In Search of a King
REV CHARLIE (May 2021)
Have you ever felt let down by a leader, be it a teacher, a boss, a political figure, a parent or a famous person whom you looked up to? I think we can all answer that question in the affirmative. There is a distinct lack of good leadership in the world today, but that is not a modern phenomenon.
The book of Judges in the Old Testament, tells the tragic tale of Israel’s moral corruption and of its bad leadership. Instead of being a light to the nations and reflecting God’s character, the people of Israel became just as depraved as the surrounding nations. The nation’s leaders (known as judges), appear progressively more flawed as the book goes on.
Then we come to the book of 1 Samuel, that we’ll be studying over the coming weeks. In recognition of their need for good leadership, Israel demands a king. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel tell the story of Israel’s first two kings, Saul and David, both of whom get off to a promising start. However, their character flaws become evident and their demise ensues.
Israel’s hopes for a faithful and godly leader were dashed repeatedly. However, God always intended to send his anointed one, the Messiah, a perfect king whose reign would last forever. On Good Friday, we saw the world’s reaction to receiving such a king, as Jesus was nailed to a cross and on Easter Sunday we saw that not even death could impede his reign.
All of us need wise, faithful and godly leadership in our lives, but we look for it in the wrong places. As a culture we hero worship sportsmen and women, celebrities and music artists. We expect perfection from our politicians and feel resentful when they fall short. Even within the church we put our leaders on pedestals and feel shaken when they come crashing down. Don’t hear me wrong, it’s not a bad thing to have godly role models or indeed to aspire to be one, however, our ultimate role model and leader is Jesus. He is the one we aim to emulate and no other.
Some claim not to be influenced by others, choosing instead to follow their own insights, intuitions and moral code, but this is equally dangerous. We were not created to be sovereign over our own lives, but to submit to the goodness, wisdom and lordship of Jesus Christ, who loves us and wants the very best for us.
The search for the perfect king, leader and role model is over. The sovereign creator of the universe has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ. The question for us today is, will we bow the knee and submit to his authority?
