The Challenge of Leadership
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Key Verse: “Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.” Selected Scriptures: |
DRAMATIC EVENTS continue to unfold in this series of Bible lessons. For instance, Israel’s political landscape had changed greatly, which proved to be a challenge to those responsible for its leadership. Prior to Saul’s reign as first King of Israel, God had been governing his people, and Samuel was the last judge. Therefore, Saul was chosen by God to be Israel’s first king. Because of Saul’s unfaithfulness, David was selected to replace him to reign over the people of Israel.
At the time of Saul’s death, David was unsure what he should do next. He had been waiting on God to give him an indication of his will, and was now seeking further Divine guidance. We read, “It came to pass after this, that David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.” (II Sam. 2:1) Having so clearly received God’s will in the matter, David and his wives, and his men and their households, proceeded to go up to the city of Hebron.
David had been especially selected out from the other sons of Jesse, and had been anointed by Samuel many years earlier. (I Sam. 16:13) The anointing he received was that of God’s Holy Spirit. His prospect of ever being officially anointed as a king remained in God’s further plans. What took place in the city of Hebron was not an anointing as king over all the tribes of Israel, but only as king over the tribe of Judah. This was another evidence of God’s will in the life of David, who was a type of our Lord Jesus, who was also anointed by God many centuries later. “The men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh-Gilead were they that buried Saul.”—II Sam. 2:4
David enjoyed respect among his own countrymen, and he also knew that the Lord was directing his affairs. The anointing oil had been poured out upon him by Samuel, yet during the intervening years he did not attempt to grasp the things given to him by promise. He had waited a long time and was willing to continue to wait upon the Lord. He recognized God’s direction in his life, for surely he was a man after God’s own heart.
There is a spiritual lesson to be noted in the life of our Lord, the antitypical David, who later became king over all Israel. Jesus, the Son of God, never considered the kingdom honors something to be grasped or usurped. Jesus waited upon God’s providence in humble and strict obedience. He, too, was directed by the Spirit of God in progressive steps, receiving the Holy Spirit at Jordan when he was immersed in those waters by John the Baptist, and later rode into Jerusalem as Israel’s king. But they rejected him. Our Lord will surely become the greater David exercising Divine leadership over the affairs of men, ruling as their rightful king.