Day 179, 26th February: 1 Kings, Acts and Psalms

What is God looking for in a leader?
By Dan Etheridge, Soul Survivor

Today’s readings
1 Kings 20:1-21:29
Acts 18:9-19:13
Psalm 78:32-39

Leadership isn’t an easy thing. That’s true whether we’re talking about captaining a footie team or trying to lead a nation. In the passages we have today we get a glimpse at a bunch of different leaders, some of whom are getting it right, some are getting it massively wrong… but all give us an indication of the type of leader that God is looking for.

Check out the passages from Kings and see the different leaders:

Ahab, King of Israel
It’s not a good start. He seems fairly happy for a foreign king to demand that he give up the best of his nations women, children and gold and he only gets angry and takes offense when Ben Hadad comes back with a further request that impacts him and his palaces directly.The whole incident with the vineyard further highlights that Ahab isn’t going to be a legendary leader… he wants to take someone’s inheritance so he can have a garden near his palace and then is easily led into a murderous deceit by Jezebel and doesn’t question any of it.

So that’s the bad stuff, but to his credit he listens to the prophet by sending a small, inexperienced group of soldiers to lead the battle and tear apart the Arameans, bringing glory and respect to the Lord. He also seeks forgiveness and humbles himself as Elijah condemns him over the whole vineyard situation something which todays bit of the Psalm explores beautifully… God forgives Ahab and shows mercy in the way the Pslamist writes.
Leadership rating: 3/10

The prophet and Elijah:
We know what to expect from a prophet. Although they often do some weird stuff (like asking to be punched in the face) they communicate what God is saying and then go about reminding people of it, so importantly they have to be able to hear God’s voice. He also has to be bold, willing to cause massive personal offense and challenge someone on the basis of their wrongdoing. There are two challenges made against Ahab’s conduct by the prophet/Elijah, the first for showing mercy (something that is God’s privilege, not the Kings) and secondly for the murder of Naboth. Each time the prophet puts his life on the line and would sacrifice all to communicate what God is saying.

Lastly, the end of the passage highlights Elijah’s humility and heart. God changes his mind about the punishment and spares Ahab’s life… Elijah must have struggled with that decision, especially as he was Ahab’s most hated enemy. But we hear of no dissent from Elijah… he’s just keen to do what God wants and then get out of the way.
Leadership rating: 9/10

Paul
We join Paul as he travels slowly around a few churches and find that he’s being used amazingly by God. In Corinth, he seems to have amazing favour with the authorities, whilst in Ephesus he speaks boldy and argues persuasively about Jesus. Furthermore he then steps it up a notch and is obviously being used by God to perform miracles, so much so, that Jesus‘ name is used by other healers who hadn’t converted yet! We also see Paul, as he does in all his letters, helping the early church to develop a sound understanding of who Jesus was and what following him is all about. The whole bit about John’s baptism of repentance and being baptised into the name of Jesus highlights that Paul was brilliant at getting alongside people and gently encouraging them where they were going slightly wrong – though check out his letter to the church in Galatia… he was a little more angry with them!
Leadership rating: 9/10

Apollos
A brilliant communicator with great understanding who is passionate to spread the news of Jesus to the people he meets. He obviously has a natural flair for public speaking and although his theological basis needed a little correcting, we get the impression that he was humble enough to accept the advice and adapt his message.
Leadership rating: 7/10

And the point? God’s looking for leaders who will glorify him. That’s the first thing. Apollos and Paul were great communicators, but before any of that stuff about gifts, God’s looking for people who will hear his voice and respond. The prophet/Elijah, Paul, Apollos, and even Ahab all show that they are able to hear what God is saying and obey. So, if God’s calling you to be a leader, start the process by listening, obeying and have the aim of building his kingdom, not your own.

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Today’s picture was taken by…
Seth Enos. Thanks Seth!

If you’d like to take your own picture to potentially be featured on the blog, then get your Soul Survivor Bible in One Year, and take a picture of yourself – and your Bible – at some interesting or colourful location. Then email it to us at editor@soulsurvivor.com.

The pictures will need to be a pretty good resolution (we use 640px by 360 px so at least as big as that), landscape photos work best and if you include the day of the reading in the picture then make sure you send it to us a good few days before that reading, so we have time to include it in that day’s post! We’ll credit all photographers!