Chronicles - Godly Leadership
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Everyone is a follower.
Everyone follows someone or something else. We can’t help it. Nobody exists in a vacuum, so we inevitably end up influenced by others and following in their path. Parents, peers, popular culture.
But if it’s true that everyone is a follower, it stands to reason that (almost) everyone is a leader. Parents, we lead and influence our children in ways we don’t even know. We are all constantly influencing each other, especially those in our peer groups, by the choices we make. Young people feel this especially.
So it’s important to recognise this and to consciously follow the right leader. And to aspire to be the right kind of leader. The two are very much connected!
What does Chronicles have to teach us about who we should be following?
Chronicles was written for those returning from exile in Babylon. Rebuilding the city. Rebuilding the Temple. Trying to get things back to the way they were in the good old days. The days of King David and King Solomon, when the nation prospered under the blessing of God. Security, riches, and a godly king leading them into the proper worship of God.
The Chronicler tells the story a little differently to Samuel and Kings. Samuel and Kings are the warts-and-all stories. They tell you about David’s adultery with Bathsheba, his murder of her husband Uriah. They tell you about Solomon’s many wives and his subsequent idolatry.
But Chronicles focuses more on their good sides, with a only a few misdemeanours thrown in. The kings of Judah are categorised according to whether they did right or evil in the eyes of the Lord.
And Chronicles ends with no King in Israel. In other words, the Lord is yet to fulfil his promise of a son of David on the eternal throne.
But there are clear lessons throughout Chronicles about godly leadership - what it is, and what it isn’t. The Chronicler effectively shows us what kind of king/ leader we should be looking for.
If everyone is a follower we need to make sure we’re following the right Leader.
Chronicles teaches us that we need a leader who loves the Lord, who loves the sheep, and who loves the Word.
We need...
A Leader Who Loves The Lord
A Leader Who Loves The Lord
The story of Israel’s Kings starts immediately after the genealogies in .
Saul was the first. The story starts where his reign ends. The Philistines have fought against Israel and they are winning. Saul’s sons have already been struck down.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me.”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died. 6 So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together.
1 Chron 10:4-
But the reason for Saul’s death is given in vv13-14...
13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
1 Chron
Saul was unfaithful to the Lord, didn’t keep the word of the Lord, and didn’t inquire of the Lord. A serious indictment.
And it was for these reasons that Israel was ultimately sent into exile ().
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.
2 Chron 36:15-
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
Clearly this is not the kind of leader the repatriated Israel should aspire to have. By definition , then a godly leader who loves the Lord is one who is faithful to the Lord, who keeps the Word of the Lord, and inquires of the Lord.
David was such a leader, and became the benchmark for future kings. Samuel told Saul...
14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
In 2 Chronicles you have the repeated refrain that such and such a king “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” often followed by “just as his father David had done.”
Queen Victoria apparently said to one her chaplains...
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 1476 Queen Meets King of Kings
“Oh, how I wish that the Lord would come during my lifetime.” “Why does your Majesty feel this very earnest desire?” asked the great preacher. With her queenly countenance lit up with deep emotion she replied, “Because I should so love to lay my crown at His feet.”
We need a leader who loves the Lord.
We need a leader who loves the Lord. That’s certainly true anyone called to serve as leaders of God’s people in any capacity - homegroup leaders, team leaders, deacons, elders and pastors.
That’s certainly true anyone called to serve as leaders of God’s people in any capacity - homegroup leaders, team leaders, deacons, elders and pastors.
It’s certainly true that we all need to be leaders in our various spheres of influence - parents, peers, part of the culture.
But leaders are only as good as the One they themselves follow. The true leader we all need is the great Son of David, Jesus Christ.
He is the One who ultimately loves the Lord. On earth Jesus repeatedly expressed his love for the Father, often in terms of doing the Father’s will.
38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
Everyone follows someone. Who are you following? If you are being led by anyone or anything that doesn’t lead you to loving the Lord then you are following the wrong person or thing.
Everyone follows someone. Who are you following?
If we are at all concerned about loving God and keeping his commands, we will follow Jesus Christ his Son.
Because we need a leader who loves the Lord, and Chronicles shows us we need...
A Leader Who Loves The Sheep
A Leader Who Loves The Sheep
King David had experience leading and loving sheep. But that all changed!
1 All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, even while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’ ”
3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, he made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel, as the Lord had promised through Samuel.
“You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.”
describes David’s experience of being an actual shepherd to becoming shepherd of God’s people...
describes David’s experience of being an actual shepherd to becoming shepherd of God’s people...
70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.
The Shepherd image is often connected to kingdom and leadership, not only in the OT but also in other ancient near eastern texts.
We wouldn’t naturally link the two occupations! Shepherding is dirty, laborious work. But one who has cared for sheep has developed qualities necessary for leading God’s people.
Consider how the Lord is pictured as a shepherd in : “I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside quiet waters, refreshes my soul. He guides me. He is with me. He comforts me.”
7 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth. 9 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 10 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.
“ ‘I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you:
Israel needed a shepherd like David, a man after God’s own shepherd heart. When they came home from Babylon they were like sheep without a shepherd. They needed a godly leader who would love the sheep with humility and devoted care.
Everyone follows someone or something.
I read this week that some millennials are turning back to horoscopes, looking for some positivity and encouragement to offset their anxiety and worry. It signals a shift from hard science to a more superstitious or spiritual way of looking at things.
But the article also explained that the horoscopes you read in the newspaper are completely fictional! Some astrologers take it a bit more seriously and will give you a personalised chart based on your birth year and location. But you will have to pay them £250 for the privilege!
So horoscopes and astrologers either tell you lies or rob you blind! Not the kind of humble, servant-shepherd kind of leader the Bible recommends.
We don’t have to go very far in the NT to find this shepherd-king image fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
In fact, Jesus brings the whole shepherd-as-leader idea to a firm definition when he says...
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:11
Here is a shepherd worth following. This shepherd will protect and guard his sheep with his own life. Such is his love for the sheep, that this shepherd, this Good Shepherd, will give his life for the sake of his flock.
This even though the sheep have wandered far from his care...
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
The Good Shepherd, Jesus, has had your iniquity laid on him. He has been sacrificed for your sin. The Good Shepherd laid down his life for you that you might go free.
Friends, doesn’t that make him the kind of leader we truly need?
Everyone is a follower. So who are you following? And if you’re not following Jesus, have you thought about why? Have you examined his credentials as a leader?
He meets all the criteria of a godly leader, a worthy leader! He loves the Lord and he loves the sheep.
What is it about Jesus, the sin-bearing Good Shepherd, that doesn’t appeal to you?
Is it the great love that he demonstrated when he gave his life for yours?
Is it the amazing grace he has shown in offering forgiveness and eternal life to you even though you haven’t earned it or could ever pay for it?
Is it the incredible mercy he has shown in not treating you as you deserve as a wayward sheep going your own way?
Jesus is the most worthy leader you will ever find, because he is the only one who has truly laid down his life for his sheep.
Jesus said:
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
He is still gathering his sheep today, and he invites you to join his flock and follow him as your shepherd.
If not, you will wander through life with all the dangers of this world, being led by frauds who won’t give you ultimate protection.
Come to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and enjoy his loving, devoted care! He will not disappoint or let you down! He will not fail to protect you from sin, Satan, death and hell!
Follow him,
Jesus is the leader Chronicles was looking for, the leader that God’s people truly need. And he’s the leader that this world is looking for and truly needs.
Read . Look again at the reasons Saul died. Do you think the punishment matched the sin? What does this teach us about our own sin?
Read . What are the differences between the Good Shepherd and the hired hand? What should be our response to ‘hired hands’ as believers? How can we make sure we are following the Good Shepherd?
Spend time praying for our witness as a church, that we would be pointing the lost to Jesus as the leader they need.
That’s defintely
A Leader Who Loves The Word
A Leader Who Loves The Word
1 Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and put garrisons in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals 4 but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. 5 The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. 6 His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
The New International Version Chapter 12
12 After Rehoboam’s position as king was establishede and he had become strong,f he and all Israela g with him abandonedh the law of the LORD. 2 Because they had been unfaithfuli to the LORD, Shishakj king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans,k Sukkites and Cushitesb l that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified citiesm of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
1 After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.