God takes leadership seriously
“Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins.”
1 Kings 1:2
Every sin that Israeli kings committed always brought judgment to the entire nation. It is because the Lord takes very seriously leadership roles, especially spiritual leadership. “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness”, says James the Apostle.
True revival begins with the reformation of worship
And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as David his father had done. He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
1 Kings 15:11-12
To apply this in the context of our world, if we are to see revival in our nation, if we are to see great masses turning to God in repentance, we must begin by purifying our own hearts, followed by the church. A church that seeks to walk in holiness, to practice church discipline, to love another and to be united will be of great use to the Master. Yet if we neglect those small things, and allow sin to run rampant in the church, we can forget that they will ever be any revival in the land that we live in.
Starting well doesn’t matter, it’s all about finishing well
And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
1 Kings 11:9
We are all inspired by the great king Solomon, are we not? Yet – as the above verse outlines – his latter life was somewhat regrettable because we are told that “His heart turned away from the Lord.” This is a great warning to all of us. It’s not about how we begin this Christian journey but how we will end. At the end of your life, will you still be in the faith? “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God”(Heb 3:14).
True prophets of God always rebuke corrupt political leaders
At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.
2 Chlonicles 16:7
I think this issue fits perfectly with the times we live in. That is, if you want to see a true messenger of God, watch his relationship with political leaders. These days we see so-called prophets rubbing shoulders with corrupt officials, and even endorsing them from their pulpits. That is exactly the same thing we see with the false prophets of Israel. On the other hand, true prophets of the Lord are not afraid to risk their lives by rebuking corruption and bad governance in the political world.
God holds parents accountable for the conduct of the children
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.
2 Kings 1:1-2
There is a reason why we are told about the one who gave birth and raised king Manasseh, the evilest king to ever rule in Judah. It means the way Hephzibah (Manasseh’s mother), raised her child contributed directly to the kind of king he grew up to be. A good lesson to Christian parents is that it matters how we raise our children. It’s not the responsibility of school teachers to raise our kids in the fear of the Lord. That is on our shoulders. What they will grow up to be in society, the bad or the good they will commit, is all down to us. How are you raising your Children, dear Christian parent?
Political leaders are not spiritual leaders
And they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God.”
2 Chronicles 26:18
We live in times where the church seeks relevance and acceptance from the world. Yet the truth is, it’s the Church that must control and set the standard of how political leaders must behave. Therefore, the state has no right to dictate what the Church should be like. Indeed, believers should obey those in governmental authority, but only as far as their laws don’t infringe upon the infallible Law of our God (Rom 13:1-2). When that happens, the Church must not compromise but choose to obey God rather than men (Act 4:19).
Earthly kings are temporal, the heavenly King is eternal
And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset, he died.
2 Chronicles 18:34
Often times we find ourselves groaning under abusive political leaders, asking ourselves if ever there will be freedom. Yet the truth is, human kings are just that; humans. They will die and their names will be forgotten, no matter how proud they are. While there is a King in heaven whose Kingdom shall not pass away. Let’s rest on this because He is in control of everything that happens under the sun; no one can stay His hand or ask Him, “What have you done?” (Dan 4:35).
Summary
The ultimate lesson about the Kings of Israel is that human kings are not sufficient. What Israel needed, and what all humanity needs today is a perfect King, who will rule the world in righteousness and justice. That King is none other than the King of Kings, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, born of a virgin woman, being in the very nature of God Himself; lived a sinless perfect life, willingly went to the cross, sufficiently paid for all our sins; died, rose again, ascended on high and sat down at the right hand of the Ancient of Days. One day, all nations, from every tribe will stand before Him and be judged. He will separate the goats from and the sheep, some to everlasting life while others to everlasting shame. May we know this King and make terms of peace with Him, while there is still time. Praise His Name, Praise His Name!
Sinothi Ncube
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