Biblical Leadership Part 4

Hershey H. Friedman, Ph.D. Samson Samson was a leader of the Israelites for 20 years. He had many qualifications for leadership including courage and love for his people. His major blunder was falling in love with Delilah and revealing the secret of his strength to her. Delilah was bribed by the governors of the Philistines to find out what gave Samson his preternatural strength. Delilah put a great deal of pressure on Samson and discovered that as long as Samson remained a nazirate to God and did not have his hair shorn he would retain his strength. Delilah revealed Samson’s secret to the Philistines and they shaved off his hair while he was sleeping. Samson was seized, blinded, and made into a public spectacle by the Philistines. The story of Samson demonstrates that sexual immorality can undo the achievements of even great leaders. Furthermore, confiding secrets to others, especially lovers, is a recipe for disaster, and many governments have collapsed because an official was indiscreet and revealed state secrets to a mistress. Saul Saul was the first king of Israel and had the potential to be a great ruler. Saul was a man of great humility when first chosen by the prophet Samuel, but demonstrated his courage and ability to lead the people in defeating the invading Ammonites (I Samuel 10:20; 11:04). Unfortunately, Saul became insanely jealous of his son-in-law David. After David killed Goliath, Saul overheard women saying "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands" (I Samuel 18:7). Saul was determined to kill David and this obsession caused him to wipe out an innocent town of priests for providing a fleeing David with food (I Samuel 22). Saul and three of his sons died in a battle with the Philistines -- a battle the Israelites might have won with the assistance of David and his men. David and his band were quite formidable and defeated the Amalekites who destroyed the town of Ziklig (I Samuel 30). Jealousy is a dangerous trait for leaders, especially when it becomes an obsession. As noted above, Saul was totally distracted from his mission as leader of the Israelites and instead was driven to the brink of insanity by jealousy of his own son-in-law. David was not only extremely loyal to Saul but was extremely close to Saul’s son Jonathan. Getting even --especially for imagined slights – is also something that leaders should not indulge in. The attempt to avenge some previous insult not only distracts leaders from more important agendas, but can also boomerang. Leaders must motivate their followers; seeking revenge for old slights, even when real, is not a way to inspire followers. On the contrary, retaliation is a way of sending a message to followers that one is small-minded.

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Biblical Leadership Part 4

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