Moses in the Book of Exodus There have been many individuals who could be considered leaders, but some stand out among the others. An example of a superb leader is Moses. Moses is viewed as a righteous man in God's eyes and is chosen to lead the Hebrews out of oppression in Egypt. Contained in the story of Exodus are many examples of Moses' sacrifices and the hardships he endured while freeing the Hebrews. The faith of Moses was tested numerous times throughout the story, and, in some instances, it seemed that Moses had lost faith, however, being the "righteous" man that he was, he stuck it out until the end. Moses is a "pillar of faith" for surviving his tests and for being the perfect tool for God's plans. The Old Testament, model of a great patriarch, is one who possesses faith coupled with voluntary obedience to God's wishes and gratitude. These things combine to make up God's standard of moral goodness. If the person obeys God's laws and meets His standards, the individual may obtain happiness. The ultimate model of a great patriarch is Moses. The book of Exodus, begins with the Egyptian's decision to oppress the Hebrews who lived in the land of Egypt for 400 years. (The descendants of Joseph and his brothers) Although Moses was born a Hebrew, Moses grew up in the Pharaoh's court and the Hebrews were jealous of him. The Egyptians didn't trust him as well. This is one of the main reasons why Moses was such a great leader. He didn't really have any strong ties to either the Hebrews of the Egyptians. This is why he can be harsh and use force to make the people understand what God wants. He has the guts to order his own people to their death for freedom. Moses was willing to risk his life for his people and on... ... middle of paper ... ... Faith and trust in God helped him to be a leader for the people. However, Moses was not the perfect, sin-free prophet, in the sense he murdered a man directly and was the cause of the death of thousands of Egyptians. To top it off, he ordered all the people who built the golden calf to worship on the bottom of Mount Sinai to be killed. What God wanted done was done through Moses. I believe that Moses was justified in what he did at Mount Sinai, but I'm sure that, if I were one of the Hebrews, I wouldn't be able to believe what was going through Moses' head. I respect the character of Moses and I feel that his shrewdness was one of the key elements in the success of Exodus. In the end, with God on his side, Moses and God's following servants, led the Lord's people with great strength and courage, and delivered them safely into the awaited Holy Land.
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Show MoreIn the Book of Exodus the relationship between god and man was similar to relation between a master and servant or in other words a king and a subject respectively. God says “you shall speak all that I command you”(Exodus,7:2), it is very clear through this vision that Moses had that God wanted to have dominion and control over peo...
God also had informed them that if they decided to break this sacred rule he would punish them by death. Despite God’s word and instructions the Hebrew people totally disregarded what they were told and became corrupt by creating many other gods to worship other than their one true God. Because of their disobedience their God became angered and wanted to kill them, however, Moses pleaded with God to not kill his people (Exodus 32:7-14). When Moses came back down from the mountain he saw how out of control his people had gotten. He had also become anger and he burnt the calf, grounded it into powder, and scattered it into water and made the people drink it as part of their punishment (Exodus 32:19-20). The next day Moses told the people how great of a sin that they had committed and he said that he would go ask the Lord for omission from their sin (Exodus 32:30). Moses even sacrificed his name in the book of life in order to spare the live of his people. He pleaded to the Lord “But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written (Exodus 32:32)”. However, God replied saying that whoever had sinned against him b worshipping the calf was to be punished. Because of their disobedience God struck the people with a plague (Exodus
As the confrontation grew over the future of Israel, and the Pharaoh’s anger and dissatisfaction becomes more apparent, God’s frustration was seen. Moses spoke to the Pharaoh, but with no success God began to send plagues like Moses had warned. The Pharaoh did not budge, but instead his heart hardened as a type of punishment by God for the Pharaoh not heeding God’s warnings . Since the Pharaoh did not listen to God, he would have to suffer through all the plagues by his own demise. As a result, ten plagues were sanctioned on Egypt due to the Pharaoh’s disobedience to God, which resulted in the release of the Hebrews. The Pharaoh released the Hebrews from bondage, and Moses began to lead the people to the Promise Land, sanctioned by God with the ancestors. The journey to freedom began in Exodus 12:37-39, but Israel wasn’t free yet. The Pharaoh began to chase after the Hebrews, not because of willfulness, but as the act of YHWH’s hardening of his heart . YHWH has purposely set this up for the reason, as said by YHWH, “I will get glory over Pharaoh!” (Ex. 14:1-4) . The Egyptians, through the departing of the Red Sea for the Hebrews with the closing on top of them, will see YHWH’s glory. The outcome of this power struggle will put the Pharaoh down, and the people shall come to know “I am Yahweh.” (Ex. 14:1-4) signifying that YHWH is king
ability to move and motivate people and the power to stand up for what he believed in.
Moses was a major character in the fact that he was the reason his son, Adam, became the man that he had become. “If just once in all my born days you’d say a good thing to me” (Fast 3), Moses stated. Moses wanted Adam to be raised the way that Moses was raised and respect it. Adam did not like how strict his father was to him and did not want to be raised like he was. “Maybe it’s time I just went and did something without my father”
Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest leaders. He has the quality of honesty. Another great leader is Mahatma Gandhi with the ability to have an abundance of faith. There are many aspects to make a great leader. I believe one of the most important features to make a great leader is self-motivation. Without any motivation, a leader would not need to have any honesty, integrity, or respect.
Then to dig more into the reasons for Moses’ hesitation, I will begin with Martin Nath’s commentary that claims that Moses to avoid his given charge by God comes up with a reason for his previous failure claiming that he is a poor speaker. Then I will bring Brevard Childs into the picture. He throws more light onto the issue and suggests that the reason for Moses’ previous failure was the suffering of the Israelites. He believes that they did not have any interest in Moses or God because of their situation. Ho...
leader. He won the hearts of people because he could relate to them and their
reject the Jewish people, he did not comply with his orders, and was able to allow the
Leaders from the past and leaders today all have similar qualities. These qualities are what make every leader one of the best the world has seen so far. Some so called leaders are individuals who have taken the credit of other people’s accomplishments in their own name. On the other hand, people like Nelson Mandela, Morgan Freeman, and John Kennedy have all displayed accomplishments that can rightfully be called their own. Being dedicated, hard-working, a listener, determined, and able to set realistic goals are a few qualities that turn a person into a leader and a leader into somebody the world will never forget.
Moses spends forty years following the instructions of God throughout Exodus. However, in Numbers, God tells him to speak to the rock and it will bring them water. Instead of speaking to the rock, he strikes it with his staff, like he did previously in Exodus. When he does not directly follow the instructions he was given, God responds by saying, “‘Because you were not faithful to me in showing forth my sanctity before the Israelites, you shall not lead this community into the land I will give them,’” (Numbers 20:12). Moses ends up being able to see the Promised Land, but never being able to set foot inside
Moses courageously chose to help his people rather than live alongside his brother as an Egyptian prince.
Moses assures them that God would deliver them. He told them that the Lord shall fight for you. Moses was confident and encouraged them also to be that way. This is a lesson we all need to learn as prophets during the storm of life.
While there are many heroes in the Bible, Moses is the character I relate to most because he was a shy man but still used by God in many incredible ways. Moses was shy and afraid to speak up to people, and I am like that also. A great quote that shows Moses was a shy man is from Exodus: “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1 NLT) Moses asked God this question after the Lord commands him to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It seems Moses asked this question because he was shy and did not want to talk with the Egyptian authorities about letting his people leave Egypt. His unwillingness to reason with the authorities to set free God’s people shows how Moses is not bold
required of a great leader. He spoke to others in a way which he believed