Can leaders miss the mark too?

Definitely possible. The Israelite leaders during the exodus were not careful in following the Lord. They, in turn, swayed the whole nation into error. They themselves were barred from entering in the Promised Land. 

Leaders are to influence their communities to possess all of God's best for them. They provide stability, direction and empowerment to the people.

Godly leaders are especially needed during times of crises. These are when leaders are called to shine at their best. Not the time to shrink back, but the time to leap in faith.

Moses wisely appointed leaders in the camp according to their abilities. There were leaders "of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe." (Deuteronomy 1:15) These leaders, however, were the source of most contentions between Moses and the Israelites.

Leaders carry an awesome responsibility and accountability. They influence people either for good or evil. Sadly, the appointed leaders used their authority in fueling Israel’s negative spirit and inciting rebellion in the camp.

The Ten Spies

In Kadesh-Barnea, the Israelites appoint 12 intelligence agents to secretly spy the land for forty days. The twelve were all respected leaders as Joshua and Caleb were. (Numbers 13:1-16)

The ten spies were sorely responsible in corrupting the spirit of the nation by instilling fear and unbelief. They caused rebellion against God so much that they wanted another leader. This may be the decision of the whole nation but their influence was ultimately responsible.

They were the ones who spread remarks such as:

“It is because Adonai hated us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, only to hand us over to the [Amorites] to destroy us.” (Deuteronomy 1:27, CJB)

“‘We can’t attack those people, because they are stronger than we are;’ and they spread a negative report about the land they had reconnoitered for the people of Isra’el by saying, ‘The land we passed through in order to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there were giant!’” (Numbers 13:31-32, CJB)

“And they said to each other, “Let’s appoint a leader (meaning replace Moses as leader) and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 14:4) 

What happened to the ten spies?

After showing the Israelites the fruits of the land and giving glowing reports, the ten spies turned around and completely undermined God. Numbers 14:37 declares, “those men who gave the unfavorable report about the land died by the plague in the presence of Adonai.”  The Lord judged them right then and there.

When the next generation Israelites went in, Joshua now wisely picked only two faithful spies instead of twelve. (Joshua 2:1) In this occasion, less is more.

Reflection:

Leaders should beware of:

- Giving a negative or evil report.  Let us honor God by instilling faith rather than destroying people’s confidence in God.

- Demoralizing God’s people. Let us inspire God’s people to pass all their tests and fulfill their destinies in God. Nothing is more rewarding than to see the people you influence receive great commendation from the Lord Himself. (Example, Moses inspired and trained Joshua well.)

- Spreading complaints. It is bad enough for people to constantly complain, but it is far worse to see leaders be first ones to complain. This is evil in the sight of God.

- Going back to Egypt. This is a type of returning to worldly ways. (Examples: disregarding faith, taking matters into your own hands, prayerlessness, lack of passion for the things of God, and desiring what the world can offer.)

Moses and Aaron too?

Moses sounded a little accusingly here, “Also, because of you Adonai was angry with me and said, ‘You too will not go in there.” (Deuteronomy 1:37, CJB) In just a single stroke, he lost his ultimate dream of ever walking into the promised land.

Why?

Answer: Meribah Springs.

Meribah means quarreling, arguments, or disputation. This was where the Israelites quarreled with God! (Exodus 17:7, Numbers 20:13)

As expected, when the Israelites were parched with thirst, they quarreled with Moses: “We wish we had died when our brothers died before Adonai. Why did you bring Adonai’s community into this desert? To die there, we and our livestock? Why did you make us leave Egypt? To bring us to this terrible place without seed, figs, grapevines, pomegranates or even water to drink?”

This happened twice! The first one was in Exodus 17:1-7. At that time, the Lord told Moses to strike at the rock with his staff to produce water and it did.

This second time, the Lord instructed Moses to speak to the rock and not strike it anymore. But instead of telling the rock to produce water, he bashed at the rock twice.

“…after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, ‘Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?’ Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank.” (Numbers 20:10-11, CJB)

From the standpoint of the Israelites, Moses and Aaron delivered successfully. But from God's standpoint, it was a disappointment.


“But Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, ‘Because you did not trust me, so as to cause me to be regarded as holy by the people of Israel, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.” (Numbers 20:12, CJB)

Moses and Aaron misrepresented the Lord. Striking the rock instead of speaking to it seemed such a trivial mistake. But I believe Moses understood that the "Rock" who followed them was the Lord! (1 Corinthians 10:4) It was not simply a rock but an illustration of the Lord as the Rock.

Moses knew that the Lord was laying down a pattern for future generations. Christ was to die only once for the sins of mankind. Then after this, sinners need only to call on Him to be saved (Romans 10:13). Moses did not trust the Lord enough to follow the exact instruction. God exacts a high standard among his servants.

He should have gone to the rock and said something like, “O Rock, let living waters come forth from you according to the word of the Lord.” Instead, he charged ahead and struck the rock with his staff not once but twice. Moses anger got the best of him. It was not a good way to conduct oneself in the presence of the Lord and before God’s people. 

In his anger, Moses denounced the Israelites saying, “Listen here, you rebels!”  We must represent the Lord in high esteem by not allowing ourselves to badmouth or give insulting charges to God’s people. Ministers stand before God's people and speak His words. We must hold our office with utmost dignity and grace. As His representatives on earth, God Almighty must be regarded as holy in our conduct and speech.

Reflection:

Moses was one of the greatest leaders Israel ever had and certainly the most humble. One could feel for Moses on this account. He must be in such strain that he gave way to anger. It was a very costly error. May the Lord spare us from acting out in anger.

Dr. Brian Bailey in his book The Journey of Israel has great insights: “Moses had a problem with anger in his life. It was an inherited iniquity in his family line from Levi. He struggled to overcome anger. After he killed the Egyptian, he spent forty years in the wilderness. During that time, God was tempering his volatile nature. Numbers 12:3 states that Moses was the meekest man in the world. Meekness is the antidote to anger. It seemed as if Moses had conquered his weakness; however, in Numbers 20, Moses’ anger rose up again. We should ask the Lord to develop meekness in our lives. If we struggle with hatred, we should ask God to develop His love in our hearts.” (Journey of Israel by Dr. Brian Bailey, page 289) 

Even after many heart-rending cries, Moses could not go in. Only in God’s mercy was Moses allowed to at least see the land with his own eyes - on the day he died! (Deuteronomy 34:1-4) And well, if you can accept it, after two thousand years, he eventually landed in one of its mountains at the time of Jesus’ transfiguration. (Matthew 17:1-3)

When leaders seek to perform God’s will, it brings great blessings to the whole community. But when they walk in error, so does the people they influence. Like priest, like people. This is why God exacts greater accountability upon leaders. To whom much is given, much shall be required (Luke 12:48).

Writing this blog strikes me at heart because in a sense, I also, am a leader. I am so grateful for re-writing this book. There is so much to it already even in the first chapter. It led me to continually ask God's mercy to qualify me to possess my "promised land," to move on to Zion, fulfill my destiny and walk in the fulness of God's will. The prayer, "Lead us not to temptation but deliver us from the wicked one," became more meaningful as ever.

Spiritual leaders must teach their people to be strong in the word, prayer and character of Christ. When both leaders and people grow in Christ's stature, they could spur one another to good deeds for the glory of God.


     Pray for your leaders. 

Paul learned the great value of prayer covering so he kept urging the churches to pray for him and his missionary team- to supply them with the Spirit for empowerment and to keep them in the grace of God.

Righteous Leadership

Righteous leadership is modeling Christ. Paul was not arrogant or acting with an air of superiority when he urged the Corinthians, “Imitate me, jus as I also imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1, also 1 Cor. 4:16) It was his humble appeal for the church to follow the way of the cross- "to die to yourself daily and follow Christ."

Paul, in the spirit of true humility and dependence to God’s grace, encouraged the believers not to be proud in anything except in the cross of Jesus Christ. A leader with this intention never draws attention to himself but only to the one whom we should all follow - the Lord Jesus Christ.

One could say that the Corinthian saints were “burdensome, bothersome and quarrelsome” to Paul much like their ancient Israelite counterparts. But by the grace of God, Paul was still able to preface his letter with:

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always for you because of God’s love and kindness given to you through Christ Jesus, in that you have been enriched by him in so many ways particularly in power of speech and depth of knowledge.” (1 Corinthians 1:3-5)

After threatening them with, “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!,” he still had the grace and dignity to say, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.” (1 Corinthians 16:22-23, NKJV)

May the Lord be proud of us as leaders in this generation, amen:)

(Re-writing Deuteronomy 006)

**Disclaimer: The writer may not necessarily agree with the contents of the websites where photos were taken.**