CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Moses and Aaron – Partnerships
In business, partnerships are sometimes necessary. One may have an idea and no money, while the other has the money and no idea. One may be weak and needs a strong arm to lean on. One may be a dreamer who needs a doer to bring the business to fruition. For whatever reason people are brought together in business, they should have the same goals.
Moses and Aaron were brought together for one purpose, to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery and lead them to the Promised Land. Together, they became unstoppable in the pursuit of that goal, a partnership in the full sense of the word.
And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. (Ex.4:28)
Moses had felt that the vision was too great for him to accomplish alone and asked for help. This lack of faith in an Almighty God angered the Lord, because the Lord had promised to give Moses the right words, and to teach and guide him. Nonetheless, the Lord relented and chose Aaron to become Moses’ partner and spokesperson in pursuit of the quest. It was a godly choice and the two worked well together.
It was a partnership that succeeded, with Moses taking on the role of senior partner.
When in battle with the Amelekites, it was Aaron who held up Moses’ arms so that victory was assured. (Exodus 17)
We too, when it comes to a choice of partner, need to decide, with care, who we want to stand beside us.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the
living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.(2Cor.6:14-16)
If you want your walk with God to include your business, then you need a godly person to stand by you. One who will hold up your arms in time of need and guard your back in time of strife. One whose arms you are prepared to hold up, with whom you are prepared to share hard times. Partners stand by each other at all times.
When the vision is shared, individual status takes a back seat to the drive of reaching that goal – the vision is the thing that personalities help achieve. Personalities are secondary to the goal.
On one occasion, Aaron and his sister Miriam turned against Moses because of his marriage to an Ethiopian woman. Personal likes and dislikes became more important than the combined vision – the way forward became blocked by individual prejudices, and those personal preferences almost derailed the partnership. Because of their dislike for the Ethiopian woman, they thought to usurp the leadership role for themselves and continue without Moses:
And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Num.12:2)
Partnerships work when the partners remain focused on their combined goals. Each has talents, traits and gifts that can enhance and strengthen the partnership, but once a partner thinks he is better or can do without the other, the partnership is doomed and with it the business. Yes, we do have feelings and needs, and preferences, but they cannot be allowed to interfere with the partnership, because then they interfere with the vision.
In the partnership between Abraham and Lot, we see how each needed water for his flocks, and these individual needs turned into a dispute over who was entitled to the water, in essence they were arguing about who was more important. (Genesis 13)
The same question of importance arose amongst the disciples of Jesus, also causing dissent.
Abraham and Lot dissolved their partnership and each went his own way. The disciples resolved their dispute with the mediation of Jesus. Jesus told his disciples:
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Mat.18:4)
Loyalty requires humility, if each of the partners exalts himself above the other in status and worth, the partnership is doomed.
Jonathan, prince of Israel, the son of King Saul, heir to the throne, humbled himself before David, protecting the shepherd boy, from the anger of Saul, helping him during a time of danger, warning him and being there when David needed him. Jonathan realized that David held the future of the kingdom in his hands and he did not allow his position as heir apparent to the throne come between them. It was a partnership that ensured the survival of Israel.
Partnerships are born out of a joint need, a joint vision. Trust and understanding are paramount. Partnerships die when the needs and visions change.
Loyalty, humility, focus are of paramount importance. The well-being of the other partner is more important than your own, because the partnership is the business.