Leadership is Key to Success

When I was reading these verses, I was struck by Moses' words to the Israelites in verse 26: "But the LORD was angry with me because of you..."

It feels here almost as though Moses is blaming the Israelites for the entire situation. Sure, their heart was not in the right place when the reports came back from the soldiers and Joshua & Caleb, but if you think about it - Neither was Moses'. If it HAD been, very likely he would have been more outspoken about going into the Promised Land when Joshua & Caleb said that they could do it - and the people likely would have followed because after all: Moses was their leader.

I think that Moses' choice of words here is giving us a glimpse into an area of his imperfection. A strong, good leader should not blame his followers in entirety; rather, a better way to address the crowds here would have been "The LORD was angry with me because I did not properly lead and guide and encourage you when we were wandering the desert."

Having said that - I also think that this is further proof that God can use us to do amazing things. Us - His broken, selfish, cranky, arrogant people - have the ability to lead, learn, and grow in Him. The ability to go from not trusting to complete surrender. All things are possible through Him.

In the end - God did love Moses, and so offers a compromise. Even though He was infuriated with Moses over the whole darned fiasco, He allowed Moses to view the Promised Land on the other side of the River Jordan - but He still holds firm that Moses will never enter. This seems to be enough for Moses; it gives him opportunity to see where his people will be led by Joshua.

Created over 1 year ago