any time celebrity personality is enjoined with God, true worship is lost, gone, outta’ there! Really. Let’s stay away from developing any kind of Christian celebrity culture. Let’s draw near to God!

 

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God is the best defense

Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

Numbers 12:7-8

 

Jealous of their brother’s leadership and evidently prejudiced against Moses’ gentile wife, Miriam and Aaron turn against him and unwittingly turn against God in their complaints. At issue is the spiritual leadership that God gave to Moses. Miriam had prophesied after the Red Sea crossing (see Exodus 15:20) and Aaron served as High Priest. Their challenge to Moses assumes that they were spiritually his equal and better qualified to lead Israel then their “gentile-loving” brother.

 

The pretense for their claim to authority is an incipient bit of racism. They speak against the “Cushite” wife of Moses. Elsewhere she is said to be Midianite. Some old commentators among the rabbis suggest that Midia and Cush shared a porous border, potentially making Zipporah’s ancestry Ethiopian, perhaps even black African. Perhaps because of emerging Jewish identity through the new commitment to the Law at Sinai, Moses’ family resented these close gentile connections in their brother. God certainly had not said anything bad about this, in fact, Moses was already married to a gentile when God chose him to be the leader of the Exodus generation. It was the evil hearts of Aaron and Miriam that did not like the situation.

 

God quickly defended Moses as leader and as clearly His choice for the job. Miriam was struck with advanced leprosy, making her truly unclean, worse than the “gentile” she despised. Gentiles could enter the outer courts of the tabernacle. Lepers could not. The punishment fell upon her 1) perhaps because she led the complaining and accusations in the revolt, and 2) because Aaron was the High Priest, God sovereignly and mercifully spared the nation the trauma of an unclean priest forcing the appointment of a new High Priest.

 

Moses meekly let God be His defense. By pleading for Miriam’s healing, he proved to his family and a watching nation that his closeness to God’s heart was the strength of his leadership. Miriam was healed after a week-long exile from the camp. Aaron was spared by God’s mercy. And God used the incident to strengthen the leadership of Moses among an increasingly difficult nation.

 

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avoiding the evil of selfish manipulation

Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

3 John 11

This terse command and its explanation should be understood in context. John has just had to deal with the ugly effects of cultic celebrity and politics in the church. Diotrephes was destroying the church, disrupting the beauty of the Body of Christ, and dividing the unity of God’s people. John was planning on a special visit just to deal with the situation. Until then, this letter to Gaius would have to stem the tide.

So the evil that John is interested in people avoiding is selfish division. The problem that Diotrephes had was putting himself first. He was an egomaniac on a mission of self-promotion. And the church was his personal playing field. As a leader, his influence could create other selfish tyrants in homes and families. His example was to be avoided. Abusive leadership was the evil to shun.

The origin and destiny of the actions of selfish manipulation do not find their source in God. This is very direct. When this kind of leadership emerges in ministry, watch out. The devil has gotten a stranglehold on gospel effectiveness. Why? The attention moves away from Christ and the preaching of the cross. Focus centers on the leader. And when the gospel is diminished, only sin will fill the void.

Part of the reason I am not fond of reading books on leadership and management (even Christian ones) is that they often focus on the personality of the leader and what can only be called manipulative techniques. They emphasize technique and tools over character and can become aids to selfish manipulation. I believe a better leadership model is found in Christ. I surrender to Him as His slave. He then calls me to be the servant of all. Even though I lead, it is from the position of a servant of Christ as He is the head of the church. This keeps my ego in check.

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me first!

I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.

3 John 9

Whoa. Selfish thinking in the Body of Christ is highly disruptive It causes damage and division. It works against the plan of God. It short-circuits divine authority by exalting self. It is dangerous and also more widespread than we imagine. Diotrephes lives! Be very afraid!

There are a couple of dangers of selfish leadership shown here in this short section on Diotrephes (3 John 9-10). They serve as warnings. The first is an attitude, the second is an action. The attitude is personal arrogance. It is a self-loving, thick pride that exalts personality above scriptural principle. This attitude by the leader sees his role and his very personality as the pinnacle of all things important in the ministry. His books will solve all your problems. His teaching will give you your “best life now”. His success can be yours (for a suggested donation of $30). God only works through him… 8x10 glossies in the bulletin and if you make your donation today, you can get your photo taken with him in the lobby! The line forms behind him and your American Express card is more than welcome. This is the cult of personality now abused at the expense of the reputation and cause of Christ. Pick your evangelical worship center of choice or nearly any local retail Christian bookstore. It is proudly on display.

The actions from such selfish ministry are easy to spot. No one else gets a voice in or to the ministry. Diotrephes was so arrogant that he refused even apostolic authority. He spoke against the apostles (maybe in a best seller preceded by an “open letter”). He refused to let any other recognized teacher into the congregation. And if someone else internally in the church welcomed any other teacher than him, excommunication ensued. Celebrity is so out of character with the humble service Jesus insisted upon (Mark 9:30-37).

This sounds sadly familiar because the sins of Diotrephes always follow pride-filled leaders in the church. The remedy is harsh and painfully severe (John would confront it personally). But it is necessary to restore peace and the centrality of the gospel. When will we learn that the only person to be celebrated in the church is Jesus?

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The Path to Greatness

And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.”

Luke 22:25-26

Jesus was constantly driving the lesson home in His disciples of humble service. They were a thick-headed bunch. Right after the moment when Jesus turns the simple bread and wine tradition in Passover into a memorial practice for His followers to remember His great love, the disciples get into their regular argument. Once again they bicker over position, personal fame, and greatness.

Jesus uses a powerful contrast to get their attention. Any Jew in Jerusalem was well aware of how the leaders of the Gentiles exercised authority. Rome was in control of all the political and economic outcomes in the life of the Jewish nation. It was oppressive even as it was impressive. And the Gentiles forced their rule with military might and huge political muscle. They exalted “greatness”. Jesus was telling His men in simple terms: “Don’t be like Romans. Lead like me. Lead like a servant. Give up your life.”

It was at least mildly insulting for Jesus to get the attention of His disciples with this Gentile comparison. But it did focus on the problem of pride in a way they readily understood. And it brought their attention back to Him and off of themselves. Their bickering made them think like godless Gentiles. He wanted them to think like Him, in humble service. “…I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27).

And the problem of self-promotion has not really been eradicated from Jesus’ followers. We still need to follow His example, heed His warnings, and avoid acting like the world around us. It is not easy. Many see leadership as the outcome and goal of discipleship. Although we need Christian leaders, I think they may have it all wrong. Service is the pinnacle of discipleship, not leadership alone. When I lose my identity in Christ, acting so much like Him that I naturally give myself away, then I have obeyed what He asked His disciples to do.

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Mature Marks of Spiritual Leadership.

And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.
And he said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance."

Exodus 34:8-9

There are three marks of a mature spiritual leader exhibited by Moses in these two verses. They are worth consideration. First, Moses possessed a heart that was sensitive to the worship of the Lord. When he ascended the mountain to again have God write upon stone tablets, he went up expecting to worship God. As soon as God pronounced His own name, Moses fell down and worshiped. Leaders need to be sensitive to the presence of God and the response should be humble worship above all else. Spiritual leaders are really lead worshipers. This is true in a Sunday worship service. This is true in a small group meeting. This is true in a leadership forum. This is true in private time with God.

The second clear mark of maturity was that Moses knew the people that he was leading. He did not kid himself into thinking they were so great because he was their leader. He had just had to reprimand them for idolatry. God had brought consequences into the camp for Israel’s sin. Moses knew he was leading an idolatrous nation. And he did not fool himself. Honestly before God he confessed the sin of the people and asked for God’s pardon. The story of the leadership of Moses would be one of God working with a stiff-necked and disobedient people. Leaders who know their people know their task. And when they know and admit the sin, they are open to the grace and mercy of God to mark all that they do. It takes humility to worship God and it takes humility to work with sinful people. Moses had it in both categories.

A third mark of mature leadership goes with knowledge of the people. Moses knew what God’s heart was and His request shows that. He knew that God wanted to use Israel for His glory. He knew that He wanted to make of the nation His inheritance. And after begging for forgiveness, Moses asks God for what God wants. Mature spiritual leaders know what God wants. They are close enough to God to align their own hearts with the desires of God. They not only desire to worship God, but they begin to desire the things that God desires in their leadership. This is where Moses really shines. He began his journey being an impulsive, emotional, self-driven man who murdered to get what he wanted. Now, he is a humble (though still flawed) leader who wants above all else what God wants for His people. That is what God does in a person to develop mature leadership.

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a fire & a cloud & forgetful hearts

 

The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 24:16-18

The repeated description of the glory of God as it is displayed among Israel is that of a fire and of a cloud. We get an even more interesting description of an encounter with God in this chapter in Exodus 24:9-11 where 74 men from among Israel, including Moses and Aaron, get a special audience with God. There the description is not of God at all, but rather of the “pavement” of clear sapphire-like stone under His feet. This description leads me to think that they just saw the feet of God upon the mountain, and that was awesome enough!

The nation saw the glory of God on the mountain. As Moses ascends the mountain to commune with God and receive the intense revelation of the Law of God, the people are amazed at the sight of the mountain. It has been transformed to a fuming, burning, fire-topped furnace at the approach of God’s glory. And this lasted the entire 40 days that Moses was up with God on the mountain. They had to be impressed, and we know from later accounts, both fearful and worried for Moses.

I saw a new insight from this chapter as well. It had never sunk in to me that ALL of the elders of Israel got to see God “up close” before Moses went all the way to the top of Sinai to receive the Law. This makes Israel’s lapse into idolatry in chapter 33 as Moses descends with the law all the more tragic. They could not hold on to a vision of God for 5 weeks! It faded in their minds so quickly.Their leaders failed to keep a vision of God and His commands before them. And human nature is the same stuff today. I can encounter God vividly in His word in the morning, only to feel and act like a miserable sinner by day’s end! And if I ever find myself in a visionless ministry… it is my fault as a leader because I did not point people to the glory of God. Oh how I need to look carefully at how Israel saw the glory of God in the desert. The lesson is for me.

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Delegation: some good advice

So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.

Exodus 18:24-26

This may be the biggest miracle of the book of Exodus: a man took the counsel of his father-in-law! Reuel/Jethro saw that Moses was not in a good place as a leader. And he must have been an educated and astute man… he is called the “priest of Midian”, and we can deduce that he had interacted enough with leadership and people to advice Moses on the problem at hand.

And the problem was a big one. Thousands of people generate thousands of problems. And the people were lining up every day to Moses the leader to settle disputes. It was wearing him out and bogging down his leadership. Sometimes, leaders can get so caught up in the daily performance of dealing with people that they can’t even see where the details are keeping them from leading. But Jethro, as an outside consultant of sorts, could easily see the way this was hurting both the leader and the nation. So he proposed that Moses delegate the task of settling disputes to other qualified men who could mediate these issues. And an appeal system was instituted that still allowed the hardest disputes to make their way to Moses if needed.

Moses saw delegation as a “win/win”. He heeded Jethro’s proposal. And he instituted the judgeships necessary to make leadership effective. He administered as a leader rather than let himself get pulled down into the thousands of details of the lives of a nation in transition. This was a wise move that God honored. It sets an example of wise leadership today. And I take note of how God, in His wisdom, can use the insights of others to build more effective relationships and ministry.

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