Wait until Moses becomes Pharaoh?

God's style of leadership

I was in my seventies before someone asked me the question I had been waiting for most of my life. I had thought of it myself, and wondered why others were not curious about it.

Then it happened. A young woman, reading thoughtfully through the Bible and asking questions as she read, arrived at the "Let my people go" section in Exodus. She came to see me and asked her puzzling question:

"So, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, crying out to the Lord. Baby Moses had been adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. Why didn't God merely wait until Moses became Pharaoh? He could have released them from bondage to go to the promised land. No fuss. No plagues. No bother."

I was ready. There were many factors, of course. God intended this to be a signature statement of his power, redemption, and faithfulness. It needed to be a clear public response to idolatry, oppression, and sin. He wanted his own people to know who he was and to trust him. He wanted Egypt and all the world to fear him.

None of those was the main reason.

God did not wait for Moses to become Pharaoh, primarily, because the leadership model embodied in the Egyptian Pharaoh is all wrong. God did not want his people to copy or to suffer under an autocratic, self-willed, egomaniacal, uncaring, destructive style of leadership. He insisted on good leadership and true freedom.

Egypt's Pharaoh model was not the only example of abusive government. Whether they are called "kings" or any other title, the rulers of this world do almost everything wrong. They make it about control.

Jesus later would say, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you [church leaders]" (Luke 22:25-26).

So, God waited until Moses became a shepherd.

The Pharaoh Model

Pharaoh pontificated through the whole Exodus story. He was hard hearted toward the Lord, toward his slaves, and toward his subjects. He began with self-will, "I do not know the Lord. I will not let Israel go" (Exodus 5:2). No consideration for how it would affect his realm or his people. It was all about him. This ego problem kept building throughout the plagues.

After the seventh plague, his advisors begged him to stop destroying his own people. He ignored them. He tried to bargain deals to hold onto his power.

His total disregard for the welfare of his people was shown when he got to choose when the current plague would end. His answer, "Tomorrow" (Exodus 8:10). What kind of monster would allow his people to endure suffering another whole day when he could have ended it immediately?

A Pharaoh-monster, I guess.

Integrity and truth had no place in his government; only a string of broken promises and phony apologies. Pharaoh did what he wanted. Even if he phrased his edicts in terms of benefits--"You don't really know what is best for you, let me decide"--it was only a cover for what was good for him. The fruit of his autocracy was the ruin of a great empire in a few weeks.

Evil people can abuse power in any system of government. But the Pharaoh model had zero checks and balances to protect people. Pharaoh owned everything. He was not a public servant. People existed to serve him. It was not only the Israelites who were enslaved in Egypt.

Can you imagine how the people of God throughout Bible times or church history would suffer if their (supposedly godly) leaders acted with absolute, self-centered authority?

We don't need to imagine. All we have to do is read history. It is obvious why God did not want a Pharaoh over his chosen people. See Deuteronomy 17:14-20 for specific checks the Lord specified for rulers.

The Shepherd Model

It took Moses 40 years of tending sheep and goats in Midian to learn how to lead people God's way. Kings and dictators live in luxury while they boss people around. Shepherds have to live with the sheep in their environment and love them. They share the wilderness, the hunger and thirst, the perils, the temptations of the flock.

Big shot executives, presidents, and bureaucrats rule for their own convenience and enrichment. They use inconvenience to put underlings in their place. They create fear and jealousy to manipulate. Shepherds must be available 24/7 for the needs of the sheep. They don't normally get a good night's sleep even. Think about it: shepherds are like moms in many ways.

All of the "good" leaders in Israel and in the Church were shepherds: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus, the Apostles.

The Good Shepherd

Shepherds are like God himself: image-bearers of the unconditional love of the Creator. The authority of the leader is for the benefit of the sheep, not the shepherd. He or she is the servant of all, mediating the resources of God to the followers.

Read through John 6 for a couple of busy days in the life of Jesus. He fed, healed, comforted, and taught the gathered crowds. He saw people as sheep without a shepherd. He did everything that Psalm 23 declares about the divine shepherd.

Meanwhile, the people were intent on "taking Jesus by force to make him king." The crowds wanted Jesus to step up as a Pharaoh, while Jesus was being an actual king by shepherding them.

It was not that these people didn't have earthly rulers already. They were under Caesar and the occupying Roman army. They had a Roman governor. They had a bunch of Herods swaggering their authority. They had religious rulers in the Temple and the Jewish Sanhedrin. They had the Pharisees and scribes and synagogue rulers shaming them about their religious failures. Plus local tax collectors and petty tyrants.

Their idea of a king was what they least needed. But Jesus' ministry awakened a natural sense of satisfaction in being served by one who loved them and was laying down his life for them. They longed for a permanent belonging to one who represented God and brought eternal life and shalom.

So Jesus told them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

Next Question

The young woman who came to ask me the Pharaoh question listened to my explanation. Her follow-up question was harder to answer: "Do you know any Christian leaders who actually lead the right way?" Her experience in churches had been under leaders who were more like Pharaoh than like Jesus.

Ouch.

Do you know any? Any ideas about how to find godly leaders? Or to train leaders to do it right?