The God of Israel spoke,
the Rock of Israel said to me:
`When one rules over men in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God,
4 He is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings the grass from the earth. 2Samuel23:3-4
At the beginning of the chapter, this passage is described as "David's last words." (David does say some other things, but none of it is poetry - so this is David's last song.) He is passing the baton of leadership on to Solomon.
Picture the bright light of a cloudless dawn.
Imagine the brilliant light after an afternoon thunderstorm.
When leaders follow God, their leadership brings hope, relief and peace.
How is this kind of light-bringing-leadership achieved?
David tells us that righteousness is needed. Leaders who are free of corruption, but who also actively do what is right and seek to live morally and ethically.
But there's more: great leaders understand that it is not about them. They are God-fearing. They know and understand that they must one day stand before God and answer to Him. They lead in the certainty that they must account to God for their words and works.
Let's pray urgently for our leaders that they will learn to rule in righteousness and the fear of the Lord.
Maybe a nice analogy to use is that of the moon and the planets. Mars, Jupiter, the moon and other planets have no light of their own - we can see them because they reflect the light of the sun. Good leaders know that they need to reflect God's light.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
