Without leaders the focus of individuals and teams quickly drifts or disappears. Joshua had a personal commitment to the unchanging standards God had given the people to live by, but within one generation after his death, the people abandoned the God of their fathers and worshiped the false gods of the surrounding nations. In spite of the established memorials to God’s work and the seven annual feasts, without the example and leadership and a strong central leader, the next generation was not raised in the training and instruction of the Lord. Read Judges 1 and 2.

Under the strong leadership of Joshua, Israel kept their covenant with God and completed their part of that covenant. Without a strong leader to hold them accountable, Israel’s conquest of Canaan was incomplete; God’s people disobeyed Him when they made covenants with the inhabitants of the land. Disobedience to God’s revealed word always causes regret in the long run.

We don’t have a tremendous amount of information about the 70 elders God called to assist Moses with the leadership responsibilities for the Hebrew nation. We don’t know their names or tribal affiliation. We do know they were among the rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens selected in Exodus 18:25. We also know that they were a direct answer to Moses cry for help when he hit the point of leadership overload and burnout. Read Numbers 11:11-30.

Aaron, Moses’ brother, lived the leadership experience of most leaders. Like Aaron, most leaders will not be the final authority; most will lead from within the organizational chart not the top. Most won’t have a perfect track record of performance, but take courage in that position because God used Aaron to accomplish critical leadership functions for His kingdom and Aaron’s leadership left a mark that can still be seen today. Read Exodus 4:10-17; Exodus 32:1-6 & 19-29; Numbers 12:1-3; Leviticus 8:1-9.

Aaron was not God’s choice to lead the Hebrew nation from captivity in Egypt. He was selected by God to assist Moses. Aaron did not always understand the vision and he did not always perform in support of Moses but Aaron had key roles to play as God accomplished His vision for the Hebrew people. Most leaders, like Aaron, will serve in the middle of an organization and must learn to have maximum influence without having the final authority in either the vision or the process.

We have all served with good leaders and leaders that left a lot to be desired. Read Genesis 25:29-34 and 27:1-30.

Jacob stole the birthright from Esau. Later, with the help of his mother, Jacob stole the blessing of his father. Leaders can use several methods to bring their influence to bear. The following methods of leadership (influence) go from worst to first:

God established the concept of working in teams. Read Genesis 2:18-24.

God realized that it was not good for Adam to work alone. He created for Adam a teammate that was a perfect match for his needs and complement to his skills. It is interesting that God did not clone Adam but made an entirely new creature that complimented Adam’s skills. Adam and Eve were not one mind but could function as one mind.