“Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3, ESV).

Being the humblest person on earth is not a character trait we usually associate with Moses. Moses was a great leader of the Israelites, so we assume he had to be assertive, a Type A personality.

After all, to be an effective leader you can’t be humble and expect people to follow.

But Moses was so humble that  even his brother and sister were emboldened to talk against him (Numbers 12:1-2). Yet, when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses marrying a Cushite woman, God Himself defended Moses to them.

God told them that unlike prophets, to whom God speaks in visions and dreams, He speaks to Moses face to face and allows Moses to see His form (Numbers 12:6-8).

Maybe, because of the great humility of Moses, God appeared to him and spoke with him face-to-face.

Certainly, because of the great humility of Moses, he heard God’s voice and understood God’s will, and it enabled him to demonstrate the kind of leadership Jesus described–servant leadership–leadership from the bottom up.

“Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45, NASB)