God’s Requirements of Leaders

At the end of a service a lady walked up to me and said, “if you don’t give these people what they want, they will leave you and go to a church where they can get it.”  No, I’m not making that up!  What a terrible pressure is placed upon leaders to be and do that which pleases people. In the verses below the Lord tells Israel that when they arrive in the Promised Lane they will want a King like other nations and he gives them guidelines they must look for in a leader.  Let’s look at God’s requirements for leaders.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

14 "When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, 'You shall not return that way again.' 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. 18 "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

I.      They must be God’s choice.  We can’t make our leaders the ones we want necessarily, but the one God has chosen.  You may set them in but they must be one “whom the Lord your God chooses.”(V. 14-15)

II.     One from among you.  It is better if they are not a stranger or one not of our customs and culture. Of course there are exceptions in our day I’m sure, but this was important to God.(V15)  Compatibility is very important.

III.    Must not exalt himself above the people.  He can’t use his position to accumulate wealth at the expense of the people.

We could say, he must not see the people as a commodity.  He is truly a servant to the people set there by God.  (V. 16-17)

IV.    They must fear God and live and rule according to the Word of God.(V.18-19)

V.     They must walk in true humility and obedience. (V.20)This will prolong your days in leadership.