Today’s Reading, 1 Kings 15 & 2 Chronicles 13-16
Focal Scripture: 2 Chronicles 15:3 “For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without instruction,”
The book of kings and chronicles pulls no punches on the poor leadership that was found in Israel. It exposes idolatry and sin. It exposes leaders who are evil but have long reigns over the Lord’s people. I have had the unfortunate history to be around some very poor leaders. One leader in particular was very characteristic but lacked integrity and the ability to instruct others. This type of behavior makes the people shallow and then the people that follow become unprepared for life. The worst part about bad leadership and lack of instruction is that things can look good from the outside. Numbers can rise but the people have zero depth. Leaderships priorities will be reflected in how the people are trained and go out in the community.
In today’s reading we get an account of good and bad kings. We see that the bad kings always turn to idols. The good kings pursue the Lord of heaven above all else. We also get details of what the leadership of bad kings look like in the nation. These kings lead people to not follow the true God. Then the people are not taught the truth from a priest, then finally they have no instruction.
Notice how the trend begins before a nation falls. Leaders chose to prioritize idols in their life. This can be sports, food, and even ministry. When that happens the teaching starts to falter and that leads to no knowledge and instruction for the people. When the people don’t know the standards of God it creates excuses for sin to be permitted in the assembly. Then quickly the house of God becomes a social club instead of a place of worship.
The challenge for believers today is to make sure your leaders are not prioritizing anything else but the Lord. I know that sounds strict but remember what a person speaks about the most is what they prioritize. I was once around a leader that spoke more about sports than training people in the Lord. He believed it was about building relationships. However, it revealed his own lack of spiritual depth. I understand how harsh that statement is but this attitude infiltrated the church. That church is now extremely shallow and has zero depth. Many people are involved but they can’t go deep because the leader has no depth.
If you are in leadership in the church your job is to equip the saints to do ministry. This only happens when idols are ripped out of your life and you have a clear plan to teach and instruct the people. When that is. Or in place you will create an environment where idols and sin are tolerated in the assembly. I have seen it first hand.
Be different. It’s time to start being more radical in our commitment to the Lord. Excuses have to stop being made. People are watching and they want to see biblical truth not cultural conformity.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading 1 Kings 16 & 2 Chronicles 17
