LEADERS

It has not always been the will of God for men to lead men. His initial plan was that He alone would lead His creation. However, as sin entered the world  and men became lovers of themselves and chose to worship His creation instead of the creator, war and unhappiness was the result and it seemed inevitable that God would have to raise up godly men to lead His people .

Upon the death of Moses, God worked through and used another faithful leader Joshua.  He used Joshua to lead Israel to victories as they battled and journeyed their way to the Promised Land. After Joshua died, God’s people again lost their zeal for Him. The Israelites grew weary of their constant need of driving out the Canaanites. They became tired of besieging city after city in order to conquer their enemies and stay on top of their game. They decided to slow down, lay back and not work quite so hard at driving away the pagan influences that was corrupting them and bringing new thought and religions into their lives and their homes. As they became more tolerant of those changes, they began to change their behaviors and beliefs about God and in doing so they brought judgment to the household of God which was His people. More and more as the people of Israel tolerated their idol-worshipping neighbors, they grew accustomed to their ungodly beliefs.

As time passed, a new generation of Israelites came into adulthood, one that was easily enticed by the sexually loose and morally corrupt ways of the Canaanites. God’s plan was that Israel become a shining example of His Ways. His laws were to be their wisdom, leading the Israelites to be a blessed people for their obedience to Him. The nations surrounding them were to take note and thus yearn to know about God’s laws because of the role model and influence that His children were being. Instead, the Israelites entered a cycle of rejecting God in favor of idols and in doing so they suffered the military conquests of neighboring enemy nations. As those times happened, they would always turn back and cry out to God for deliverance. God would always respond to His people by sending a deliverer to deliver them from their trials and bondage time and time again. That repetitive cycle is recorded in the book of Judges, and refers to a time when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25. Like the Israelites did time and time again we too live in a day when men and women do that which is right in their own eyes and like them we too are paying the great cost! God has provided us someone today that can lead us out of our transgressions and into a life of abundance.

Unlike those that believe in the name it claim it religion, God’s abundance does not promise money, power, nor any fleshly thing. But His promises are eternal. They are not carnal that man can tarnish them or take them away. His abundances are greater than anything the eye can see. They are peace, faithfulness, happiness, joy, contentment and so much more. He who loves us, calls us into all truth. However, if we are unwilling to follow His leadership we will not enjoy the blessings of His rewards. Let it be Lord to our credit, that we hear the truth and follow it.    

During the period of the judges in the Bible, God used them to deliver His people from affliction. Sometimes judges led armies, as Gideon did against the Midianites. Other times, judges worked alone as did Samson. The servants that God used to judge His people were men, except for one woman. Her name was Deborah. The story of Deborah a prophetess or judge of Israel occurred around or about 1125BC. In those days a judge in Israel was more of a tribal leader unlike the judges of our day. God used them to lead and guide His people during the days before Israel had Kings. God used them to deliver His messages to His people as well as using them as advisors in times of peace. They were given God’s authority to settle disputes and solve problems among the Jews. They also acted as councilors in war times and were used as rallying points to gather the tribes and organize their resistance.

While Deborah did not have the characteristic of masculinity, nor any great power given to her by the people, she did have authority from God to judge and facilitate the people of God during her time. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the Book of Judges. The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge which suggests that judges were seen simply as God’s people, and their gender was unimportant. She had authority rather than power, and people respected her for the qualities she had, rather than for her military might or physical strength. You see the judges of Israel did not impose their authority on the Israelite people they did not have to. They were simply representatives of God, transmitting direct messages from God. Most often the message was about staying apart from the surrounding cultures and maintaining their unique identity and beliefs from what they had been taught about God. Deborah was inspired to speak out about the deteriorating state of the country around Ephraim.

Law and order had broken down, and it was no longer safe for society. It has to be said that the Israelites that settled in the hill country of Canaan, were largely to blame for these problems. For they continually raided the Canaanite farms and villages on the prosperous plains below their hill settlements, and of course the powerful long arm of their enemy retaliated and oppressed the Israelites. God used Deborah’s obedience to what He said and how He was going to bring relief to a worn out nation who was testing God’s patience once again. How is God using your life today? If you are a child of God, you are merely His representative to others. It is only His light that you should be reflecting. Are you leading others to a better understanding of God by your own witness and lifestyle? Or, are you hiding it under bushels of trails and burdens, so that others cannot see the light from the smoke?  Our society needs good leaders that will stand up and represent the truth by their lifestyles; not merely what they say. We need great leaders in every aspect of our society. But let’s make sure that the light that they are carrying is the light of truth.

Loving on you today,

Bren