The Daily Bread 0023: Effective Leadership Part 2 (Sacrifice)
Exodus 32
11 And Moses prayed before the Lord his God, and said, O LORD, why should thy wrath be kindled against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and a mighty hand?
12 Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil he brought them forth, to kill them in the mountains, and to drive them out of the face of the earth? Return from the fierceness of your anger, and repent of this evil against your people.
Commentary
The second most effective leader we could see in the bible is Moses. Leadership is often synonymous with sacrifice, and this is one of the facets that not every leader wants to face, since it is better to send another to be sacrificed than to be self-sacrifice. This leader once preferred to be sacrificed to see the destruction of the group he led. Exodus 32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, I beseech thee, for this people hath committed a great sin, because they have become gods of gold, 32 that now they forgive their sin, and if not, tell me now of thy book which thou hast done written. The leader identifies himself and gives his life if possible by his followers, in Jesus we see this, John 10:11 I am the good shepherd; The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Deuteronomy 9:13 And the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have beheld the people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 14 Let me destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven, and I will make thee ruler over a strong nation, and much greater than they. These verses indicate an indignation on the part of God for the sin of Israel and perhaps on this occasion tests the leadership of Moses to see if he would seek the easy, and would accept to change a disobedient, weak nation (that cost him the entrance to The promised land that they angered him) for a powerful and obedient nation where leadership would be easy.
If it was a test, Moses passed it Deuteronomy 9:18 And I fell before the LORD as before, forty days and forty nights; I did not eat bread or drink water because of all your sin that you had committed by doing evil in the sight of the Lord to anger him. 19 For I feared the cause of the wrath and wrath with which Jehovah was angry against you to destroy you. But Jehovah listened to me this time. The original vision, which was to enter Israel into the promised land, could not change and a good leader would not change the vision because of the difficult circumstances. Now, there may be better methods for achieving some goals, but the vision is the same. Moses was so determined to bring this whole people into the promised land that he seems to forget himself for the sake of the people who were in his care. Exodus 32:10 Now therefore, let my wrath be kindled in them, and consume them; And from you I will make a great nation. God here tells Moses that the new nation would come from Him! What is now known as the nation of Israel could well be known as! Moses! Since God tells you that a great nation would come out of it. But ye sacrifice, glory, honor, and honor, to fulfill your charge.
Moses willing to sacrifice his life, honor and honor to fulfill his mission as leader. Exodus 32:11 And Moses prayed in the presence of the Lord his God, and said, O Lord, why should thy wrath be kindled against thy people, which thou hast taken out of the land? Land of Egypt with great power and strong hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, Did he bring them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to drive them out of the face of the earth? Return from the fierceness of your anger, and repent of this evil against your people. Moses advises God and urges him to repent of the evil he intends to do to his people !! First it must be clarified that repentance as far as God is concerned is merely a change of thought or will, as for man is to feel sorrow and pain for sins; The important thing is that this leader is being a mediator for his people! And Paul saw him, as well as a mediator Galatians 3:19 So what good is the law? It was added because of the transgressions, until the seed came to whom the promise was made; And was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Every leader is to serve, to sacrifice, and to be a mediator for those whom God has put into his hands. This is why ministry in synonymous with service and sacrifice. How many pastors and ministers today give their names to the ministries that are supposed to be of God? - "Paul van Gogh". Because they want to glory them, but Moses when he was given the opportunity that his people bear his name said NO. The people that you will lead will be strong, difficult and disobedient, but a good leader lies in God waiting on him and does not faint, because the call is from the Lord not from man.
Written by Robert Pool
Translated by Bruno Smith