And I will make mere boys their leaders, and mischievous children will rule over them, and the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; the youth will assault the elder, and the contemptible person will assault the one honored. Isaiah 3:4-5 NASB Youth/ contemptible – These two verses in Isaiah could have been the inspiration for…
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 NASB Evil good – The history of Mankind, as the rabbis note, is a nightmare. Empire after empire followed the path falsely attributed to Alexander Tytler:…
Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the whole earth; the nations have drunk her wine, therefore the nations are going mad. Jeremiah 51:7 NASB In the hand– Babylon was an instrument in the hand of YHWH for His purposes. The text tells us quite clearly that the power of…
Her princes inside her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves. . . Zephaniah 3:3 American KJV 1999 Roaring lions/evening wolves – “The hunger of the powerful knows no satiety; the appetite grows on what it feeds. Power exalts itself and is incapable of yielding to any transcendent judgment; . . . It is…
She did not listen to the voice; she did not receive correction; she did not trust in YHWH; she did not draw near to her God. Zephaniah 3:2 KJV3 Did Not – For the next four days I want to revisit the idea of power in the prophets. Zephaniah speaks out against the oppressing city. His words are…
But He answered and said to them,“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’” Matthew 16:2 NASB 1995 Red– It’s worth reconsidering evaluations of leadership from some we consider exemplars. It all begins with Yeshua’s reference to folklore wisdom. “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.” Yes,…
If it is the anointed priest who has incurred guilt, so that blame falls upon the people, . . . Leviticus 4:3 Sefaria Blame– The principle characteristic of a biblical leader is reluctance. Men and women marked by God for leadership roles almost always wish they were not chosen. When you meet people who desire to lead, you would be…
“But not so with you. Rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” Luke 22:26 ESV Not so with you – I recently gave a lecture on Reluctant Leadership. That prompted me to look at some of the material I wrote years ago about leadership fads, especially the…
But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the Lord said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter.’ Deuteronomy 3:26 NASB On your account – John Maxwell aside, the role of the biblical leader is not so wonderful. It’s easy for us…
David went out to meet them, and said to them, “If you come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide.” 1 Chronicles…
