Leadership matters

Dave Gobbett | 09:15, 17 August 2015

One of the big plusses of reading the Bible through in a year (or two, or three) is that you get to read Bible passages you wouldn't have naturally chosen. It so happens that I was camped in the world of 2 Chronicles in my quiet times recently. I haven't looked at it this closely for years (when I was at theological college I did learn a children's song based in Chronicles and memorised the Kings of Israel & Judah in order, but that was pretty much the sum total of my study), but I must say I've been enjoying the experience.

Here are three things you might not know about 2 Chronicles:

1. The famous hymn 'We rest on thee our shield and our defender' is based on the daring, risk-taking exploits of King Asa (2 Chron 14:11) - a king who serves God courageously most of his life, before spiritually running out of steam in his later years.
2. The modern song 'Give thanks to the Lord our God and king, his love endures forever' is based on a repeated refrain in 2 Chronicles 5:13, 7:3, 7:6, 20:21. In fact there are some stunning prayers and declarations of God’s faithfulness in 2 Chronicles (as well as some catastrophic failures).
3. The theme of  wholeheartedly seeking God is massive in 2 Chronicles. Joash did it, as long as he had the help of Jehoida the priest (ch 24:2, 17-19); Jotham does it (ch 27:2,6) though he lacked real influence among his people; Uzziah began by doing it but then got proud (ch 26:16).

Supremely 2 Chronicles makes us long for God's true king who will serve him faithfully throughout his life, with humility and influence. And I wonder who that reminds us of (Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.)

There is of course a secondary application from looking at the mixed bag of leadership we see in 2 Chronicles: it can re-orientate our thinking about what God sees is important in spiritual leadership, as opposed to simply following the world’s pattern. And that’s always important for churches to be clear on (and especially their pastors!).