Whose Truly In Charge?

“And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” (Ex 33:12-13 AV)

 

Initially, it may appear as though Moses is expressing anxiety over his calling into leadership.  However, Moses is asking the LORD to remind him who is the true leader of the people.  That being, God.  When he mentions the LORD has not let Moses know who God will send with him, he is not asking for the knowledge of how will stand with him and support his leadership.  He has Joshua, Aaron, Eleazar, and others.  What Moses is asking is for guidance in the form of human mentoring.  The conclusion of his prayer is really the answer he needs.  He laments he has no human mentor, but in working out his concern in the process of prayer, he realizes the answer is to know God, seek God’s grace, and remember the responsibility of leading God’s people is God.  When Moses has stated God to consider Israel and His people, what Moses is doing is removing the anxiety he must have felt in being a leader and placing the primary responsibility of leading God’s people on the One to whom it belongs.  God Himself.

As a leader, one carries with him or her a burden and responsibility that few understand.  Whether a parent, a teacher, a civil or military leader or a pastor, one carries with him or her the responsibility to see the whole body of those who follow succeed.  They carry a burden on their shoulder to see that everyone has the opportunity to grow and advance.  He or she must work and lead so the whole is a conducive unit all working together to achieve the same object.  This task is a daunting one.  Especially if there is no one to whom you can go for guidance.  We have our forefathers.  We have commentators.  We have wisdom found in writings.  Moses had none of these.  He was the first human penmen to put down in writing the words of God.  There were the words and history of the patriarchs.  Yet none of them led a nation.  He was all alone to try and figure out how best to lead.  He didn’t have a fellow national leader to converse with.  Pharaoh, Abimelech, and the five kings of Mesopotamia didn’t know the LORD so their opinion would not have been helpful.  The last time Moses had a mentor was when he spent some time with his father-in-law.  Now he feels the task is too daunting without some human help.

A former pastor of mine used a thought quite frequently.  He would often use the phrase, “getting you off the hook.”  What he meant by that is sometimes we place more blame or responsibility upon ourselves that we deserve or are expected to carry.  We put ourselves on the hook for things.  We take one hundred percent of the blame or responsibility when indeed, it should be shared.  In this case, Moses asks the LORD to remind him that Israel is God’s people.  Not Moses’ people.  Moses may be the human instrument that the LORD uses, but ultimately, Israel is God’s responsibility, first.  This goes for a family, a community, a classroom, and a church.  These belong to God.  When we assume leadership more than God intended, that is when we get into trouble.  When we try to lead the home without God as the central figure of leadership, we fail.  When we try to control a classroom without God in the midst, this is when we create a mess.  When we attempt to pastor His sheep without remembering it is God who leads in the person of Christ, that is when we have issues.  As we are seeing in our nation, when we elect leaders who do not have a fundamental belief in the sovereignty of God, that is when we have a nation that falls apart.  The point here is simple.  If you or I am called to lead in any way, we must remember those whom we lead belong to God, and ultimately, He leads and not us.