Numbers 27:15-17
‘Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”‘
Moses needs help. He was the sole representative before God. He was responsible for several million people. Jethro, Moses’ father in law, saw it and was shocked. He advised Moses to get help then (Exodus 18:13-27).
Moses was a very important man in Israel. Moses is asking for someone to step between he and the people. His role will be diminished. He is probably overwhelmed. Thus asking for help is easy. Yet, once he recovers, he will learn that someone has stepped in his place. He won’t be quite as important with the people. Will jealousy creep in?
Moses may have known exactly what he was doing. He may have known the negatives of sharing the spotlight. Yet he did it anyway. If that was the case, he was a secure individual who had the best interests of the people in mind. This is a great place to be.
Even the most mature believer will struggle with jealousy. Times will come when Moses will hear people speak admirably of Joshua, when it used to be about him. King Saul had such a struggle. Once when David and Saul were coming to town here’s the song they heard ‘The women sang as they played, and said, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). This made Saul angry and he looked upon with suspician. It actually drove Saul to attempted murder.
There was no hint of jealousy in Moses. Thoughts must have come up. But he dealt with them maturely. How do we deal with jealous thoughts? Do we do what’s best or do we act in a self serving manner? Not only are we to do what’s best, but we are to act graciously to the one we’re jealous of.
Do we have the inner maturity and strength to do this? Are we able to love our replacement? I’ve heard it said that we should “work ourselves out of a job”. We are to train others with all we’ve got. This is a blow to the ego. We like the respect we get. Can we set that aside and do what’s best?
How can we develop the security to behave like Moses? We should have our security in God and in the gifts He’s given us. Saul needed the praises of the people to cope. He was lacking at his core. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.” To fear man is to require the respect of people to maintain our secure sense of self. We are told to fear God. That trumps our view of man.
Our security isn’t to be in the results of a task. I’ve heard it said that we are to “do our best and commit the rest”. If we put in a half effort, we should feel badly. However, if we’ve done our best, then we need to trust God with the results. Others will give mixed reviews. We should learn from them, but we shouldn’t feel ashamed. We should trust that we’ve done our best. Some voices we need to ignore. There will always be harsh critics. We aren’t to take those seriously.
Lord, help us to be secure people like Moses. To act in a way that is best for others. Help us not to let the negative thoughts and voices bother us.