A Leader Must Honor God

The scriptures referenced many ungodly Israelites’ leaders to King Jeroboam. Who was Jeroboam? He was a notorious Israelite king who committed rare atrocity and caused Israelites to stray from true worship to the living God. Jeroboam rebelled against God and sponsored different idols. He also devised different mode of idol worships. (Some of the idols required people to sacrifice their children for worship). God punished Jeroboam for all his evil deed; but that was not all. History never forgave Jeroboam for all his evil deed! Every evil king who reigned afterward was referenced to Jeroboam's evil initiatives. In fact, we still read about Jeroboam's evil practices in the bible today. Few examples of Jeroboam evil successors are given below:

1. King Zechariah

“In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin” (2 Kings 15:8-9).

2. King Menahem

“In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin” (2 Kings 15:17-18).

3. King Pekahiah

“In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin” (2 Kings 15:23-24).

4. King Pekah

“In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin” (2 Kings 15:27-28).

Lesson:

Every leader (of whatever capacity) must be careful not to abuse his or her position. Husband must be a good example; wife must be god-fearing, and siblings must be good examples for each other. Also, a leader of any capacity (whether a captain, group leader, team leader, mentor, pastor, senator, governor, president, or any other) must judiciously exercise his/her rightful position. He or she must consciously lead with fear of God applied! However, it is understood that humans are fallible, and we can make mistakes. Therefore, God required that we have humble spirit and admit our mistakes. We must repent from mistakes once we realize them, and we must make necessary amendments.

Children of God must understand that it is important to possess teachable spirit and positively respond to God’s corrections over any misdeed. The Creator will bless people who demonstrate positive attitude towards his instructions. Meanwhile, the heavenly Father frowns at stubborn children. He will punish a disobedient child if he/she refuse to turn a new leaf. Also, the fact that history does not forgive bad people must be resonating in our hearts!

Prayer:

Dear God, please enable me to demonstrate positive attitude towards correction. Give me contrite, teachable, and humble spirit. Keep me honest, and help me to admit my mistakes. Enable me to take positive steps toward improvement, and help me to be a growing Christian who prioritize holiness, honest, and integrity above other virtues. Please do these and many more for me! For in the name of Jesus Christ I make my requests. Amen.