THE
MOST HUMBLE
©
Morris Ruddick
“Curse
not the king, no, not even in your thoughts, and curse not the
rich in your bedchamber, for a bird of the air will carry the
voice, and a winged creature will tell the matter .”
Eccl 10:20
Scripture
tells us that prior the time of the Exodus, that “ Moses was
very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants
and the people. ”
Moses
was the deliverer of God's people, Israel. Despite his reluctance
when God called him, he confronted and prevailed against Pharaoh,
probably the most powerful king on the earth in his day. Moses
mobilized and led over a million men, women and children. He worked
a level of miracles that are still common knowledge throughout
the world, despite the passage of centuries and centuries. Moses
likewise outlined the revelation of God that has become the modern-day
standard for government, law, morality, economics and spirituality.
In
a word, Moses reversed the curse against God's people and established
God's authority, rule and dominion that has set the course not
only for those known by His name, but to the benefit of Western
Civilization to this day.
Yet,
in Numbers 12:3 it tells us: “ Now the man Moses was very
humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. ”
The
one who is humble is unpretentious and devoid of arrogance in
behavior, attitude and spirit. The humble person is outer-directed,
with little evidence of the self-absorbed patterns we too often
observe among those wielding the trappings of what the world considers
success.
On
the surface, this statement of Moses being more humble than all
men on the face of the earth seems to contradict the mode of one
who has made such an impact on history. Yet, it bears the true
mark of a Kingdom leader. Unfortunately, this element of leadership
is the very point of stumbling for those who otherwise, might
be chosen to be among “the great” in the Kingdom.
The
Human Point of View
The
context for this scripture describing Moses' humility was when
his inner circle reduced the call of God on Moses' life to a human
point of view.
“Then
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses … and the LORD heard it.”
Num 12:1
Not
only did “the Lord hear it;” but when it happened, He intervened
to draw the line. This sequence of scripture goes on to say that
the anger of the Lord was aroused against Moses' older brother
and sister.
“Suddenly
the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, ‘Come out, you three,
to the tabernacle of meeting!' Then the LORD came down in the
pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called
Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. Then He said, ‘Hear
now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make
Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not
so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. I speak
with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?'”
Num 12: 2-8
As
Moses' inner circle, Aaron and Miriam wielded great influence
among the Israelites. Aaron was Moses' right-hand man who served
as priest over the people. Miriam was Moses' sister who had rescued
Moses as a baby. Considered a prophetess, she was known best for
leading the women in a song of triumph after the passage through
the Red Sea.
Why
God's Sovereign Intervention
Why
did the Lord intervene so suddenly, in such a sovereign and dramatic
way?
First,
there was not one vestige of variation between God's will for
His people and the outworking of the call of God on Moses. When
Jesus revealed our accountability for “idle words,” it was due
to the influence and destructive nature words can have to impede
and even derail agendas set in motion by the Lord. Moses' inner
circle's words, spoken in whispers, had an impact on his spirit
…and on the people.
“Curse
not the king, no, not even in your thoughts, and curse not the
rich in your bedchamber, for a bird of the air will carry the
voice, and a winged creature will tell the matter .”
Eccl 10:20
Likewise,
the timing of this encounter was significant. It was just prior
to Moses sending the spies into Canaan. Miriam and Aaron's short-sided
yielding to their own agendas and personal ambition brought into
question Moses' calling and authority. The second verse of Numbers
12 reads:
“So
they said, ‘Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has
He not spoken through us also?'”
So,
the Lord heard it. Miriam was struck was leprosy. Aaron immediately
repented and begged Moses to heal her. Moses prayed for his sister.
The Lord then gave instruction for Miriam to be shamed for all
to see …and put outside the camp for seven days, before being
healed and allowed back.
God's
intervention was revealing. This was not a struggle for power.
Both Aaron and Miriam were already a part of the authority structure
in leading the Israelites. It was an issue tied to the significance
of Moses' calling, of what the Lord was setting in motion through
him, and the influence his siblings' words had on the situation.
In the midst of a world of lawless, ungodly, oppressive feudal
systems, the Lord, through Moses, was setting in motion change
…a God-centered economic governmental template for not only for
His people, but as a light for the nations to see for the generations
to come.
God
heard it and intervened. Because of their position of leadership,
Aaron and Miriam's words held potential to sway their generation.
Moses, as an apostolic prophet was called to change the course
of history. The Lord intervened to prevent their steps digressing
into matters of ego and ambition.
“The
secret things belong to the Lord, but those that are revealed
belong to us and to our children forever.” Deut
29:29
The
Standard for Leadership
Moses
is the universal model for God-centered leadership. The mix between
his capability, authority and humility represents the standard
for priestly kings called to the arena of economic community leadership.
Despite
being raised to ascend to the court of Pharaoh, Moses never took
himself seriously. As deliverer of God's people, he was intensely
purposeful about his calling. His calling fit within the context
of a father's heart for his people …with the authority and direction
he wielded coming from God's presence. Within his calling, it
was not about him. Moses exhibited no personal ambition. He was
paving new ground. With the exception of failing to speak to the
rock, Moses restrained himself from yielding to a “self” orientation
and the insecurities so often reflected by ones groomed to sit
in high places.
The
catalyst undergirding his leadership was the ongoing priority
Moses gave to spending time in God's presence. It is the time
that inoculates God's leaders from the seductive issues of ambition
and ego and man-pleasing influences that come from being in the
limelight.
The
Moses Leadership Distinctive
“
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were
on the face of the earth. ” Num 12:3
The
distinction between Moses and his siblings was significant. Miriam
was driven by ambition and ego, while Aaron was a man-pleaser.
Both orientations are stumbling blocks to being fully used as
an instrument of God's purpose. Ambition, ego and a man-pleasing
spirit likewise undermine the authority and level at which an
intercessor can wield transformational prayers. They each bog
down and undermine genuine leadership, authority and the accomplishment
of God's true agendas.
Despite
Moses being considered very great in the land, being “great” did
not happen to be something Moses sought to touch. His leadership
was not the result of ambition, ego or his grooming to be a prince
in Egypt. “Kingdom success” bears a very different definition
than palace success. Moses' time in the presence of the Lord reshaped
his perspective and made clear the tasks of his calling. His leadership
reflected the balance between serving the people entrusted to
his care and the eternal purpose God was releasing through them.
“Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being
in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with
God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance
as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point
of death, even the death of the cross.” Phil 2:5-8
The
Balance
Moses
was exceptionally generous in giving of himself to the people;
yet was unrelenting in yielding himself to God. One without the
other will fall short of a high calling …and that of a Kingdom
leader.
Moses
reflected the heart of a true leader, as well as intercessor.
His focus was uniquely balanced between the tension of advancing
God's agendas and caring for and guiding His people. He placed
the destiny of his people before his own.
“Then
Moses returned to the LORD and said, ‘Oh, these people have committed
a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now,
if You will forgive their sin — but if not, I pray, blot me out
of Your book which You have written.'" Ex
32:31-32
The
Mark of the Calling
The
Cost . The mark of the calling
begins with the cost paid for it. Jesus said: “ many are called
but few are chosen. ” The call of God is not a matter of
merit, achievement or recognition. Nor is it a character-development
program. God's calling is a unique alignment between the one called
and the Lord …that manifests in dominion. It releases life, establishes
God authority and brings the change that sets things in order.
It advances God's Kingdom by enabling God's people. The call of
God, as the Lord intends it, will never materialize without paying
the cost.
“
By faith Moses, when he had grown to maturity and become great,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, preferring
to share the oppression and bear the shame of the people of God
rather than to have the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered
the contempt and abuse and shame borne for the Messiah Who was
to come to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt,
for he looked ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt behind
him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for
he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured
steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible. ” Heb
11:24-27 Amp
Believers
in the developing world have a much better grasp of the cost of
the calling than those of us in the West.
“
Let no person trouble me by making it necessary for me to
vindicate my apostolic authority and the divine truth of my Gospel,
for I bear on my body the brand marks of the Lord Jesus, the wounds,
scars, and other outward evidence of persecutions — these testify
to His ownership of me !” Gal 6:17 Amp
Hearing
His Voice . Moses was consumed by his need to spend time in the
presence of the Lord. As a prince in Egypt, he knew of his heritage
as an Israelite and no doubt had been made aware of his calling.
The many years that followed his misfire of “ wanting to do
something ,” when he killed the oppressive Egyptian guard,
progressed and resulted in his dramatic encounter with God. That
encounter set the stage for every step he took from that point
on. Hearing the voice of the Lord became Moses' foremost priority.
It was the basis of his zeal, wisdom, anointing, authority and
decision-making that would influence the generations to come.
“
So the Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face, as a man speaks to
his friend .” Exodus 33:11
Faithful
in All of God's House . “ Faithful
in all of God's house ” is the word the Lord used to describe
Moses when confronting Aaron and Miriam. Moses' calling was a
transformational calling that would provide the seedbed that restored
God's pathway for future generations. It planted a stake for the
shift best described in the Bible by the word dominion. It suggests
a comprehensive oneness of heart between the Lord and Moses. It
reflects Moses' grasp of the strategic, eternal nature of God's
intentions and plans.
“
For creation longs for the revealing of the sons of God …that
it might be delivered from the bondage of corruption.. .”
Rom 8:19-21
True
intercessors link the heart, and as such the will of God, with
the heart of the people. It's what Ezekiel spoke about by standing
in the gap. Moses was as totally in touch with God's heart, as
he was with the people's heart. He had the wisdom to know the
balance of his responsibility between the two.
Yielded
to Him . Whether fat or fragile, issues of ego yield the same
result. They undermine and cause high callings to fall short.
God will never intervene, as He did for Moses, for the ambitious
or for agendas driven by ego or a man-pleasing spirit. Moses was
called to change the course of history. In doing so, he was yielded
to and one with the Lord.
Being
truly yielded to God will bear the mark of humility: of being
unpretentious and devoid of arrogance in behavior, attitude and
spirit. The humble person is outer-directed, with little evidence
of the focus on self and the identity issues that seem to follow
what the world considers success.
Jesus
said: “ he who loses his life for my sake will find it .”
The humble are those who no longer view their lives or the agendas
entrusted to them from a human point of view. They are sold out
and aligned with Him. It defines the difference between those
who attempt “to do” something for God, and those who allow the
Lord to truly operate His will through them.
“
So the first shall be last and the last first. For many are
called, but few are chosen .” Matt 20:16
Morris
Ruddick is the founder of the God's Economy Entrepreneurial Program,
which imparts hope and equips believers in lands of oppression
and persecution as economic community builders. He is also the
author of “The Joseph-Daniel Calling” and “God's Economy, Israel
and the Nations,” each of which address God's mobilization of
the economic and community dimensions of His Word. They are available
from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and other popular outlets.
2007
Copyright Morris Ruddick — info@strategic-initiatives.org
Reproduction
is prohibited unless permission is given by a SIGN advisor. Since
1996, the Strategic Intercession Global Network (SIGN) has mobilized
prophetic intercessors committed to targeting strategic-level
issues impacting the Body on a global basis. For more information
on SIGN, check: www.strategicintercession.org
