Effective leaders must develop self-discipline. The first person a leader needs to lead in this area is themselves. Read Numbers 33:1-49.

Numbers 33 provides a review of the entire exodus journey from Egypt to Jordon. Why didn’t the Israelites get to the Promised Land more quickly? Not because it was such a long trip in distance, they could have made the trip across this distance in less than a year under the worst of circumstances even with small children. The real reason was that God needed to prepare the Hebrew people, teaching them how to move from a slave mentality to a free mentality where they chose to be obedient to Him from a free disciplined spirit.

As Israel approached the Jordan River, Moses sent out 12 spies to investigate the land God had promised to give to His people. Moses appointed one leader from each tribe to represent them in this fact finding mission. All 12 had the same external experience but upon return the report from 10 was significantly different from the other 2. Read Numbers 13:1-14:4.

After the return, 10 of the leaders reported the land was indeed wonderful but would be impossible to conquer. While the other 2 also saw the problems, they believed the Hebrews should enter the land and receive the promise. The difference boiled down to the attitude created by core beliefs of each group. Two leaders believed (had “accepted” as truth that) God was controlling the fate of the people and the other 10 believed God was there but that the results were up to them.