Moses exercised great Holy Spirit power without personal pride - jealousy or ambition.
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| The Brazen Serpent, by Benjamin West: Wikipedia) |
The narratives of Moses’ life do not often refer to the Spirit of God. However, later Israelites were in no doubt at all that God had been very powerfully active through his Spirit in the life and work of Moses. Here, for example, is how a later prophet referred back to that era:
The same passage, a little earlier, says that the people of Israel “rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit” (Is 63:10). These are two of the very few occasions when the Spirit of God in the Old Testament is actually called his Holy Spirit. The main focus of the Spirit’s presence in this recollection is on the powerful acts of deliverance that Israel experienced—especially the exodus and the gift of the land. The Spirit is linked to the role of Moses himself as the leader of Israel at that time.
Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people—where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown, who led them through the depths?Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble; like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD. This is how you guided your peopleto make for yourself a glorious name. (Is 63:11–14)
The same passage, a little earlier, says that the people of Israel “rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit” (Is 63:10). These are two of the very few occasions when the Spirit of God in the Old Testament is actually called his Holy Spirit. The main focus of the Spirit’s presence in this recollection is on the powerful acts of deliverance that Israel experienced—especially the exodus and the gift of the land. The Spirit is linked to the role of Moses himself as the leader of Israel at that time.
The power of God was exercised through the person of Moses. He was the human agent of God’s Spirit. Moses, then, gives us a model of Spirit-filled leadership. He was clearly a leader of great power, given by God. And yet he served God faithfully—as Hebrews also testifies, “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house” (Heb 3:5).
What were some of the marks of the Spirit of God in the leadership of Moses that we can find in this section of narrative? Moses exercised great power, but, as we shall now see, it was power without personal pride, power without personal jealousy and power without personal ambition.
Power without pride
The vast bulk of the occurrences of this and related words denote the position of people who have been humbled or afflicted in one way or another. It suggests people who are weak in some respect. They lack resources or power.… To say Moses was the lowliest person on earth [means that he] was just the most ordinary of men, one of whom Yhwh made extraordinary demands, and on whom his people put extraordinary pressures.
Those who are lowly by definition “lack resources or power.” Yet Moses was a man of incredible power. Even secular historians would agree that Moses has to be included among the greatest of all human leaders and nation builders. He was, after Abraham, the “father of the nation”—the one who consolidated them from a bunch of escaped slaves into a nation and led them to the brink of their settlement in the land of Canaan.
What were some of the marks of the Spirit of God in the leadership of Moses that we can find in this section of narrative? Moses exercised great power, but, as we shall now see, it was power without personal pride, power without personal jealousy and power without personal ambition.
Power without pride
Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. (Num 12:3)The word here translated “humble” is ‘anaw, and indeed it can mean meek and humble (e.g., in Prov 3:34 and Prov 16:19 where it is contrasted with “proud”). But most often it means, not so much a subjective virtue or an inward personal characteristic as an objective state inflicted by others. The word describes people who are lowly because of some affliction, people who suffer by being put down and demeaned by others (which was true enough of Moses a lot of the time, even as a leader):
The vast bulk of the occurrences of this and related words denote the position of people who have been humbled or afflicted in one way or another. It suggests people who are weak in some respect. They lack resources or power.… To say Moses was the lowliest person on earth [means that he] was just the most ordinary of men, one of whom Yhwh made extraordinary demands, and on whom his people put extraordinary pressures.
Those who are lowly by definition “lack resources or power.” Yet Moses was a man of incredible power. Even secular historians would agree that Moses has to be included among the greatest of all human leaders and nation builders. He was, after Abraham, the “father of the nation”—the one who consolidated them from a bunch of escaped slaves into a nation and led them to the brink of their settlement in the land of Canaan.
Moses was a leader, and a very great one. Yet Moses was a servant, and a very lowly one. A leader and a servant. A servant leader or a leading servant. Is it possible to be both? Yes, because the Bible affirms both of these paradoxical truths about him. The secret of Moses’ power lay in the Spirit of God, and the secret of his humility lay in his lack of self-sufficiency.
Wright, C. J. H. (2006). Knowing the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament (pp. 44–46). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
Wright, C. J. H. (2006). Knowing the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament (pp. 44–46). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
