Paradigm Leadership & Legacy (Part Two)
Photo by Minu Pradeep on Unsplash
In my previous article, I discussed the reality that two paradigm kings are placed before us in the Bible during Israel's divided kingdom period. Israel was divided into two separate kingdoms during this time. The northern one retained the name of Israel, and the southern kingdom took on the name of the primary tribe, Judah. A total of 19 kings reigned in Israel during this time frame, none of them being good leaders. Judah saw 20 different kings reign during that period, some good and some bad.
Jeroboam was the paradigm king in Israel. He was a leader driven by fear, control, and jealousy. Each successive king who followed in Jeroboam's line led in similar and often worse ways.
But in the southern kingdom of Judah, David became the paradigm king. King David's reign is described in 2 Samuel 6-20. Almost every king in Judah is compared to David. Interestingly, they are often compared with the heart of David, either positively or negatively. King Abijam, as described in 1 Kings 15:1-3, is described as "his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father." In the same chapter, we hear about Asa, the king who succeeded Abijam, and his biography states, "And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done." The same thing was said of several other kings of Judah, including Amaziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Josiah.
Looking at David's life, we do not see perfection. In his younger years, before he became a king, David displayed great faith and courage as a shepherd. Even after being anointed king, David had to wait nearly 15 years before assuming the throne. He displayed great integrity during those years by not taking the throne by force but by waiting on God's timing. But David also sinned greatly by committing adultery with Bathsheba and by essentially murdering Bathsheba's husband in battle.
So what made David a good paradigm king? How could the New Testament call David "a man after God's own heart?" (Acts 13:22). I believe there are six traits that distinguished David from Jeroboam.
David showed great faith and trust in God when confronted by his enemies and during troubled times.
David showed great humility when successful.
David demonstrated great integrity when someone else held the role that was promised to him.
David was a man of worship, as God used him to pen at least 75 of the 150 psalms in the Bible.
David's overall orientation was toward God and to do what God wanted him to do.
David was genuinely repentant when confronted with his sin.
David was far from perfect. Some of his sinful choices brought lasting consequences, even though he was forgiven. At the end of the day, David is a testimony to God's great grace and faithfulness. God made a covenant with David, and God was faithful to that promise. In so doing, David stands in the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1).
As we reflect on the leadership of David and Jeroboam, let us make it our aim to develop the leadership traits of David. His faith, humility, integrity, worship, orientation towards God, and repentance are all qualities we can strive to emulate in our own leadership journeys.
None of us are perfect leaders, but we can keep growing and leaning on Jesus Christ's grace and faithfulness. We can leave a better legacy.
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