“But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant” - Luke 22:26 (NIV)
Samuel had been leader of Israel for a while. However, as he grew old he passed on the mantle to his sons who were a disappointment. “But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice” (I Sam 8:3). This is when Saul comes up in the picture. “Give us a king to lead us” (verse 6), the Israelites pleaded with him. “The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king” (verse 22). Soon after Samuel found Saul and anointed him king, “Then the people shouted, “Long live the king” (1 Sam 10:24).
Later Samuel gathered the Israelites and he gave them a farewell address. He said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me... Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and grey, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these things, I will make it right” (1 Sam 12:1-3).
In a time when we long for good leaders Samuel gives us a picture of what a leader should be. After the people had rejected him, wanting a king, he did not insist on them but found a replacement. His last address clearly shows the leader we need. Unlike his sons he had not used his position for self again. “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand” (1 Sam 12:4).
As people now canvass for votes to take up public offices may we pray to find leaders such as Samuel was.
Prayer for today: Lord God Father in heaven, today I pray that in a time as this, you will raise among us leaders who are after your heart and have a servant heart.
Related upcoming events
-
19/04/2024 - 20/04/2024 All day“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” ( Isaiah 43:19).
Just before fire was unleashed down on Sodom and Gommorah, Lot was told to pack up with his wife and two daughters and leave their homestead. Now, once out of danger, “But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” ( Gen 19:26). Perhaps here we might pause and ask why she was bothered to look back.
Of course it could have been that old “curiosity killed a cat” mistake! Yet, it could also have been Lot’s wife was not sure where she was going and longed for her old life back. This is a common error. There was nothing stirring to look back. Just before Lot’s neighbors had attacked his house eager to rape his visitors. “They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them” ( vv 5). Was there anything worth looking back to!
The case of Lot’s wife could be anyone else’s experience. The Lord has plucked you out of some mess. You have been delivered to a new life. Yet, somehow you decide to look back, as though there was anything good and worth longing for. Sometimes it is a bitter past you have been delivered from. Other than rejoice in your new blessings you keep being drawn back!
A wise caution goes, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly” ( Proverbs 26:11). If the Lord has just led you out of a certain mess why look back like it was much better! Instead look ahead, for “he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past” ( vv 17- 18).
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, I thank you for delivering me from the darkness of the past and I look forward to a bright new future in you, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
