Sunday: Failed Leadership
Daily Lesson for Sunday 7th of September 2025
God called Moses to spend time with Him. Forty days and forty nights might have been a short period for Moses, but it seemed long, too long, for the Israelites. Their visible leader was absent. They became disoriented, impatient, fearful, and insecure. They wanted to have a visible god who would lead them, the “gods” whom they had seen all their lives in idolatrous Egypt.
Read Exodus 32:1-6. How was it possible for Aaron’s leadership to fail so spectacularly?
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Aaron did not rise to the occasion. He failed to seize the moment and do what was right. Instead of trusting the Lord, he wilted before the majority. The people demanded the unthinkable: “ ‘Come, make us a god who will go before us’ ” (Exodus 32:1, NASB), and he consented.
People willingly gave gold to make the idol, and Aaron not only did not stop them but, in fact, he invited them to donate. He then participated in the molding of this false god. Afterward, the people declared: “This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4, NASB). So sinful, wicked, and shortsighted. They had just fabricated this idol and then stated that it, the idol, had delivered them. Isn’t it amazing how sinful desires can pervert our thinking and actions? People celebrate their own creations, and their humanity and morality become debased in the process.
“Such a crisis demanded a man of firmness, decision, and unflinching courage; one who held the honor of God above popular favor, personal safety, or life itself. But the present leader of Israel was not of this character. Aaron feebly remonstrated with the people, but his wavering and timidity at the critical moment only rendered them the more determined. The tumult increased. A blind, unreasoning frenzy seemed to take possession of the multitude. There were some who remained true to their covenant with God, but the greater part of the people joined in the apostasy. Aaron feared for his own safety; and instead of nobly standing up for the honor of God, he yielded to the demands of the multitude.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, Pages 316, 317.
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How could Aaron, a leader, have been so weak? In what ways might Aaron have sought to justify in his own heart his terrible actions? |
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Anyone who is worked in the volunteer sector knows the importance of having well trained understudies. I am involved in the local U3A (an organisation that provides education and socialising for seniors) We sometimes find the real danger that we will lose our leaders at short notice. Most of us are are of an age where medical issues can take us out of circulation unexpectedly, and that has the potential to leave us leaderless
The Hebrews found themselves in a situation where their leader was called out for 6 weeks and they had to rely on an understudy, Aaron. Aaron was family and God had even promoted the idea that he was a good speaker. But, clearly in the absence of Moses, he was not a good leader. Given the Hebrew’s history as slave labourers it is not surprising that leadership was an issue. We also know that delegation of leadership roles had not been thought about much – Remember the influence and wisdom of Jethro later.
We like to draw spiritual lessons about the Hebrews and their relationship with God. But they were a captive people, recently freed and many were only becoming reacquainted with the idea of God. I don’t think we can expect an immediate adoption of God’s ways.
Maybe this is a lesson in this for church organisation. I raise this issue because, while our faith and spiritual journey is our own, a well organised church with good leadership has the potential to provide a supportive and useful framework for our spiritual development. Have we become too dependent on our church hierarchy? What would happen to us if the General conference went AWOL for 6 weeks? Would we end up worshipping a figurative golden calf.
It reminds me of the time when the Seventh-day Adventist Church was developing in Australia and New Zealand (long before I was born I might add) The church leadership here were new to the church and had often been called from other walks of life. When an issue came to their attention as church leaders, they often felt the need to consult with the church leadership in the USA. However, in those days communication was slow and it would take months for letters to go between Australia and New Zealand. Add to that the time taken for committees to meet can consider these issues, leadership decisions were often more than a year in the making. In the meantime, the Australian leaders would make their own decisions with prayer and hope. We survived!
It is a reminder that our spiritual well-being does not happen in isolation. What happens to the church affects us.
In his Mercies, God filled his Scriptures with stories of leaders who failed but didn’t drop their focus, who crashed but didn’t burn. Yes, we read of men like Saul, who disobeyed God and lost his kingdom (1 Samuel 15:22–23), Judas, who betrayed Christ and perished in despair (Matthew 27:3–5), and Demas, who deserted Paul because he loved the world (2 Timothy 4:10), leaders whose failures made their graves. But we also read of men like Moses, who struck the rock in anger yet remained God’s servant (Numbers 20:10–12), David, who sinned grievously but repented and was called a man after God’s heart (2 Samuel 12:13; Acts 13:22), and Peter, who denied Jesus three times but was restored to lead His church (John 21:15–17), along with the other disciples, whose maturity as leaders rose on a staircase made of failure. People fail, no matter who they are. There will be winners at every game, but remember, over 90% of them WILL NOT win any medals. Like them, many of us tried our best, but never win. Things do not always turn out the way we expect them. Nobody is immune to failures. The Bible records failures because it records life as it is. The Bible is about real people.
Interestingly, God allowed Aaron to remain as high priest which is actually surprising when you think about it.
I don't think our General Conference leaders have too much influence on day to day church life and a lot of us would not even notice they were gone. But pastors and elders - that is another story. You are right that we might not do so well.
Who was Aaron?
He was the elder brother of Moses and Miriam (Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59). He was from the tribe of Levi. He was the spokesperson of Moses (Exodus 4:14–16, 27–30). He was the first anointed High Priest of Israel. He died on Mount Hor at God’s command, and he was succeeded by his son Eliezar (Numbers 20:22-29).
“Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”(Exodus 31:4)
Moses, when writing the Book of Exodus, did not spare his elder brother. God purposed this to be recorded as an admonition to us that we may learn from their mistakes and not repeat them.
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11,KJV).
One might see Aaron as a weak leader, but in totality, that is who we are outside the power of God. We are helpless and powerless to do what we very well know is the truth.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NLT).
Oh, what lessons on leadership are in Exodus 32! Lord, have mercy on us who are called to lead. Those who are leaders in our local church, the leaders of our institutions, the teachers in the classrooms, the fathers and mothers who lead the home. Two verses in particular stand out in the reading to me.
1. Exodus 32:1: This Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
It is interesting to see who the people credited for leading them out of Egypt- Moses. How easy it is for us to build up our leaders and to idolise them in the place of God. Could it be our idolatry at nominating committees when we push for certain individuals rather than genuinely relying on God’s Holy Spirit to direct us? Could it be that some of us have become so observed in how God has used us that we forget who is working in and for us and take the credit?
Moses at this point rightly acknowledged where the glory belonged. But my reading today warns me- watch out! If we are not careful, over time it’s easy to become consumed with our own greatness. A sense of our own self-importance may slowly creep in. The Sinai experience occurred in the first year after the Exodus. Yet, look what happens near the end of the 40-year wilderness period. Moses in Numbers 20:10 exclaims, “Must we bring water for you out of this rock? Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod”. As the psalmist describes this incident, in Psalm 106:32-33, They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of them; because they rebelled against His Spirit, so that he spoke rashly with his lips.” If this could happen to Moses, the humblest man on Earth (Numbers 12:3), what about us?! We may not even be aware of our growing egotism until in a moment of duress, it reveals itself. Lord, help us!
2. Exodus 32:21: And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” This debacle was not Aaron’s idea, yet Moses reminded him the responsibility was his. He had been left to oversee the people while Moses was on the mountain. The buck stopped with him. It is likely the people would not have listened to Aaron even if he had tried, but because he provided no resistance, he had a measure of responsibility for their sin.
I think of those of us who God has called to lead as teachers. James 3:1 warns us, "Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly". We are reminded that teachers will be held to a higher standard of accountability because of the great responsibility we hold. If that is true for teachers, what about parents who God has given positions of leadership in the home to train up our children in the way that they should go? There are many pressures now that families and schools face that are not our doing which lead our children away from God and towards their destruction – physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is easy to give in to the pressures rather than to stand on truth, but the buck stops with us. If we fail to exercise the leadership God has given us, we bear a measure of responsibility for bringing the sin upon them.
Lord guard my mind from idolising what you have done through others or through me. May all honour and glory be yours both now and forevermore.
Well said, Jocelyn. Teachers, preachers, doctors, missionaries, we are all held accountable for our actions.
Thank-you for picking up on that lesson.
*Moses refuses a deal given by God*
Let's us jog our memories to the fact that Moses was not interceding and praying for a group of saints, but for a bunch of rebellious people. They had just bowed down to a golden calf, copying Egyptian idolatry (Exodus 32:1–6). Even before this “golden calf affair,” the Israelites had been a constant source of grief and pain in Moses neck—complaining, grumbling, and even threatening Moses’ life (Exodus 16:2–3; Numbers 14:10).
God declared that He would wipe them out and raise up a new nation from Moses instead (Exodus 32:10; Deuteronomy 9:14). Any ordinary leader might have said, “That sounds good, Lord.” But Moses’ answer was astonishing: he said “No” to God’s offer. Instead, he pleaded for mercy, showing deep love for his people and a longing to see God’s covenant promises fulfilled (Exodus 32:11–13). In the book of (Exodus 32:32) Moses portrays sacrificial intercession that is not natural but is the work of the Spirit of God shaping the heart of a true shepherd (Romans 9:3; Galatians 6:2).
I agree with Jocelyn on Ex 32v1.Verse 1: Did they take Moses as their God? It seems that's what they thought all along. That Moses is the one who delivered them out of Egypt and made them cross the Red sea. That's the mistake we make in our lives we put our faith people's wisdom or leading and not in God. Forgetting that the leadership and wisdom that they have is from God. God is the one directing them on what to do. The moment that person is no more, all hell break loose we're helpless. And then we want to look for a replacement or another way to solve our problems instead of looking to the one who's consistently available, the mighty and all-knowing God. We think like Israelites that all the successes we've made are because of a certain 'Moses' in our lives and when he's not there everything will stop.
I understand that God raises up leaders both in Society and in the Church to give us guidance.
However, our true leader is Jesus Christ and I am happy that there were some among the maddening crowd, who were calling for strange gods, who didn't bow and remained faithful to the true leader Jesus Christ!!!
We need to have the courage of our convictions not to follow
the masses in apostasy but to prayerfully live out a "Thus sayeth the Lord" in difficult times!!!!
Today I am humbled and with a fine tooth comb I am examining my role and practices as a leader in God's church. Oh how easy it is to fall prey to the wiles of Satan in forgetting the goodness of God and forgeting the promises and protection of God.
Yielding to the demands of the multitude can be so subtle and easy sometimes. Our only safeguard is asking the Holy Spirit moment by moment to guide our hearts, our minds, our thoughts and our actions.
May God help us steadfastly uphold the honor of God in our leadership each and every time. This is my simple prayer in Jesus' name, amen
Aaron was weak in his faith because he was like most people. Standing up for what is right may seem ridiculous, but it takes character. I'm already weak when I argue with myself to adapt the truth to my judgment! From whom should I buy character, then?
I have been greatly blessed by the insights shared here, and wonder if they receive the warranted/necessary attention needed in order for the Ecclesia to humbly but vigorously address inherent ‘dangers’ when serving in a role of Christian leadership or, for that matter, in any leadership role?”
Motanya Dan states: “The Bible records failures because it records life as it is.”
Omwenga shares: “One might see Aaron as a weak leader, but in totality, that is who we are outside the power of God.”
Jocelyn observes: “It is interesting to see who the people credited for leading them out of Egypt – Moses. How easy it is for us to build up our leaders and to idolize them in the place of God. We may not even be aware of our growing egotism until in a moment of duress, it reveals itself.. Lord, help us!”
Motanya Dan finds: “Moses portrays sacrificial intercession that is not natural but is the work of the Spirit of God shaping the heart of a true shepherd.”
Helen considers: “We think like Israelites that all the successes we’ve made are because of a certain ‘Moses’ in our lives and when he’s not there everything will stop.”
Wayne Vassell concludes: “We need to have the courage of our convictions not to follow the masses in apostasy but to prayerfully live out a “Thus sayeth the Lord” in difficult times!!!!”
Barbara prays: “May Gid help us steadfastly uphold the honor of God in our leadership each and every time.”
And JC finds: “Aaron was weak in his faith because he was like most people.”
Neither Aaron nor Moses were allowed to enter the ‘Holy Land’ as a consequence of their actions; but they are still blessed by God. Though God judges our shortcomings, we are serving a compassioned, loving God and need not to be afraid - Psalm 51:16-17; Isaiah 30:15.
One of my favorite gems about Jesus is found in John 2:23-25 where it says that Jesus "did not commit Himself to (man) because He knew what was in man". In other words, Jesus did not care about popular opinion because He knew how shallow and fickle that is. His self-worth was not dependent in any way upon approval from people. Connected to this, in Matt. 7:29 it says the people noticed that Jesus taught with authority, not like the other religious leaders. Why did the religious leaders and scribes come across as having feeble authority? Because they were fakes. The false religious leaders were completely dependent upon popular opinion of themselves, it was all they lived for. They were not spiritual leaders at all, but spiritual vampires (Matt. 23:15).
Now back to Aaron, I think that the people's opinion of him mattered to him very much. Here's why I think that. Later on, Aaron and his sister Miriam teamed up against their brother in jealousy saying, "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" (Num. 12:2). Jealousy doesn't happen overnight, its fruits are born off long roots. So the day we are considering, at the bottom of Mt. Sinai, when the people said to Aaron, "as for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt..." (Ex. 32:1 NIV), instead of being jealous of God's honor and His work, this very well may have triggered Aaron's hidden sin of envy. He may have wanted the credit too, after all hadn't he been the mouthpiece for God and Moses before Pharaoh (Ex. 7:1-2)? And hadn't Moses left him in charge before all the elders (Ex. 24:14)? He may have been thinking, "I'm right here with them. Don't I inspire as much confidence in their eyes as Moses does?" He may have given in to their demands in part because he wanted the flattery of their attention and admiration.
I am becoming more and more convicted of something. If I am not seeking Jesus' honor, then by default I am seeking my own honor. If I am not giving God the credit as the punchline to all of my stories, both the ones with happy endings and the ones with sad endings, than I am unconsciously trying to bring the attention upon myself. If I am not confessing Jesus before men, the only other alternative is pride and lifting myself up (Matt. 10:32-33).
This is easily masked. I might think, "Oh no, I'm not trying to draw attention to myself, I'm just trying to _____ (fill in the blank)...process something out loud to solve a problem, bring a sense of justice and fairness into this situation, defend the truth..." There are many subtle manifestations of pride and self-centeredness. But bottom line, what I am being convicted of, is that if I am not prayerfully and purposefully lifting Jesus up whenever I open my mouth, and if people around me are not being drawn to Jesus or to ask about Jesus (because Jesus promised in Jn. 12:32 that if He is lifted up people WILL be drawn to Him), than the only other alternative is that I am lifting myself up as an idol. John the Baptist so beautifully modeled for us how a Christian thinks and speaks when being tempted into a place of focusing on one's own honor: "My joy will be full when He has increased to fill everyone and everything and I have decreased out of sight" (John 3:29-31). It's like looking at a group photo...instead of searching for myself in the picture straight off and comparing my mug to those around me, a mature Christian scans the scene for traces of Jesus in each face and heart, humbly asking God what one's own role is in His work for souls, and not noticing one's own face at all.
Many thanks Esther, your powerful post is both inspirational and impactful. Aaron’s fall was not a moment of sudden weak indecisive ruling but possibly as a consequence of festering envy of his younger brother’s leadership, a gift that though coveted was not given him. I hadn’t thought of Aaron’s sin in that light before. I shall certainly be reflecting on this during the week.
- Exodus 24:18
I imagine that this was Moses' last day of the 40 in a meeting with God, but the leaders of Israel were already doubting if Moses would ever return. Was it a trust issue, or perhaps a case of nostalgia, like Lot's wife, yearning for what they left behind? Everyone would likely point fingers at Aaron, questioning how he could so readily concede and even propose an alternative when God had appointed him to assist Moses from the beginning.
Aaron doesn't seem coerced; instead, he's generating ideas, which raises questions about his past experiences. Had he done this before? It's easy to forget that Aaron, like much of Israel, was a slave in Egypt, unlike Moses, who was raised as a prince in Egypt for 40 years and later became a shepherd in Midian for another 40 years.
Despite witnessing God's power firsthand, Aaron's priorities seem to lie elsewhere. He's a people person who dislikes conflict, and rebelling against God appears to be a matter of simple conversation for him and the elders. It's almost as if he's driven by self-preservation or complacency, concerned about what others might think.
This same leadership approach would later haunt and destroy King Saul, resulting in a very unfortunate state from God: (1 Samuel 15:35). This same spirit of people-pleasing is what Aaron chose over God. Aaron knew that what he was doing was wrong, but to him, his image amongst the people was more important.
This dynamic raises important questions about leadership, faith, and the challenges of following God's instructions in the face of uncertainty and pressure. Today, we too are placed between similar crossroads, as we choose whether to stand by truth or play along - play safe.
if rebellion is seen as a failure of leadership, what would we say of the rebellion in heaven that saw God lose a third of the angels?