The people you serve are a huge disappointment, forever grumbling about one thing or another, looking at you with distrust and treating you with disdain. Then God says to you, ‘OK, enough is enough - I’m through with these people. But I’m going to give you a bigger and better church/ministry.’ Sounds like the vindication you’ve been looking for and a proper reward for all your hard work. It’s a no-brainer, isn’t it? Time to start packing your bags and doing some searching on RightMove.
Moses handles that exact situation very differently. In Numbers 14 it seems like the Lord’s patience with the people has run-out; their refusal to listen to Caleb and Joshua’s report about the promised land has been the final straw. But the Lord is willing to continue with Moses and to make him into a nation greater and stronger than Israel have been (v.12). We might think this is probably the turning-point Moses has been secretly longing for.
Yet Moses declines. If ever there was a moment in ministry for him to indulge a sense of personal injustice and to take the vindication being offered him with both hands, this is it. To convince himself that, yes, he’s worth it and does deserve better, despite his own faults. This was that moment - and he lets it pass; he completely refuses to take it.
Instead, he appeals to 2 things: the Lord’s reputation (‘people will think you don’t have what it takes to finish what you started when you brought this lot out of Egypt’) and the Lord’s character (‘you’re a gracious and compassionate God’). His own reputation isn’t on the agenda, nor his career prospects. This is all about the Lord - his name, his character, his work, his mission in the world. And that is tied to these people, come what may.
Was Moses blind to the people’s faults, naively supposing they would improve with age? Hardly. This isn’t about denying what is plainly true; it isn’t about excusing sin, as though the people might turn the corner sometime soon. It’s about holding-on to that which is bigger than their sin and more worthy than one’s own relief.
No wonder we’re told that "Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth" (Num 12:3). And we know what will become of the meek.
