Moses and the 10 commandments of great leadership


This moment represents his first leadership test:Will he heed the mysterious voice?

Moses's decision secures his reputation:He becomes the champion of freedom.

The pilgrims described their flight for freedom as being like that of moses.George washington attributed the success of the revolution to the same deity who freed the israelites.American slaves made"Go down, moses"Their national anthem.

As intolerable as slavery was, moses was asking the israelites to leave the most civilized place on earth for the most barren.The only way to do that was to articulate a clear vision.

American leaders have long defined the country as a new promised land.John winthrop quoted moses four times in his"City upon a hill"Sermon.Daniel boone described the west as"A land christian louboutin uk flowing with milk and honey. "

Moses' ongoing influence stems from his role in promoting a ministry of imagination.Dubois put it,"But what america will be. "

Iii.Pharaohs don't go down without a fight

Immediately after passing the declaration of independence on july 4, 1776, the continental congress asked benjamin franklin, thomas jefferson, and john adams to propose a seal for the united states.Their recommendation:Moses, leading the israelites across the red sea, while the pharaoh drowns.

The pharaoh has long represented the intransigence of power.The pilgrims called king james the pharaoh;Thomas paine called king george the same;Civil rights marchers branded jim crow the pharaoh.

And as these change makers discovered, pharaohs don't go down without a fight.

Iv.You don't have to split the red sea alone

In 1938, two bookish jews from cleveland, jerry siegel and joe shuster, modeled their superhero on the superhero of the torah.Just as baby moses is floated down the nile to escape annihilation, baby superman is launched into space to face extinction.Superman's original name was kal el, hebrew for swift god.

Part of superman's appeal was his vulnerability.Kryptonite rendered him weak kneed.Moses, too, is a man of vulnerabilities.He stutters;He's reluctant to lead;He's plagued by self doubt.From washington to lincoln to fdr, america's greatest leaders have understood their weakness and surrounded themselves with strong allies.

When the pennsylvania assembly ordered a bell in 1751, it chose an inscription from the five books of moses: "Proclaim liberty thro' all the land to all the inhabitants thereof. "It comes from a passage that urges the israelites to tend the suffering and uplift the poor.

The entire moral focus of the five books of moses is to build a society that nurtures all its people.The moral leader remembers the years of suffering and commits to building a society that cares for all.

Vi.The desert is full of detours

When the israelites crossed the red sea, they entered a period of lawlessness, which prompts the ten commandments.Freedom depends on law.

After the revolution, the united states entered a similar period of lawlessness, which resulted in the constitution.Just as moses led the israelites to freedom, then handed down the ten commandments, george washington led the colonists to victory, then presided over the constitution.The parallel was not lost.Two thirds of the eulogies at washington's death compared washington to moses.

Vii.The one on sinai takes the heat

The bible outlines a dozen different rebellions in the wilderness, from water to food to leadership.In a parallel to the birther controversy, the israelites even question moses's legitimacy. "Who made you prince and judge over us? "

George cheap christian louboutin sale washington faced a similar backlash during the revolution, abraham lincoln during the civil war.From lincoln to fdr to eisenhower, the strongest leaders face the harshest criticism and hold fast against their naysayers.

Viii.Anticipate the golden calf

When moses climbs down sinai with the commandments, the people grow weary and build a golden calf.Moses breaks the tablets, god threatens to wipe out the israelites.But in moses's greatest act of leadership, he placates god, reprimands the people, and brokers a new covenant among the feuding sides.

Leadership means preparing your followers and yourself for compromise.

Ix.You may christian louboutin womens loafers not enter the promised land

After putting up with the israelites complaining for forty years, moses is denied entry into the promised land.On its surface, the tragedy is unimaginable.

Yet moses's setback guaranteed his ongoing influence.Moses's setback was the most commonly cited reference on the death of lincoln in 1865.And on april 3, 1968, martin luther king invoked moses's death on the night before he was assassinated. "I've been to the mountaintop,"He declared. "I've seen the promised land.And i may not get there with you, but i want you to know that we as a people will get to the promised land. "

I really have a problem with all these leaders being influenced by moses.Even dr.King, learned more from the tactics and life of gandhi and henry david thoreau, the former a hindu, the latter a unitarian.George washington could not tell a lie after he chopped down his father's cherry tree, there's room for this in lies my teacher told me, but its a stretch to say each great us leader was influenced strongly by moses.

Also, while i'm more of a batman guy, couldn't superman be a mix of old testament and the charles atlas syndrome, clark kent changes from mild mannered scrawny weakling, to superman, indestructible, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and go the distance with the ladies?This to say i read the book, i've also read the Philosophers, like thomas hobbes that was grueling, edmund burke, john locke, and i just don't buy the whole moses story of him being the first political scientist that would be aristotle, known as the"Philosopher. "That said lincoln could quote the bible, but its a lot more complicated than cherry picked information, provided.