Tag: Leadership

Digging in Deeper: Exodus 35:30-36:1

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“Moses then said to the Israelites, ‘Look, the Lord has appointed by name Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. He has filled him with God’s Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every kind of craft to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut gemstones for mounting, and to carve wood for work in every kind of artistic craft. He has also given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all the work of a gem cutter; a designer; an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen; and a weaver. They can do every kind of craft and design artistic designs. Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the skilled people are to work based on everything the Lord has commanded. The Lord has given them wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of constructing the sanctuary.’” (CSB – Read chapter 35; read chapter 36)

Leadership matters. Nothing of significance happens without good and effective leadership. The last piece that needed to be put in place before Israel was going to be able to build the tabernacle was leadership…but not from Moses. Moses could do a lot of things, but as far as we know, he wasn’t a craftsman. To build something like the tabernacle, Israel was going to need craftsman. So, God raised some up. Let’s talk for a minute today about Bezalel and Oholiab, and what the most effective leadership looks like.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 24:1-2

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“Then he said to Moses, ‘Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and bow in worship at a distance. Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Everything has to start somewhere. The nation of Israel as we know it throughout the rest of the Old Testament period and to at least some extent on through to today started with the events of this chapter. What we will look at over the next few posts is the covenant ceremony in which God made things official with the people. It’s an interesting affair, to say the least. Right here at the start, though, something caught my attention that doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of the chapter. As we prepare to talk about God’s officially bringing the people of Israel into a new covenant relationship with Him, let’s talk for just a minute about human leadership and failure.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 22:28

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“You must not blaspheme God or curse a leader among your people.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We are in the midst of what will likely prove to be one of the most polarizing election seasons in recent memory. We are officially down to Joe Biden running against Donald Trump with an assortment of also-rans, none of whom have a chance, but whose actual impact on the outcome of events remains to be seen. The two main candidates are running for second terms which is the first time that has ever happened. Both major sides are convinced that if the other guy wins, that might actually represent the beginning of the end of the country as we know it. The acrimony that is waiting to be unleashed will be tremendous. We are going to wind up with a leader who by survey most of the nation doesn’t want because most of the nation doesn’t want either of them. This means that whoever wins is going to be cursed by a lot of people. This next law speaks to how we talk about people in authority of us. Let’s think through what we should do with this.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 18:19-23

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“Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him. Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do. But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear it with you. If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The commands of the Old Testament aren’t for us who follow Jesus today. I’ve been making that point nearly every chance I get for a couple of years now. The idea isn’t original to me by any stretch, but it is one I’ve been confirmed in thinking a number of times, most notably from the author of Hebrews. One prominent pastor makes the same point using the now infamous argument that we need to “unhitch” our faith from the Old Testament. He’s pretty widely and wildly misunderstood in this, causing him, I suspect, no small amount of grief, but the point is nonetheless valid. Yet while the Old Testament doesn’t offer direct application for our lives, it does offer plenty of wisdom worth heeding. What we see here is one of those times. Let’s talk about the advice Moses got when he was wearing himself out trying to lead Israel all on his own, and what it might mean for us.

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Well Led

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For all of the nuts and bolts of getting being the church right we’ve talked about so far, many of them are dependent on what we are talking about this time. We can have all the big dreams and plans for the church in the world, but if there is not solid leadership in place, we aren’t going to be able to move smoothly or easily toward any of them. This week we are talking about church leadership. Let’s see what the Scriptures have to say and what one important implication of this is for our lives.

Well Led

Have you ever had the pleasure of strolling through a really well-tended garden? When I think about that, something like the Biltmore Estate immediately comes to mind for me. Those gardens are absolutely exquisite. There’s beauty everywhere you look. It is a place of peace and tranquility—even in the winter—and a nice escape from the world. The whole estate is like that, but the gardens up near the mansion are a particularly good place for it. Imagine, though, that you were walking through a forest and came upon a garden like that. Your first thought would not be anywhere in the universe of, “Wow! What a beautiful garden that grew up here like this out in the middle of nowhere all by itself.” No, you’re thinking something along the lines of, “Someone did beautiful work making this garden look like it does.” You might also be thinking, “Uh-oh! Whose land have I accidentally trespassed on? I hope they don’t have a big, vicious dog guarding it.” 

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