Moses the Leader, Part 3
Doing what needs to be done
7th October 2016
In our first study of Moses the leader, we saw that Moses was not a self-appointed leader, or even appointed by God's people. He was appointed by God.
In our second study, we saw that Moses led by following. Like the Lord Jesus Christ, he spent time with God, heard His voice and saw what He was doing, followed God, and called the Israelites to follow God with him.
This time, we'll focus on the fact that Moses did whatever needed to be done.
Moses spoke to people who needed to hear God's message: Someone needed to confront Pharaoh. God chose Moses, so Moses went.
Moses performed miracles: Pharaoh needed to see the power of God, so Moses performed various miracles.
Moses prophesied: God told Moses to prophesy the various plagues that God would send, so he did.
Moses faithfully relayed God's instructions to His people: God gave Moses and Aaron precise instructions for the Israelites about what to do during the plague of the death of the firstborn, and they relayed those instructions accurately to the people.
Moses gave God's people courage when they needed it: When the Israelites felt threatened by the Egyptian army, Moses stood up and gave a speech full of encouragement and faith:
Exodus 14v13-14
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you
today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Moses believed God for miracles: When the Israelites needed a path through the Red Sea, Moses trusted God and held his staff over the sea, so God parted the sea and they were saved. When the people had no fresh water to drink, God told Moses to throw a log into the water, and his obedience turned the bitter waters into sweet water.
Moses looked to God, not to his own resources or his own wisdom: Following the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, they left Elim and moved into the desert of Sin, where their food began to run out. Yet again, the people turned on Moses. Moses prayed to God for an answer. Then he and Aaron proclaimed to all the Israelites:
Exodus 16v6b8a
"In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of
the Lord... You will now that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the
morning..."
And God provided food for them all. He gave them quail that evening and manna every morning (except on the Sabbath) for 40 years.
Moses was prepared to lead from the front: When the water ran out (again) the people complained so vehemently that Moses feared of his life. Again, He turned to God, and God said:
Exodus 17v5b-6a
"Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck
the Nile, and go.
I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink."
Moses obeyed God, went where most of the people were not yet ready to go, took with him the witnesses God had commanded, and did what God told him to do. Water gushed out of the rock and provided for all the people.
A godly leader doesn't refuse any act of service. He does whatever needs to be done, trusting in God's power to enable him to do it.