Case study–MOSES from the Bible.
INTJs have been given the code name, “MASTERMIND” as they have the uncanny ability to get the job done and see the bigger picture of any project. They make for great tacticians, philosophers, and CEOs since this involves the ability to unite parts of an idea into one grand plan that works. Our Modern-day masterminds include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jay Zee, Mark Zuckerberg, Russel Crow, Ashley Olsen, Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, John F Kennedy, and Nicola Tesla, among others. As evidenced by their lasting legacies even after their deaths, it is clear to see just how much they are good in the creation of systems rather than jobs. This article is a dissection of Moses’ personality regarding being an INTJ. In this article, we will be doing an understanding of why God seemed to favor him so much and what lessons we can learn from him.
As in all my articles, it is good to note two things. One, Moses wasn’t favored because of his personality alone. His faith in God and the ability to be faithful and fruitful are what brought him closer to God despite his flaws. Two, God gives you a particular personality because He knows that your personality is fit for his particular purpose in your life. There is a reason you were born with these traits and not any other, it is because your traits will make the fulfillment of your purpose easier. Think about it, you are alive to work. You can either work hard for God, for the devil, or yourself, either way, you must work one way or the other. Using Moses’ example, wouldn’t it be wise then to work hard for God and get eternal peace? So let’s get to the mind of it all.
I-Introverted.
N-Intuitive.
T-Thinking.
J-Judging.
1.] INTROVERTED.
This means that they derive their energy from within themselves. It is also a rule (sometimes with exceptions) that people generally exhaust the introverted. They live in their inner worlds, thinking and contemplating the things that they have observed and learned and deriving peace and understanding from their conclusions. Other times, it’s just the noise of people that they cannot stand and all they want to do is be by themselves doing what they love doing without any nagging or interruption from anyone. Moses was this as he seemed to always enjoy his alone time by himself and with God.
2.] INTUITIVE.
This is a foresight observed from asking and answering the question “why?”. Answering this question helps predict the consequences of any “what” one observes in real-time. As a leader of many men, having to get them through the wilderness for 40 years all the while sanctifying them for God’s worship while focusing on their survival, this was quite a necessary natural talent to possess.
He always had an idea of how the pharaoh would respond to the exodus plea (even though God confirmed His suspicions), he always warned the Israelites who were in the wilderness of the consequences of some of the actions they would have ended up doing before they did it because he understood that there were certain bad habits that the Israelites had because of living with the Egyptians for so long, he always made the punishments of disobedience to God so severe to the people so that he would enforce the fear of Jehovah to the Israelites as he understood that this fear was paramount in the system of the creation of the generation of God’s chosen people to create a nation of long-lasting faith in God even after his passing away.
3.]THINKING.
Decisions are made from thought despite personal feelings. There were instances where Moses’ actions were led by pure rage, a weakness that INTJs generally possess because of their sense of justice so deeply ingrained in them. But such instances were few and severe only because the actions that prompted such reactions were also as severe, generally though, because of their natural foresight, INTJs think of the greater good and do what is right for the most part despite their inner feelings. They either ignore their feelings (because of their natural maturity) or suppress them (usually blowing up much later in inappropriate circumstances and in disproportionate extremes) and in there and then, act in a just way for the good of all.
4.]JUDGING.
There are two ways to look at this when talking about Moses. The obvious way how the world looks at Judging is where one decides the fate of someone based on someone’s character or actions. The second is the psychological perspective where one learns from past patterns and tailors their actions based on the observed patterns according to what results from the past patterns brought them.
Moses used both out of necessity. He enforced harsh punishment on the Israelites that did God dirty through mostly death and temporary exile. He also knew the typical reactions of the Israelites and could in a sense, control his actions following his understanding of them so that they would follow what God was demanding from them. It was a delicate balance that only he, through the Grace of God, could master and execute as effortlessly as he did. Something that would drive most of us crazy.
POSITIVE INTJ TRAITS.
1.] Visionary
Visionaries have a talent for creating lasting legacies even after their deaths. This is because their legacies are applied systems that run without the presence of the one that set it up being needed. There is a reason why Moses was specially chosen as the father of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. Because he was a good follower of instructions and a great enforcer of systems.
Usually, INTJs are the minds behind the system creation, but in this case, he was but a meager tool for God as an enforcer for the creation of the system that was the nation of believers set aside specifically for Jehovah. There were too many people for a single person to lead and control and alone, Moses couldn’t create a system of how they would live for God even after his death. Luckily, Jehovah had his back, and He created the system for him with His laws of His Judicial Decisions [Exodus 21–Exodus 23][Exodus 21:1-These are the judicial decisions that you are to convey to them], His laws of how the Israelites were to live their lives, the 10 commandments [Exodus 20:12] and His celebration and worship [Exodus 12].
2.] Disciplined and Determined.
It is a rule of thumb that for you to get anything in this life you have to be disciplined enough to get the job done.You must possess attention and a single-mindedness. You must be free from all outside distractions. All of life’s joys must be forgone for that one goal alone, and you must put your all into achieving that goal. This is exactly what Moses did all through. Unlike most men in his time, he only married twice. Zipporah [Exodus 2:21-After that Moses consented to stay with the man [Jethro]and he gave his daughter to Moses in marriage.22 Later she bore a son and named him Gershom] and an unnamed Cushite woman, for which he never carried along his journey for very long. He had TWO children from the first wife, Gershom, basically implying that unlike most men in the day he was not inclined into lust.
For a lifetime of 120 years and only two children form the first wife, that speaks volumes .He remained pure for most of his journey in the wilderness and barely shaved his head (what Nazarites were supposed to do), he stayed sober for most of the journey (Nazerites were never allowed to drink wine, though it isn’t documented if he was one, he certainly acted the part), he was determined to get the job done. Even God understood this in him as all INTJs get fulfillment in themselves when they start and finish a project. That is why even though He punished him for his disobedience, He at least let Moses see the promised land.
He had earned God’s respect with his life of sacrifice, he gave up being an ever-present father, a committed husband, and his peaceful life (that all INTJs love to enjoy), for a life of purpose, leadership, and fulfillment of God’s prophecy, this is evidenced by the fact that God himself showed Moses his glory. An honor only bestowed upon him in the entire Bible because he had proven himself faithful. [Numbers 12:8 Face-to-face I speak to him, openly, not by riddles; and the appearance of Jehovah is what he sees]. Elijah was a close second.
3.] Tenacious.
Moses may not have been a brave warrior as David, but he certainly was among the most tenacious of leaders ever to grace this land. He managed to convince the stubborn Pharaoh, he accepted to be a conduit of God’s power manifesting through him, he led the people through a 1450 KM divide of the sea in one night, led the people of Israel through countless battles in the wilderness, literally led his people through the wilderness for 40 years( could have been a fewer years if the people didn’t disrespect God all the time), he kept the peace between God and the stubborn Israelites that always kept sinning against God, he dealt with the Israelites complaints who seemed to prefer their lives in Egypt albeit full of slavery, rather than believe in the promise God had for them.
He dealt with the sandstorms and blizzards, the complaints, wars, and God’s punishments and he bared the pain of the punishments of others until the very end of his purpose in his life, without ever breaking faith. Even once. Even when God left them at some point because He was so annoyed by the Israelites [Exodus 33:3-Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go in the midst of you for you are an obstinate people and I might exterminate you on the way].
Despite the several times he nearly gave up on himself, not once did he give up on God and his purpose. If that is not tenacious and singularly focused on getting the job done, I do not know what is.
4.] Know Exactly what they can and cannot do.
Few people in the Bible dared to negotiate with God. Moses happened to be one of them, and with good reason. He, like most mature INTJs, understood his competence level. He knew what he could and couldn’t do. Take for example when he was getting his first mission, to go approach Pharaoh so he could let the Israelites go, he quickly told God of his weakness so God can figure out what to do with him despite his defects. [Exodus 4:10- Moses now said to Jehovah: Pardon me Jehovah, but I have never been a fluent speaker, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of the tongue].
5.] Loyal and Faithful.
Moses was supremely loyal to God without question, so much so that God noticed this and defended him on several occasions against the complaints of the Israelites and the backbiting of even his sister, Marion and priest, Aaron. He sacrificed his relationship for the sake of God’s purpose for him, he bared the burden of the large population of people on his shoulders despite how heavy it was.
He was determined to fulfill Jehovah’s prophecy through himself to a point that even God acknowledged this in Him when he questioned Miriam and Aaron [Numbers 12:6-He then said: “Hear my words please, if there was a prophet of Jehovah among you, I would make me known to him in a vision and I would speak to him in a dream. 12:7 But it is not that way with my servant Moses! He is being entrusted with my entire house. 12:8 Face-to-face I speak to him openly.] God, being omniscient, could only do that with a servant who had already proven himself faithful to him.
6.] Act on Faith as an Instinct.
Because of the consistent miracles he had observed from Jehovah, from the burning bush that never burnt to the plagues of Egypt, partying of the sea and God’s delivery of the very hungry Israelites that were roaming around in the wilderness from hunger and victories from their powerful enemies, his steadfast faith in God only grew. He never changed as the Israelites did (worshiping other gods) and depended on God for everything.
He was faithful to God as God was faithful to him. And though there were moments when it all grew too much for him, he never, even once doubted God’s provision. No matter how long it would take, he had always known they would eventually arrive in the promised land. Even though he was aware that he hadn’t been a part of the Israelites’ transgressions, he agreed to bear the punishment God put on them. He did so without complaints and roamed around the wilderness for 40 years when they could have taken a few nights to get there had the Israelites not gotten into cow worship. (They crossed the red sea, a distance of 1450 km in one night, while they walked 650 km in 40 years). All the while knowing that they would reach the promised land eventually since God is leading them.
He had a servitude attitude, where his goal was to please God, not to inherit Canaan. Now that was faith. [Numbers 14:9, but you must not rebel against Jehovah and you must not fear the people of the land for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them and Jehovah is with us. Do not fear them].
7.] High sense of Justice.
Moses was righteous in the eyes of God and mostly because he understood what God needed from him. Nobody knows what Jehovah knows or how he thinks for sure, but He lets His way known to anyone that seeks Him wholeheartedly, especially when it came to possessing a righteous sense of Justice. Something that Moses did. Because of this trait in him, even before the burning bush.
He never liked bullies and that’s why he ended up killing the Egyptian slave beater. [Exodus 2:12-So he looked this way and that. And seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand]. He followed God’s sense of justice. He liked what God liked and detested what God detested, as was observed when he killed off the Israelites that entertained the Golden Calf worship when he had gone to commune with God in the mountains for 40 days. In his eyes, you were one of two things, either with God or against Him, and if they were against, he gave out punitive measures that were back then rightly justified.
8.] Protector /Self-sacrificial.
Very many times did Moses plead with God to keep the Israelites alive despite his personal feelings about them. The Israelites were unfaithful, disloyal, obstinate complainants that were not easy to deal with. They never gave Moses an easy time unless God was in their presence. Even then, they soon forgot about God as soon as He settled somewhere in the distance say, in the mountains instead of at the camps. The Israelites were such a bother really that several times God confessed that he wanted to exterminate them all. [Exodus 33:3-Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go in your midst of you for you are an obstinate people and I might exterminate you while on the way.], [Numbers 14:11-Then Jehovah said to Moses:” How much longer will these people treat me without respect, and how much longer will they not put faith in me despite all the signs that I have performed among them? Let me strike them with pestilence and drive them away and let me make you into a nation stronger and mightier than they are.”]. But Moses kept defending them over and over again, despite how the people themselves felt about him. He protected them from God’s wrath as evidenced by his constant pleas to God reminding him of the covenants He had made with Abraham and Israel. [Exodus 32:31-So Moses returned to Jehovah and said “What a great sin this people have committed! They made themselves a god of gold!32. But now if you are willing, pardon their sin, if not please wipe me out from the book that you have written]. [Numbers 14:1-Forgive, please, the error of this people according to the great loyal love, just as you have pardoned these people from Egypt until now]. If you ask me, the Israelites back then owed Moses plenty of thanks for continuously calming God’s wrath over and over again, otherwise, they’d have been toast.
9.] Obedient and Attentive to Detail.
INTJ’s are generally not attentive to detail as such for most things, but for things that are important to them, they will pay the outmost undivided attention. Moses was the epitome of obedience (although there were instances of him disobeying God’s direct orders because of his anger as was observed at Horeb, Meri bah [Numbers 20:11-12]. It was clear that it took a moment before Moses understood his assignment, evidenced by the constant back and forth he had with God, in a bid to understand his role to play, how his weaknesses can be covered and how the presentation was to work out. He was very detail oriented. However, as soon as he got all the information covered, he did exactly as asked without question. He did all he could to deliver the goods. What is more impressive is the fact that he took down all the information of God’s design for the Ark of the covenant and produced it exactly as God intended [Exodus 36-40], he followed God’s rules on exactly how the Passover was to be done in Egypt [Exodus 12] and how the sabbath was to be celebrated in the wilderness [Exodus 35:1-3]. It was Moses who the foundation of the law of how God wanted the Israelites to live was set [Exodus 21-23]. And most importantly, Moses accepted to be used as God’s conduit of power where God’s miracles, plagues, and direction through the wilderness to the promised land were fulfilled. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, the act of complete surrender and service to the works of God, despite his inclinations and personal feelings towards the Israelites he had to work with to get this done. All INTJs know just how much of a drag it is to work with tens of people with diverse personalities so different from theirs. Now imagine working with millions. All of them face-to-face. Worse off, they are all your responsibility and you had to get them in line so as not to anger God.
10.]Confident.
Most INTJs are confident in themselves and their abilities. They are confident in their competence areas and are not afraid to go against the grain to get what they want. Moses was fearless and confident as well but as a result of knowing wholeheartedly that God was on his side and his protection was guaranteed. That’s what happens I suppose when the God of the Universe decides to show you and no one else, His true form. Even if it’s just His back. If you make a friend of God, you have no reason to fear anyone.
NEGATIVE TRAITS
1.] Obstinate.
Considering the kind of job, he was given to do, and the great number of undisciplined people he had to deal with to do it, this was more of a positive trait than a negative one. However, in general, INTJs are pretty stuck on their ideas, and it will take a whole lot of time, energy, and effort just to convince them to change their minds about something, even if it is wrong. Moses was the same way.
Luckily for the Israelites, Moses got direction directly from God himself. He knew what was right in God’s eyes and therefore, he did not need convincing from man. It was always black or white with him. Nothing was a grey area. In today’s time and age, however, everything is grey. There is no division from roles to sexes, right or wrong, everything is a grey area nowadays; and yet we have the INTJs who see things in black and white. I agree that there are certain things that INTJs need to learn from others to become more balanced individuals as it is known that they can be extremist at times, however, for the most part, it is best to leave the INTJs in their obstinacy.
It takes a while for them to decide something after carefully thinking it through. However, once the decision has been made, it sticks for a long if not for an entire lifetime. In most cases, this decision is right because luckily, they have a high sense of justice in them for the most part. Be careful however of the Godless but obstinate INTJ as they can become the most frustrating, vindictive foes singularly focused on your destruction when made an enemy of.
2.] Furious.
Moses has always had anger within him, ever since he was young. He suppressed it mostly in his youth, but it started coming out as he grew into an adult. He hated how the Israelites were being treated and ended up killing an Egyptian because of how harshly he was beating up the Israelites [Exodus 2:12].When he went to meet with God in the mountains, he also exterminated the population of those who were in the wilderness worshiping the golden calf.[ Exodus 32:28-The Levites did what Moses said so about 3000 men were killed on that day]. It was during the same incident where he broke the two tablets containing God’s covenant with the Israelites which God had written with his own hands out of a fit of rage he felt for the betrayal the Israelites had shown God.[Exodus 32: 19-As soon as Moses got near the camp and saw the calf and saw the dancing, his anger began to blaze, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain].
In my personal opinion, in all three instances, his rage was justified but his fury led to several consequences. As is said in a Swahili proverb “ Hasira, Hasara” [Rage always comes with loss].Each furious action costs something to Moses. Killing the Egyptian cost Moses’ freedom in Egypt (although that’s how he met his wife and the God through the burning bush), killing the calf worshippers depopulated the Israelite population (although it was a righteous kill sanctified by God), breaking of the tablets forced God to re-write another set of tablets for Moses (God is truly understanding, otherwise the consequence of this could have been more severe than asking Moses to carve out a new set of Tablets this time as he did not do that the first time, probably God wanted him to cool off while he did it, who knows. [Exodus 34:1]]. These don’t seem as much, but as you read Exodus, you realize that his rage is what cost him the chance for him and Aaron from getting into the promised land, after he disobeyed God from deep-seated rage and irritation of the Israelites and hit the rocks at Horeb to produce water, instead of speaking to it as God commanded. The job was getting to Moses and dealing with the Israelites was getting too annoying for him as the days went on and his age progressed.
3.] Cold and Unforgiving.
Luckily for the Israelites, Moses was never like this even when the people pissed him off. He put duty, and responsibility ahead of him no matter the cost and he understood that his people were obstinate to a fault and took them as they were. Moreover, unlike most of us, he had God’s spirit in him in crazy quantities and he had understanding bestowed from God directly to him in his communion with Him. It would have been impossible to anger Moses to the point of pure resentment and unforgiveness. Even though he killed, he killed because he understood God and knew he never wanted the bad seed to completely pollute the pure as he was setting the foundation for Israel, God’s house, which demanded purity and holiness forever. He had to punish the sin since God was a God of justice and He was Holy. However, for the Godless INTJs devoid of understanding and God’s grace, it is very easy to grow cold and possess a hardened heart from un-forgiveness. They take life too seriously, a trait that could be positive when tuned right. But their disdain for bullies and the unjust can shut their hearts out from love so efficiently and severely that you would wonder just how is it that they managed to stay alive for this long without the need for people and their affection. It can take years to forgive someone of an incident that hurt them and if you are lucky, they will not act on it, even though the resentment will remain. We can learn from Moses how to see things from a “God’s eye view” and let bygones be bygones.
4.] Antisocial.
Moses may have been a leader of men, but he only ever enjoyed being with two people for most of the journey. Alone and in the presence of God. Quite frankly most INTJs have this issue, where they feel people drain them too much that they do not want to be around them. People take away from them too much of their energy, time, and concentration that they develop actual symptoms of fatigue and irritation when around them. This is observed in instances where Israelites annoy Moses several times when en route to Cannan. Take, for instance, the moment when people were getting thirsty and constantly complaining to Moses that they needed water and that they would rather return to Egypt because at least there was enough water to sustain them. This was after complaining that they needed food but were never satisfied with manna from heaven, so they complained that they wanted meat for which God provided in excess as He too was annoyed with them. In this particular instance of water, Jehovah had asked him to speak towards the cracks of the rocks of Meri bah into giving water, but out of annoyance, he struck the rocks twice instead after making the following speech. [ Exodus 20:10-Then Moses and Aaron called the congregation together before the crag and he said to them:” Hear now you rebels! Must we bring water for you from this crack?”] His disdain for people was clear, yet he took care of them out of obligation despite his feelings. Most times however he preferred to be alone in his tent or with God in the mountains or the tent with the Ark of the covenant. Because people were just too much for him. People were a dispassionate job but one that Moses sacrificed to do.
5.] Judgmental.
Moses from birth was Egyptian royalty, a child of prophecy, God’s direct right hand man and a leader of men. He had high standards from the day that God put him on this earth. He was not perfect, but he was certainly destined for greatness. Unlike most men on earth who choose not to live to their fullest potential, Moses outdid himself, impressing God enough to show his true glory to him for just how outstanding he was in his duties despite his obvious flaws, moreover, just how humble he was with all of it. You can only imagine just how high Moses’ standards had for himself as evidenced by the sacrifices he made in his personal life just to get the job done. As it goes, in human nature, the same expectations you have of oneself is expected of others. He was a strict and severe man, alb eight meek. The perfect man for the job of laying the foundation and value systems that God wanted the Israelites to follow for generations to come. He had to be judgmental so that people lived to the expected standards of God, which were way high. This is a common trait in all INTJs. They have such unbelievably high standards of and for themselves that they expect the rest of the world operates the same way. We unlike Moses were not lucky enough to be given the power to control the behaviors of people and their coming generations. Therefore, we have to live with others and their unique gifts and deficiencies, which to the INTJs, are a lot. It doesn’t change the fact that INTJs have high expectations of others. It would be helpful however to learn to accept the flaws of others while maintaining high expectations of oneself.
We learn from Moses certain critical things.
1.] If you follow the two commandments of God the Father, which are to Fear Him and Follow His commandments, God will make a friend out of you. To a point where He will directly defend you when everyone else is against you as was observed when God punished Miriam and Aaron for backbiting Moses because he had married a Cushite wife .[Numbers 12:8 Face-to-face I speak to him, openly, not by riddles; and the appearance of Jehovah is what he sees, Why then do you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?…12:10Miriam was struck with leprosy as white as snow…..12:13 And Moses began to cry out to Jehovah saying, “ Oh God please heal her! Please” ].For which God healed her due to Moses’ request.
2.] That we have to decide to be divided and decide NOW. It is unfortunate that against our current societal beliefs, we cannot be unified with everyone. Our God is a God of division, and you are either with Him or against Him. You cannot be a master of both the world and Him, something that Moses understood too well. [Exodus 32:26-Then Moses took his position in the gate of the camp and said “ Who is on Jehovah’s side? Come to me. And all the Levites gathered around him].
3.] That we are all human and we are all flawed, but with God’s strength, there is nothing we cannot do. Moses was not the greatest speaker and was not the bravest, strongest, or mightiest of warriors. He was as well aware of all his deficiencies. [Numbers 11:14-I am not able to bear all these people by myself, it is too much for me.], But, despite all that, he got strength from God and that’s how he led the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to all kinds of calamities in the wilderness and finally to the promised land for which he saw but never stepped into.
4.] Complete faith in God and action brings results. There was never a servant that gave as wholeheartedly as Moses did. He had unwavering faith that made him successful in the fulfillment of God’s prophecy to mankind. His actions prepared Israel for Jesus, yet he came centuries before Jesus did. His faithful actions led to a close relationship with God, and if God is your friend, what can’t you do?
5.] Don’t get too comfortable with God to think you can disobey Him and still be cool with Him, He may forgive you, but the sin must be punished. God does not play favorites and He will not overlook your sins just because you were friends. He will forgive you if you ask Him, but every sin must bear a consequence. Why? Because God hates sin. And there is no amount of friendliness in your relationship that will make your sin go unpunished. His actions at Horeb, where he struck the rocks for water instead of speaking to it as God commanded led him and Aaron to be punished with a promised death. After all that work, Moses and Aaron did, after all that close friendship he and God developed, just one mistake cost him, Canaan. And if God was like that with a close friend like Moses, how then can He be with the rest of the insignificant us?
We can learn a lot from Moses, and just how important it is to believe truly and wholeheartedly in God. It is also good to note the importance of duty and giving it your all when it comes to the job that you are given.
BOTTOM LINE.
Remember the Gospel.
God loves us, but He is not crazy about us.
We are wallowing in our sin for which we have no savior.
We should always repent and believe in the sacrifice of our God, Jesus Christ who was sent by the father to die for our sins, so we might get to have eternal life.
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