You have probably heard it said that a nation takes on the character of whatever it worships. Christian thinkers have drawn parallels between Allah’s attributes and the behavior of Muslims. Studies have documented that populations of Christians are more generous and forgiving than the average populations of atheists or adherents of some other religion. God Himself connects the deity and the devotee first, however. An example from the Old Testament is in Psalm 115:4-8. The idols of the heathen, the Lord says, “are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands” (v. 4). They have unseeing eyes, mute mouths, and unfeeling hands. In the New Testament, we are instructed to be “followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us” (Eph. 5:1). We are to love and forgive as our Lord has forgiven us (Eph. 4:32). Christians adopt the character of our God and Savior.
This principle of the importance of leadership is not limited to our worship. Other humans that rule over us exert influence on our behavior as well. Most obviously, children consciously or unconsciously imitate their parents. This pattern hold true in other leadership relationships as well. Those in authority have great power over the moral and spiritual health of those they lead. Even civil authorities shape those under their jurisdiction.
Have you ever wondered why the first Israelite generation was incorrigibly rebellious? Among the factors to consider is who their leaders were. In Numbers 16, we read how Korah the Levite and two Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram, challenged Moses authority and paid for their rebellion with their lives. Leaving aside the horrific judgment of their being swallowed by the earth to descend into hell, consider how incredible it was that Korah was able to gather “all the congregation” against Moses and Aaron (Num. 16:19). The reason he was able to stir up such a rebellion is because he was joined in his revolt by “250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown” (Num. 16:2). Some of the most well-known Israelites joined in Korah’s defiance against Moses, Aaron, and the Lord.
The influence of this wicked group of leaders provides some key information to understand Israel’s problems. The ten spies who refused to believe God and enter the land were also “heads of the children of Israel” (Num. 13:2). Altogether, the Jewish nation had at least 250 household names who were set against the Lord. With such ungodly civil leaders, it is no wonder the nation was always in uprising against God, questioning Moses’ authority, and disobeying their covenant with God.
A nation-sized population will always have hard-hearted sinners looking for an opportunity to resist or rebel. Christians understand that human hearts are corrupt, and so eruptions of sinfulness are unfortunately normal for any town, state, or even church. The general spiritual condition of a people is more strongly influenced by the spiritual state of a much smaller group. What are the leaders like? If we know the qualities of the leaders, we can predict the direction of the population.
Righteousness is a requirement for all men. However, it is disproportionately significant as we ascend levels of authority. Just like it is far more important for a family that their father is godly than that the 12-year-old son is godly, so it is more significant that a mayor or a governor be boldly righteous than that a certain percentage of the citizens be boldly righteous. Of course each person has an individual obligation before the Lord to believe in Him and be faithful, but the individual accountability associated with those decisions is minimal compared with those bearing the authority.
Israel was emboldened in wickedness because ungodly leaders stirred them up. On the other hand, they survived as a nation because their godly leaders interceded for them. Twice in the narrative of Numbers 16, Moses and Aaron petitioned God to spare His people; and twice the nation escaped destruction. At the end of the chapter, Moses and Aaron were pleading with the Lord to pardon Israel when Moses perceived that God was at that moment sending a plague through the camp as punishment. “Take a censer from off the altar,” Moses told his brother. “Put on incense and go quickly unto the congregation and make an atonement for them. For there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun” (Num. 16:46). In one of the most dramatic moments of storytelling anywhere in Scripture, we are told that Aaron ran through the camp to locate the advancing wave of plague. Finding it, “he stood between the dead and the living” with his incense burner, “and the plague was stayed” (Num. 16:48). Just like Israel’s wicked leaders almost got them all killed, their righteous leaders stood between God’s wrath and their sin and spared them. Leaders matter.
If leaders are so important, does this mean people will always imitate their leader in righteousness? There are always those who will, and there are always those who will not. However, God’s world is not an egalitarian, democratic world. Those in authority are simply more important to a family, a church, or a state than those who follow them. Here in Florida, Amendments 3 and 4 were defeated in the 2024 election because the governor campaigned against them. That influence carried more weight than the collective voice of every person in our local church would have. The death of a church member almost never affects the local assembly like the death of the pastor would. We may even say that the reason second-generation Israel successfully inherited the Promised Land was because they left the wicked leadership of first-generation Israel buried in the desert. If families, churches, town, states, and the United States have hope of turning back to God, there must be godly men to show the way. Leaders matter.
The above article was written by Jonathan Kyser. He is a pastoral assistant at NorthStone Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL. To offer him your feedback, comment below or email us at strengthforlife461@gmail.com.
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