There are great blessings for a body of believers when the leaders are godly. We see throughout the Bible different kinds of leaders. Some were successful and others were not. The one I have chosen to write about today is Moses. He was chosen by God to free His people from Egyptian slavery and return them to their promised land. However, this blessed leader did not just happen. He was prepped by God to lead God’s people.
The first step to this leader’s greatness is his parents. They defied the law of Pharaoh by saving their son, Moses. In Exodus chapter 2, we see the birth of Moses and how his mother hid him for 3 months. Pharaoh had a decree in place to kill all newborn baby boys. With great courage and dependence on God, his mother and sister placed him in a basket in the water among the bullrushes. When Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe in the river, she saw the baby and had compassion on him. She took him as her own. His sister rushes to Pharaoh’s daughter and asks if she needs someone to nurse him and help take care of him. Of course, she brings his mother into the palace to take care of him. Now, Moses would have the best education, a hearing with Pharaoh, and all his physical needs met.
Exodus 2:3-4 “And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.”
As Moses grew, he began to have compassion on his people. While he was being treated as royalty, the Israelites were slaves, and Pharaoh’s paranoid feelings were making it harder and harder on them. Moses sees their mistreatment and comes to their rescue. Moses was now 40 years old, and he came to the defense of his Hebrew brethren. He kills the Egyptian. Pharaoh finds out, and Moses runs for his life. God is already preparing Moses for leadership, even though Moses makes every excuse in the world to avoid facing Pharaoh.
Exodus 2:11-12 “And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
Moses flees to Midian and finds a wife. He becomes a shepherd for his father-in-law and is there for 40 years tending sheep. Now, in the desert, God speaks again. There are no voices to compete with God’s voice, no hustle and bustle of the city, or the duties of slavery to compete with his attention. God speaks to him through a burning bush and gives him instructions to speak to Pharaoh to free His people. Moses gives excuses to avoid being the leader of the Israelites, but for every excuse, God gave a solution.
Because he trusted God and followed, he became one of the greatest leaders of God’s people in scripture. Was he perfect? Absolutely not. Yet God used him and perfected his weaknesses. When he made the excuse that he could not speak to Pharaoh about letting God’s people leave Egypt and returning to their homeland, God provided Aaron, his brother, as a spokesperson. God had taught Moses while he was in the desert. Moses had listened, and because of his obedience, he was able to lead God’s people out of bondage.
In Hebrews 11:24-26, Moses is mentioned among the heroes of the faith. He chose to leave the comforts of being a prince of Egypt to live for the one true God. In Hebrews 11:25, we are told he chose to suffer with God’s people instead of enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season. He looked forward to the Messiah that God would send and chose to see the big picture rather than the momentary pleasure.
Hebrew 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”
How different would history look if you had been in Moses’s shoes? Are you willing to give up the pleasures of this life to make an impact on the world today? God calls each of us to serve Him faithfully without regard to our own personal comforts. We are to be a people where God is first in everything. It is only through submissive obedience that God can use us to his glory. Do you want to be used for the kingdom, or are you just concerned about making it into Heaven? Moses could have chosen pleasure and wealth, but he chose to seek God and please him above his own comfort. This leader was a blessing to his people and made an eternal difference for millions. It is time we, as Christians, forget ourselves and seek only to please Christ. When we do, we too will be a blessing to others.
