Leadership the Bible Way - Part Five

Why God Gave Moses an Aaron

One of the easiest mistakes to make in ministry is to misunderstand the purpose of your place in another man’s assignment.

You may begin by helping sincerely. You may step in where you are needed. You may add real value. You may become so useful that people can hardly imagine the work being done without you. But if you are not careful, usefulness can become a snare. You can begin to think that because God uses you, you are therefore equal in assignment to the one you were called to support.

That seems to have happened with Aaron.

When God called Moses to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel out of Egypt, Moses objected. He did not feel adequate for the task.

Exodus 4 (KJ2000)
10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before, nor since you have spoken unto your servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

That complaint was not small. Moses was being sent to stand before Pharaoh, address the elders of Israel, and function publicly in a role of enormous weight. From Moses’ point of view, his speech problem was a real handicap. Yet God did not act as though Moses had discovered a flaw in the divine plan.

Exodus 4 (KJ2000)
11 And the LORD said unto him, Who has made man’s mouth? or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

God was making something clear. Moses’ limitation had not escaped His notice. He already knew. He was still sending him.

Exodus 4 (KJ2000)
12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say.

That should have settled the matter, but Moses still resisted. He asked God to send someone else. It was at that point that Aaron entered the picture.

Exodus 4 (KJ2000)
14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he comes forth to meet you: and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

Where Moses was not eloquent, slow of speech and of a slow tongue, Aaron could speak well. When God Himself concedes a man can speak well, then that man must really be able to speak well!

Then in verses 15 and 16, God explained the arrangement. Moses would receive the words from God. Aaron would speak them to the people. Aaron would function as spokesman. Moses would still be the one carrying the divine commission.

This is a powerful picture of supportive ministry.

God could have healed Moses instantly. He could have removed the impediment in one moment. He could have made Moses eloquent overnight. But He chose instead to use Aaron in a way that made Moses’ weakness irrelevant.

That is an important leadership lesson.

Sometimes God does not remove a leader’s weakness. Sometimes He surrounds that leader with the right people. Sometimes the answer to a limitation is not a miracle in the leader, but a helper beside the leader. Sometimes the grace of God comes in the form of support from other people.

That means the supportive minister has a very noble role. His job is not to compete with the leader, but to complete him. His place is not to resent the gap he is filling, but to fill it faithfully. He is there to make obedience easier, execution smoother, and the assignment stronger.

Aaron’s ministry in support of Moses mattered. Without it, at least at that point, Moses’ reluctance over his speech might have remained a major issue. Aaron helped make Moses functional in the eyes of the people. He helped make a weakness less important than it seemed.

That is no small thing.

There are ministers whose greatest usefulness lies in making another man’s weakness irrelevant. They steady what could wobble. They voice what could be muffled. They organise what could be chaotic. They strengthen what could fail under pressure. Such people are gifts from God.

But supportive ministry can become dangerous when support begins to think of itself as headship.

Later, in Numbers 12, we see a sad turn. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.

Numbers 12 (KJ2000)
2 And they said, Has the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? has he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.

The statement sounds reasonable on the surface. After all, God had indeed spoken by them as well. Aaron was the High Priest. Miriam was a prophetess. They were not empty people. They had genuine callings and real usefulness.

But truth can be used in the service of pride.

Yes, God had spoken by them. No, that did not make them Moses.

That was the issue.

They took the fact that God used them and stretched it into the idea that their assignment was equal to Moses’ assignment. They confused relevance with rank. They confused contribution with leadership.

God rebuked them sharply.

Numbers 12 (KJ2000)
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not thus, who is faithful in all my house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even clearly, and not in dark sayings; and the form of the LORD shall he behold: why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

God was not denying that He spoke through others. He was insisting that Moses occupied a unique place.

That is where many supportive ministers go wrong. They are so close to leadership that they begin to forget leadership is still leadership. They become so involved in the work that they begin to assume it belongs to them in the same way. They hear what the leader hears, carry what the leader carries, and stand where the leader stands, at least from the outside. Over time, familiarity breeds comparison, and comparison breeds rebellion.

Aaron should have remembered why he had been brought into the picture in the first place. He was there because Moses had a difficulty, and God chose to answer that difficulty through him. Aaron was an answer, but his was not the principal assignment. He was a support, not a substitute.

There is great safety in remembering why God placed you where He did.

If you are the one supporting a leader, remember this. Your value is not reduced because your role is supportive. Aaron was important. His ministry mattered. His presence made a difference. But his importance did not erase Moses’ uniqueness. The fact that God uses you does not mean you are called to the same seat.

The man who supports well is a blessing. The man who competes from a support role becomes a burden.

Many church problems come from this failure to discern rank and role. A deputy begins to think he is a rival. A faithful assistant starts measuring himself against the one he serves. A gifted subordinate becomes impatient with order. Soon, what began as support turns into silent contention. The work suffers because someone who was meant to strengthen leadership has started resisting it.

Aaron teaches us both what to do and what to avoid.

At his best, he made Moses stronger.
At his worst, he questioned why Moses should stand apart.
At his best, he rendered service that made a major assignment possible.
At his worst, he used his own spiritual relevance as an argument against divine order.

May God give us the wisdom to know the difference.

If He has called you to support, support with gladness. If He has called you to strengthen another man’s hand, do it with humility. If He has made you a voice around a leader, do not mistake that for being the leader himself. Sometimes your greatest contribution is not to take over the assignment, but to make the assignment easier to fulfil.

God gave Moses an Aaron. Aaron was at his best when he remembered that.

Continue in grace!