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The book of Judges in the Bible records a dark time in Israel’s history. There is a phrase that is repeated multiple times in that book, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25). The absence of godly leaders setting a God-honoring example for the people led to some ugly behaviors!
The Book of Ruth (which is set during this same time period) opens with the words, “In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This famine of both godly leadership and good harvests led Elimelech to leave Israel and allow his sons to marry women they shouldn’t have married. It also prompted opportunity seekers to seize Elimelech’s land, so that when his widow Naomi returned with her daughter-in-law Ruth, there was no source of income for them.
One godly leader, a prophetess named Deborah, held firmly to God’s word. Her unwavering devotion to God was an encouragement to Barak to lead his armies to victory over their oppressors. In her song after the victory was secured, Deborah sang—
When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, bless the Lord! … My heart is with the rulers of Israel who offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless the Lord! (Judges 5:2, 9 NKJV)
Notice this vital principle:
A mark of a godly leader is one whose obedience toward God helps others obey God.
Deborah’s obedience helped Barak obey God.
We see this again in the Book of Ruth when Boaz obeys God’s command to fulfill his responsibility as Naomi and Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer. His obedience helped Ruth also obey God.
Even in the New Testament, Joseph is a phenomenal example of this principle. Every single time the angel of God speaks to him about what he should do, Joseph’s immediate response is obedience. And then Matthew records that Joseph’s obedience is directly tied to prophecies about Jesus being fulfilled (Matthew 1:20-24; 2:13-15, 19-23).
Godly leaders must go first! When we are the first in obedience—no matter how difficult it may seem in the moment—we make it possible for others to obey God themselves.
This is part 75 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
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Craig T. Owens 