Do You Want Great Leaders? See Exodus 18:21

 

Exodus 18:21  Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens

For context, this is Moses' father in-law, Jethro, speaking to Moses shortly after God split the Red Sea for the Israelites to escape Pharoah and slavery in Egypt.  Moses was in charge of over 2 million Israelites, new dessert dwellers, who were starting to have every day gripes. "So and So's kid broke into my tent, So and So's rooster attacked my hen."  All of these issues were taken to Moses to resolve and the daily line of justice seekers probably ran for miles.  Jethro recommended that Moses appoint some good men to resolve the smaller issues, so that he (Moses) could focus on the larger issues impacting the new nation.

But Jethro didn't suggest just any willing man, he suggested only men that had the following characteristics:

1.  Men who fear God  

Jethro was a Median priest, a follower of many gods, but a likely convert to Moses' one God after all that he had heard about the plagues and the Exodus out of Egypt.  Exodus 18:10  So Jethro said,  "Blessed be the Lord who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharoah, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.  Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people."  Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses' father-in-law before God.

Jethro saw that Moses' God didn't just create the universe, set up the laws of nature, and let things rip.  He is a God that is involved with His people.  Jethro does not believe in Moses' God just because He is scared of His awesome power.  He believes because the Lord delivers for His people with power that is unmatched by any other god.  

The Bible tells us over 100 times to "fear God", and 365 times to "do not be afraid".  The "fear Gods" are to encourage us to seek and understand who God is, and then to believe and follow.  The "do not be afraids" are to comfort believers and assure them that as long as they are making decisions based on God's word, positive results from obedience will result, even not immediately apparent.  Jethro recognized that leaders under Moses needed to understood who God was and make decisions accordingly to best help him lead the upstart nation of Israel.

Great leaders understand who God is (fear God) and make God approved decisions (do not be afraid).  

Years of kings not fearing God and worshiping pagan gods lead to the Israelites being defeated and exiled to Babylon roughly 900 years after the Exodus.  But God, through the prophet Jeremiah, told the exiled Israelites to pray for Babylon because if it flourished, they would flourish.  Jeremiah 29:7 "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare." This probably did not seem intuitive to the Israelites, but recognizing who God is (fear) and not hesitating to do what He says (do not fear) was the only way there were going to survive and eventually make it back to Israel.

Throughout most of the Old Testament, Israel kings worshiped pagan gods and participated in horrific behaviors including child sacrifice.  Severe prophesized punishments followed, usually a massive defeat by a pagan country. Sometimes God's discipline lead to corrective actions by the Israelites and their kings.  Unfortunately more “not listening to God's prophets” would repeat, and God would allow another bad king to repeat the judgment cycle. 

Exodus 22:28 (God speaking) "You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people." Paul tells us in Romans 13:1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Like the Israel kings, any corrupt leader today does not gain power unless it is part of God's plan. God allows everyone of our elected officials' influence, based on what He wants to accomplish with our hearts.  God has no problem allowing the demise of Great Empires (think Roman, British, Ottoman just to name a few) via leaders and people who do not fear (and therefore obey) God.

We are to obey authority, even if we disagree with it, unless it is telling us to do something against God.  Jethro would agree - fear your God more than an elected official.  Pay your taxes, but don't murder your potential child even if it is "legal" in your state, for that is a God forbidden child sacrifice.  

With God's blessing, God fearing/do not be afraid people elect God fearing/do not be afraid leaders.  But He also allows God deniers to elect God deniers.  How often have we heard, "elections have consequences"!  

2.  Men of truth  

Jethro was referring to men who believe that truth is the same for all people all of the time.  No "my truth" or "your truth", strictly "the truth".  These leaders would be helping Moses establish law and order for the new nation.  They all needed to be on the same page.  Jethro would probably agree with the following definition of truth from Gotquestions.org.  "In order for something to be declared true, it must be discoverable, transcultural, unchanging, unaffected by attitude, absolute, and knowable.  For example, 2+2=4 is a truth that can be discovered (not created by one person), transcends all cultures, never changes, cannot be affected by feelings, is absolute in its factualness, and is knowable by all of humanity.

By this definition, the God of the Bible is truth:

1.  He made Himself discoverable throughout history and through the Bible. 

2.  He transcends all cultures in His very attributes.

3.  He never changes

4.  His existence cannot be affected by our feelings or attitudes

5.  He is absolute as the Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end

6.  He is knowable through Scripture and personal revelation by the Holy Spirit."

God establishes truth, God's word is true, and Jesus fulfils the truth.  Of course rejecting the God of the Bible as fact would make the "God is truth" assumption irrelevant. And a truthful atheist leader would make his/her atheism known.  But how many "want to be" leaders publicly deny the God of the Bible?   Very few. So if you say you believe in the God of the Bible, you should actually know what the Bible says, and understand you cannot change what it says to match an ideology.  A leader who announces that he/she is an atheist is truthful.  A leader who says he/she believes in God but then is not obedient to God's truth is a sham.

Leaders run into all kinds of problems, taking their people down with them, when they try to sell their opinions as "truths".   Jethro recognized that allowing ideology to ignore truths would lead to dangerous, self-serving decisions for the newly forming Israel nation.

3.  Men who hate dishonest gain   Proverbs 16:3, “Trust your work to the Lord, and your plans will work out well.”  There will be obstacles and resistance, but if your plans are God-derived, they will at some point work and glorify God.  Are your leaders driven by God or by their own self interests?

The whole "well you need to say/do what you need to say/do to win the election" is not God approved.

As a note, just because men as leaders is specified in the Old Testament, this does not mean God forbids female leaders in government.  The Bible does say that man is the divinely ordained authority in the home and the church which will be a topic for another time.  But this does not extend to government.  Remember Romans 13:1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. In both biblical times and modern times the world has been blessed (Deborah and Esther from the Bible, Golda  Meir who lead Israel from 1969-1974) and cursed (Jezebel from Bible) with female government leaders/influencers.  Like any male leader, God uses women leaders as part of his overall plan. 

Jesus often left his followers to spend time with God in prayer.  Leaders must also make time for God so they are comfortable and confident in His righteous path.  And we must pray for God fearing, truthful, and honest leaders who will make decisions that impact our lives in a God approved way.

My summary of Jethro in 2024.....Our best leaders will be Godly men and women who lead in repentance, turning to God and God’s ways.  The failure of leaders to confront evil is a mark of bad or even maybe corrupt leadership.  Versus being concerned with voter perceptions, they must be concerned with the truth, and ask for forgiveness when they make mistakes , which they will because they are human. Leaders might be surprised by the respect and allegiance they get when they do repent and ask for forgiveness. Most God loving/God fearing people are moved by a sincere apology and quickly forgive.  

And I end with 2 Timothy 3:1-5  But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid men as these.  This is as good a check-list as any to evaluate potential leaders.

The 10 Egyptian Plagues and the Israelites

Quick review of the 10 plagues of Egypt in Exodus:

1.  Blood in water everywhere (started in Nile river)

2.  Frogs everywhere

3.  Lice/gnats everywhere

4.  Flies everywhere but Goshen

5.  Livestock disease/death unless animal belonged to Israelite

6.  Boils on everything breathing

7.  Hail everywhere but Goshen

8.  Locusts everywhere 

9.  Darkness everywhere but Goshen

10.  Death of first born except for marked Hebrew homes and Pharoah

The major takeaway from the ten disasters sent by God and administered by Moses was that the leader of Egypt, Pharoah (a title like "king", not a specific name of a person) needed some repeated convincing to release the Israelites from 400 years of slavery.  But God sent the plagues to serve three other specific purposes:

1.  Confirm Moses' God given authority.   Exodus 3:19-20  (God speaking) But I know that the king of Egypt (Pharoah) will not permit you to go, except under compulsion.  So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.  Moses would be God's chosen leader for the next 40 years, and the devastating plagues directed by Moses kicked it all off.  Unfortunately Moses would be questioned numerous times by his own Israelite people, and each incident was also meant with God's outstretched hand.

2.  Show the Egyptians that their gods were nothing compared to Him.  Exodus 7:5 (God speaking) "The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst."  Plague 10 was the icing on the cake.  Exodus 12:12  (God speaking) "For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments - I am the Lord."  Pharoah was the only Egyptian first born spared this death so that he would be around to see all the other death.

3. Show the Israelites that He had not forgotten about them and it was time to enact His promise to Abraham.   Exodus 6: 6-8  (God speaking) Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage.  I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord."  

Pharoah and his people were hit hard by each of the 10 plagues.  But how were the Israelites impacted by the disasters?  Did they need some convincing themselves that Moses was sent by the God of their forefathers and that it was time to leave not only the physical state of slavery, but also the mental state?

In 5 of the 10 plagues (4,5,7,9,10) the biblical text specifically says that the Hebrew slaves/Israelites who lived in Goshen were protected from the devastation.  Omitting Goshen not only spared the Israelites, but it also was another indication of God's power since there was no natural boundary between Goshen and the rest of Egypt.  But did God afflict the Hebrews with the first 3 plagues to convince them that it was time to leave Egypt?  What about plague 6 and 8?  Did the Hebrew's question where God had been for 400 years?  How many considered the pros/cons of a slave's life versus the unknown leadership of Moses?  

Regarding the first plague, Exodus 7:21   The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink the water from the Nile.  The Hebrew slaves were never considered Egyptians. Were they granted access to some clean water or was God shaking their world, waking them up to the idea that it was time to go? 

Regarding the second plague, Exodus 8:3  The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls.  So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.  The Hebrew slaves were never considered "Pharoah's people".  Were their homes prohibited to the frogs?

Plague three is unique.  Exodus 8:17  And Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast.  All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt.  Gnats were on all and beast.  Dust became gnats through all the land of Egypt.  It is hard to argue here that the Israelites escaped this plague.  Were they seeing in 1 and 2 what was happening to the Egyptians and not understanding God's plan?  Did getting hit with gnats convince them that this was God's work and He had not forgotten about them?  Perhaps this plague was a motivator since they were then biblically noted as "exempt" from the next two plagues, 4 (flies) and 5 (livestock disease).

Regarding the sixth plague, Exodus 9:11  The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.  Again, the Hebrews were never considered Egyptians, so perhaps their bodies were saved from blisters.

Regarding the eighth plague, another unique one.  Exodus 10:4  (Moses speaking)  For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.  They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land.  They will also eat the rest of what has escaped, what is left from the hail, and they will eat every tree which sprouts for you out of the field.  Then your houses shall be filled and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians.  Sounds like the Israelites might loose their crops, but the locusts will only invade the houses of Egyptians.   When Pharoah refuses, Exodus 10:12  Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land, even all that the hail has left. Well Goshen was the only place in Egypt that didn't get hail, so maybe they too are getting locusts, just not in the houses.

Doing a very literal read of the biblical text, and then making a few assumptions about plagues 1,2,3,6 and 8 I put forth this thought....

It was time for the Hebrew slaves to leave Egypt and head to the promised land.  Pharoah would never agree so God sent Moses to administer blood in the water (1) and frogs (2).  The Hebrews saw the devastation but were not directly impacted.  Instead of praising God and packing their bags, they were scared and not convinced that Moses was doing anything special as the magicians could copy these acts. To get their attention, God included the Hebrews in suffering with gnats (3) and it is biblically pointed out that the magicians could not copy this feat.  Between gnats (3) and flies (4) the Hebrews had a major attitude change and started to believe Moses was working for the God of their forefathers.  They were spared flies (4), livestock disease (5), boils (6), and hail (7).  But evidently they were not packing up fast enough so their crops which they were too focused on were destroyed by locusts (8), but God kept the pests out of their homes so they could get packing.  Finally after plague 8, the Hebrews were as convinced as they were going to be and were spared from darkness (9) and death of first born (10).