Inspirational Biblical Leadership in the Old Testament

The biblical leaders of the Old Testament were godly examples and are inspirational for today’s Christian leaders. These amazing biblical leaders followed God wherever He led and remained holy and faithful in the face of opposition. This is my desire, that I will be a leader who hears and obeys God. I desire to follow God wholeheartedly and to stand strong in God’s Word and truth, even when opposed. While many leaders in the Bible, faced the same struggles that we face today, they listened to God and kept their focus on Him, His call, and His work. They didn’t allow the struggles of this world to distract them from God or their call. Christian leaders today, would be blessed to keep their focus on God and His call on their lives.

Obedience To God’s Word

Throughout the Old Testament, many of the leaders received instructions from God directly or through His prophets and were obedient to the Word they received. We must learn to follow God’s instructions. We should be like the Old Testament biblical leaders  who recognized that God was in control and desired to hear and know His Word, truth and plans. For example, Samuel was responsive to God’s call and continued to obey the Word of the Lord all of his life. He was a faithful prophetic mediator who proclaimed the Lord’s word to Israel.[1] He warned and rebuked the people and king when they disobeyed and he interceded and assured them when they repented.[2] According to Chisholm Jr., “Samuel consistently spoke the Lord’s revealed will”. Believers have been given the Bible and the Holy Spirit to guide our lives and our ministries. The Spirit will not contradict God’s Word, but they work together to lead us. As Christian leaders, we should be sharing the truth of God’s Word with others and leading people to repentance and obedience, as Samuel did.

            Moses was another biblical leader who was responsive to God’s call. God revealed His holiness and how to respond to His holiness to Moses during his call (Ex. 3:1-6).[3] The Bible teaches us how to respond to God’s holiness. We should honor and revere God. Through seeking and listening to God, Moses learned what God had planned for His people.[4] Moses also gained a deep, intimate knowledge of who God is.[5] Like Moses, we should be praying and seeking God’s direction. The more we seek God through prayer and His Word, the more we will get to know His attributes. Moses regularly and consistently responded to God and His Word and he was obedient to God’s instructions. We must consider whether we were obedient the last time God instructed us to do something. Christian leaders must be aware of God’s direction and follow wherever He leads.

            Saul was an Old Testament king, who I often ignored as a biblical leader. For whatever reason, I remembered Saul’s failures. However, he is an example of a leader who was godly when he responded appropriately to God’s instructions. He was chosen and empowered by God and the ideal king in the eyes of the people.[6] He was a powerful and effective leader when he followed the prophetic word and trusted God for deliverance.[7] In 1 Samuel 11:12-13, the people desired to kill those who had not accepted Saul as leader. Instead of focusing on revenge, Saul trusted God.[8] Later, in 1 Samuel 15, Saul disobeys the Word of the Lord. His disobedience to God’s Word causes him to begin leading without God’s Spirit.

            Effective, godly leadership requires the leader to be responsive to God’s Word. Leaders today must read, study and meditate on the Bible in order to learn how to live a godly life. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, NASB). Along with knowing and understanding Scripture, a leader must pray and listen to recognize God’s voice and the Holy Spirit’s conviction and nudging. For example, the Holy Spirit may encourage a leader to share a Bible verse, message, or to even pray for a member of the team. Whatever is directed to be shared may be exactly what the team member needed at that time, so it is important for the leader to obey God’s Word and prompting.

Shared Responsibility

Old Testament biblical leaders also shared leadership responsibility with others. They recognized that no man is an island and that a leader needed community. While there was often a leadership hierarchy with one specific leader, there were also those who assisted the leader with various responsibilities. Every leader needs help from other people. For example, Moses was God’s chosen leader for the Israelites. Yet, in Exodus 18 his father-in-law, Jethro, advised Moses not to bear the burden of judging the people on his own. He advised Moses to choose leaders who could bear the burden with him:

“Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that they will bring to you every major matter, but they will judge every minor matter themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden with you” (Exodus 18:21-22).

Jennifer E. Noonan and Benjamin J. Noonan focus on Moses’ humility in choosing to share the leadership responsibilities.[9] The authors state, “When leaders start to think that they are indispensable, they usually end up taking on more responsibility than that which God has given them, and that sets them up for failure.”[10]

Do you share leadership responsibility? Have you ever taken on more responsibility than God gave you? I know I have and I would guess others have as well. Moses was chosen by God, but he still needed help from others to lead well. Sadly, a leader’s pride may cause him or her to discount the assistance that was sent by God to help the leader.[11] Take time to consider if you have discounted any assistance God may have sent you.

            Jeremiah is a great example of a leader who benefited from shared responsibility. According to Gary Yates, Jeremiah’s ministry was made possible by the support of several influential leaders in Judah.[12] Who has helped make your ministry possible? Jeremiah also needed protection. The family of Shaphan heeded Jeremiah’s message and protected Jeremiah (2 Kings 22:8-14).[13] We need those who will share in the protection of us and our ministry; those who will pray and help protect us from spiritual attacks. When Jeremiah was left in a cistern to die, Ebed-Melech intervened by making a public appeal to have him rescued (Jer. 38:1-13).[14] Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch shared in Jeremiah’s ministry and suffering. He agreed to read the scroll of Jeremiah’s prophecies at the temple when Jeremiah was banned from the temple (Jer. 36:4-10). Baruch was accused of treason and kidnapped, along with Jeremiah.[15] Like Jeremiah, leaders need people who will stand for the truth and share God’s Word, even in the face of opposition.

            Shared responsibility is humbling and vital to a great leader. As leaders of today, we may think that it is easier to do everything ourselves. Yet, not accepting help may stem from a root of pride and may prevent us from focusing where we work best. God often provides other people to help us, in the ministry.[16] As a leader, it is important to consider whose work is being completed and who has the gifts and talents for the work.[17] If you’re a pastor or other church leader, surround yourself with godly leaders and delegate whenever possible. There is no way you can do everything yourself and you’re not called to do everything. Pray and seek out opportunities to raise up leaders in your church.  ^“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10, NASB). God has prepared work for us, as well as work for those who are assisting us.

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[1]  Robert Chisholm Jr., “Failure and Faithfulness: Leadership in 1 Samuel,” In Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by: Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017), 121.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Brotzman, Ellis Brotzman, “Godless vs. Godly: Leadership in the Pentateuch,” In Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by: Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017), 45.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6]  Michael J. Thigpen, “Our Representational Reign: Royal Leadership in the United Monarchy,” In Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by: Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017), 128.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid., 129.

[9] Jennifer E. Noonan & Benjamin J. Noonan, “Jethro, Moses, and Humility: Leadership in the Pentateuch,” In Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by: Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017), 78.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12]  Gary Yates, “A Call for Faithful Servants: Leadership in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel,” In Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by: Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017), 192.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Jennifer E. Noonan & Benjamin J. Noonan. “Jethro, Moses, and Humility: Leadership in the Pentateuch,” In Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by: Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017), 79.

[17] Ibid.