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The Case for Intimacy

Every time I read the story of Moses going up to the mountain to receive the ten commandments, I am filled with awe about a very small but overlooked part of the story. This story is the basis of today’s post. Let us walk through bits and pieces of Exodus 24. I encourage you to read the whole chapter if you can.

Then the LORD instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the LORD. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.” …Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!

Exodus 24:1,2, 9-11 NLT

From the story, we see God inviting Moses along with some of Israel’s leaders to come up the mountain to fellowship with Him. So, after many days of purification, these folks climb up the mountain to a certain elevation where they had an encounter with God. They met with the God of Israel and visited in his presence. How awesome that must have been! For most of the Israelites, their encounter with God at this point had been fire and billows of smoke on the mountain with a booming voice amidst thunder and lightning. And yet, these 75 people had the distinct privilege of encountering God in a more intimate manner.

This scenario is not unlike what the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross has done for us. We have been called out from the world, the kingdom of darkness, into a glorious life in Christ. We have been invited into a place of fellowship in His presence.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:9-10

But the story did not end there! After these folks had spent time in God’s presence, Moses received an invitation to climb higher up the mountain to meet with God. This was a different level of intimacy than the others had. Let us read on:

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.” So, Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God. Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I am gone, consult with them.” Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it…. Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 24: 12-15, 18 NLT

Moses was invited into a deeper place of intimacy than just eating and drinking in God’s presence. He was being invited to meet with God in a place where he could receive life-changing instructions; a place where his destiny as a leader/ teacher of the Israelites would be shaped.

As Christians, we too have received this invitation. Jesus invites us to a place beyond the superficial “eating and drinking” in His presence to a place of deep spiritual formation. Our encounter with Jesus should not just be relegated to the weekly church experience. Experiencing the undeniable presence of God during a Sunday or weekday service in the company of other Christians, while amazing, is not the be all and end all in Christ. there is so much more to be experienced. There are higher elevations up the mountain of God to be climbed. And it is in those precious one-on-one encounters that He bestows spiritual giftings to us (Ephesians 4:11-15)- just like He gave Moses the tablet of stones in that secret place up on the mountain. And as Moses’ face shone and was transformed from his encounter with God on the mountain (Exodus 34), we also are promised a similar transformation as we encounter more of God in a place of intimacy.

So, all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

2 Corinthian 3:18 NLT

Now if this has not convinced you enough of why intimacy with God is important, let me make my final appeal in the case for intimacy. For this, we pick up again in the story. Moses heads up the mountain with Joshua, his aide, and leaves the elders and the Israelites in the capable hands of Aaron and Hur two of his most trusted leaders. If you remember from the last blog post, these were the two who held up Moses hand in the battle against the Amalekites until victory was won. In fact, Aaron was Moses mouthpiece during the encounter with Pharaoh to free the Israelites from over 400 years of slavery. But neither Aaron nor Hur had the level of intimacy that Moses had with God. And so, a few days after they had spent time eating and drinking in the presence of God, the excitement wore off and Aaron did the unthinkable: He led the Israelites into adultery. While Moses was up the mountain with God, Aaron was making a golden calf.

When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” So, Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt! “Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!” The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.

Exodus 32:1-6 NLT

Herein lies the danger of having no intimacy with God: Those one-off encounters with the presence of God are not enough to ground us in our faith. In the face of hardships, or in the absence of the counsel of other Christians whom we admire, or even outside the safety of our church family and weekly services, we have no true relationship with God. In the absence of Moses, neither Aaron nor the other elders had much conviction within them to sustain their devotion to the true God.

Had not these elders and leaders of Israel just sat feasting in the presence of God? Were they not seeing firsthand the thick cloud covering the mountain as Moses was having a conversation with God? How could their hearts be drawn away from the truth so quickly? Friends, the answer is simple: Their relationship with God was superficial and lacked real depth. They knew of God from Moses’ recounting of what God had instructed. In fact, earlier on, God had wanted to speak with them directly from the mountain (Exodus 19:9) but the people refused and insisted that they would prefer not hearing directly from God but from Moses (Exodus 20:19). And so, when Moses was absent for a period, they had no grounding, no foundation, no sense of direction.

So how do we apply this and what will your response be? Just as He did with Moses, God desires an intimate relationship with each of us. He is calling us to climb up the mountain (which represents the presence of God) to meet with Him. And in the place of intimacy, He transform us as we draw closer to His heart each day. If you feel Jesus calling you into deeper intimacy (and He always is), and you are not sure how to respond, might I suggest a scripture to guide your obedient response?

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
 And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

Psalm 27: 8 NLT

Yours Truly.

Posted on by intentional4christ

Four Leadership Lessons From Moses

Today I want to briefly share four essential leadership lessons I have learnt from following the life of Moses as the ancient Israelites journeyed through the desert. Let’s read Exodus 17: 8-13 (NLT) together:

While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

This is a very interesting story and in these few verses I have unpacked deep lessons for any leader. In fact, this story exemplifies the scripture (Habakkuk 2:2) which guides my leadership style.

Moses communicated the vision and plan clearly. The Israelites had been travelling through the desert and news of the exploits of their God had reached the ears of the nations around. Many of them had watched fearfully from a distance, not venturing close to the Israelites. However, the Amalekites saw the Israelites as easy prey and decided to attack them. You can imagine how chaotic it would have been for the Isrealites, most of whom had never seen battle. In fact we know that God had kept them in the desert for this very purpose so that they could learn how to be battle-ready and prepared for the task of settling into the Promised Land (exodus 13:17-18). In their uncertainty, they needed direction and Moses was very clear about the plan: Joshua would lead some men to fight and he would stand on top of a hill holding the staff of God. The first leadership lesson is the importance of communicating the vision and plan as plainly as possible. This is important at all times but even more so in times of uncertainty, change, and transitions. Habakkuk 2:2 admonishes, “Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it…” When the vision is not clearly articulated people simply cannot run with it.

Moses carried his team along. When Moses was going up the hill, he went along with Aaron and Hur. He not only shared the vision but he [literally] carried people along on the journey. Aaron and Hur understood the assignment: As long as Moses held up the staff of the Lord, the Israelites were winning the battle and whenever Moses’ hand came down, the Amalekites had the upper hand. Because they knew the plan and had been carried along, when Moses’ arms became tired they knew what they had to do to ensure contuinity of the plan. They found a stone for him to sit and then helped to carry the burden. They knew that the responsibility of holding the staff up was Moses’ and his alone; as it is with many leaders. Heavy, they say, is the head that wears the crown. Aaron and Hur held up his hand until the sun set and the battle was won. They had bought into the vision and ensured that it was accomplished through a collaborative effort. And herein lies lesson number two. No successful leader can go it alone. The concept of leadership itself negates a solo act and the onus is on the leader to carry people along. The leader, in recognizing the importance of team effort, must play into the strengths of their team and assign responsibility accordingly to ensure that the vision materializes.

Moses delegated responsibly. This attribute of Moses’ leadership, even though we see it in the first story, was refined on the advice of his father-in-law, Jethro. In Exodus 18, Moses’ father-in-law came to visit him and observed that from morning till evening Moses would mediate disputes and settle cases that were brought before him. Jethro cautioned that this leadership model was not sustainble and advised Moses to delegate some of his responsibilities. Now, let’s read Jethro’s advice together in Exodus 18:17-23 (NLT) and glean some lessons about how leaders should use the delegation function responsibly:

“This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”
  1. As a leader, there are some tasks that you simply cannot delegate to others. Moses could not shirk his responsibility as the people’s representative before God. It would not have been proper for him to delegate teaching God’s laws and passing God’s instructions to the people. Moses had to be discerning as to what tasks were appropriate to be delegated to others; and similarly, this is always the responsibility of the leader.
  2. Delegated tasks should not be assigned to just any one. Jethro advised Moses to lay out a criteria for those who were going to be delegated to solve disputes on his behalf. These men were to be capable, honest, God-fearing, and men of integrity who would not accept bribes. In short, Moses was to vet the delegates to ensure that they had the requisite skillset to take on the delegated tasks. Moses was also to vet how much to delegate to individuals depending on their abilities, ergo, some were to be leaders over groups of one thousand, others one hundred, still others fifty, and some could only handle groups of ten. It was Moses job, as the leader, to determine how much an appointee could handle. It behooves the person who is delegating tasks to ensure that the person receiving the assignment not only has the necessary skills to effectively take on the task, but also has the capacity for the breadth of the task being assigned.

Finally, the last lesson I want to share is the importance of leadership development. In chapter 17, we see Moses asking Joshua to lead some men to battle while he held up the staff. That in itself was a form of delegation. However, in Chapter 18, Moses, through the advice of his father-in-law, learned how to refine his delegation skills. Whether you are a born leader, have been bestowed with the gift of leadership, or have been appointed into a leadership role, you are never done learning how to be better at leading people. Pursue leadership training, read books on leadership, and seek mentorship from experienced leaders so that you can be more effective in that aspect of your life. I take my cue from the scripture that says:

…If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously…

Romans 12: 8b NLT

Yours Truly.