To understand the role of David within God’s eternal kingdom and how we can draw principles from his life, we must first understand the background and times in which David lived. His life takes up some of I Samuel, all of 2 Samuel and concludes at the beginning of I Kings. So, to understand the context of King David’s purpose and life, we have to consider Samuel. Who was Samuel? Well, he was the last and greatest of the judges of Israel, and he was also a prophet. During the time of the judges, we find a cycle of sin and God’s grace. The people of God would rebel against him. Then, in turn God would judge them, allowing their enemies to conquer them. Then, the people would cry out to God for his help, and in his grace, Yahweh would raise up a judge (or leader) to help his people. But after a while the cycle would repeat and the people would fall back into rebellion. We should also understand that Israel was a theocracy, with God as the head of the nation, leading his people.
So, it is within this context that Samuel comes on the scene. And you may remember that at the beginning of the book of Samuel, Eli, the priest, was functioning in the role as leader or judge of the nation. But we know his sons were evil and did not follow the ways of God and Eli failed to restrain their iniquity (I Samuel 3:13). Because of this, the house of Eli was removed from leadership. Eli and his sons died on the same day. And with this great defeat the Ark of the Covenant was captured. And with this transition we see the end of the leadership of the house of Eli and the rise of Samuel as the prophet and judge for the nation of Israel. Samuel was faithful and obedient to God and was a great spiritual leader to the nation. However, ironically, his sons were wicked as I Samuel 8:3 tells us, “Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.” And because of this the elders asked Samuel to appoint a king over them.
Now I want to stop here for a moment because this is a critical transition in the history of Israel. At this moment, the nation is moving from a theocracy to a monarchy. God was using judges as needed to lead the nation, but now the people wanted to be like other nations with a king.
Even though we haven’t made it to David yet, here is our first lesson in leadership. Hereditary leadership, father to son, etc., does not always work. So, what is the solution? Both Eli and Samuel’s sons caused major problems for their fathers - to the point of a complete change in leadership and authority for the nation. Instead of removing the sons from leadership, the problem was allowed to persist until it caused God to step in and make a monumental change. That certainly was a failure of Eli and Samuel. However, a better way to solve the problem is to choose another leader or judge. Hereditary leadership can certainly work, but it doesn’t always work. The proper response to rebellious leaders is first to correct, even severely if necessary. Then, if the problem persists, you remove them from leadership. Now, I am not saying you do not show grace, but as in the case of Eli’s sons, because nothing was done it caused a national crisis. You must correct, then remove if it comes to that. And when looking at the case of Eli’s sons that is exactly what God did. He replaced the sons with Samuel. So when Samuel saw the conduct of his own sons, he should have done more to correct them. We don’t really know how much this might have been done, but clearly it did not work. And the sons should have been removed from authority and their place given to someone else. Now, in the story that is what happens when the elders come and speak to Samuel, but what they suggest is monumentally different than selecting another prophet or judge. Again this was at least partly caused by the sons of Samuel. You could even make the case that the reason the elders want to be like other nations was because of the wickedness of Samuel’s sons. However, this is not what Yahweh tells Samuel. When the elders approach Samuel and say they want a king, Samuel is of course upset. But when he prays and asks God what to do, Yahweh tells Samuel that the people have not rejected him, but have rejected God himself from being king over them. (I Samuel 8:7) So, really there are two issues. One is corrupt leadership and the second is the people wanted to follow other nations instead of God Almighty. And it should be noted that the people wanted a king over them and not a king or other leader under God to lead them. They were clearly rejecting God’s authority and leadership.
So, the second lesson is what happens when you do not follow God’s leadership. Well, we know Samuel anointed Saul the first king of Israel. However, ultimately God rejected him from being king because of his repeated disobedience. But it should be noted that Saul “looked” like a king. He was from a good family and was a head taller than most men. He looked the part, but he did not have the character to lead God’s people. He was in fact a leader who the people wanted - someone who feared people more than God. And as a result, the nation was not blessed during his reign. And Saul’s decline is very sad and shows what happens when we do things our way instead of God’s.
And as we move into the story of David, we find a much different person. For David was a man after God’s heart. And for most of his life David followed God with great passion. And I think the third lesson we find about leadership is when David is anointed by Samuel, found in I Samuel 16. And this lesson is about how God chooses leaders. He does not choose like people do and the story demonstrates very clearly how differently God sees people. For in I Samuel 16:6, the text tell us that when Samuel saw Eliab, the oldest of Jesse’s sons, he thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord did not choose Eliab and in verse 7, he says, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” In fact, we know this is true because David’s own father did not even call David to come before Samuel until the other 7 sons went before the prophet and Samuel had to ask if Jesse had any more sons because God did not choose any of the seven. David was not even invited to his own anointing as king! But the point is clearly made that man looks at outward appearances but God does not choose this way. God saw David’s heart and that he would follow his God in righteousness.
So, let’s review our leadership principles found in the historical background and anointing of David.
1) Leaders must rule their own house (I Timothy 3:4). And they must be willing to correct those closest to them. Whether this is family or not. Failure to do so may result in monumental changes in leadership. And if we are talking about nations – then it could lead to a coup, a take-over or many unfortunate things that are outside of God’s plan for us. Leaders must be tough and willing to correct and remove leaders under their care as is appropriate. This must be done carefully and in the right way, but the end of both Eli’s and Samuel’s life demonstrate how critical this principle is.
Leaders, be bold, be strong, do what is right and be willing to both set up people in authority, but also correct and remove them. If you don’t, God will do it for you!
2) Always follow God’s leadership. This goes for your daily life, big decisions, but also in regard to national issues. You may be wondering how this works since we do not live in Old Testament times. Well, I think it is simply following God’s principles and laying them as a foundation for the nation and its laws. Do we want corrupt leaders? Of course not! But how do we go about correcting what is wrong and living under God’s headship. We honor God’s authority first, and then we honor those he has placed in authority. In Romans 13 it tells us:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (13:1-7)
The Bible is very clear about honoring governing authorities. So how do we follow God and honor leaders when we disagree or feel they are not following God. We honor their position of leadership, but we follow God. We must never forget that the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a spiritual kingdom, which is at odds with the world. In Samuel, the Israelites did not follow or honor God, they were following other nations. Let us be sober minded and follow God’s leadership and authority, not the worldly culture. Live peaceful and God-fearing lives even when leaders are not doing that.
3) Never be surprised by the power of the visual. It makes a difference, but that is NOT how God chooses leaders. When we apply this principle we can understand how to look at leaders based on character and integrity, not how they look in a photo-op. We also should accept who God chooses instead of forcing what is culturally acceptable. Several times during king David’s reign, there was rebellion against his God-given authority. Each time this ended in failure because people were not just going against David, but they were going against God’s instituted authority. You see, it is never about the person, it is about God. He knows what he is doing. Our job is to work with Him. He often chooses people that seem to be the least likely to succeed or even people that appear to be unacceptable or unqualified. But he always has a purpose and he knows how to choose leaders better than anyone.
So how do we implement these leadership principles in a practical way? Well, number one, write them down as a reminder. Second, become very familiar with the stories that contain these truths. These two simple steps will go a long way to helping you implement God’s principles in your life and work. And third, pray. Pray for God’s wisdom on how to follow his leadership and implement his principles in the right way.
Plan of Action: Take the very first principle, write it down, and then implement it. Ask God how you can implement it this week…or month…or year. This will likely be a process. If you as a leader are dealing with people like the sons of Eli, then you need to take immediate action. Follow God’s lead and example. There is always a grace period for repentance. But if that does not solve the problem, you remove and start with different leaders who will obey and honor God.
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