The Challenges to Good Leadership
1 Samuel 14:1-52
Turn to 1 Samuel 14. I think that when we look at Saul as a leader, we would agree that he has some good qualities, but we have also seen some things in his life break down when the pressure mounts against him. And this is not uncommon in our own circumstances as well. We may look to someone as a promising leader, as they have all the qualifications we are looking for, but as time goes on, we come to realize there are some shortcomings. And this is not too surprising as no one outside of Christ Himself would qualify as the perfect leader. Yet it also does not mean that because someone may not be gifted in all areas, they cannot still be a good leader, otherwise, we are looking for something that is not even humanly possible.
While I was growing up in the church with a young family, I had the blessing of having a couple of teachers that really helped cement my faith in my own life. They were both at the church in Chatham for a number of years, they overlapped for a few years at the church, and they remained very good friends after. And it was interesting, though both were pleasant, neither would be described as overly outgoing. It was just not their strength, but both were exceptional Bible teachers. After several years one went off to London and some years later the other went to Oshawa, and we had the task as leadership to look for a new pastor. What some in the congregation were looking for was someone with a little more of what might be described as a people-person, who could also teach and preach. Well, over the course of a year we had a pastor come who was extremely outgoing but was not near the same teacher. And that ended up being a struggle for the church, as the congregation was hungering for that teaching, we enjoyed for many years. What is the old saying, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
I believe that ultimately, we need someone with a loving heart and a depth of faith when looking for leadership, as well as the necessary gifts needed for someone called into leadership. And this would be true in any setting. Interestingly, when the Apostle Paul was outlining the kind of men for eldership, the majority of the list are character qualities over giftedness. And giftedness is extremely important, but if a person does not have godly character, he will not be a good leader no matter what giftedness he may possess. Now we already know from last week that Saul has been disqualified as Israel’s king. And this is not any dissatisfaction of the people, though that may be evident, but it was God who had already stated this.
And we could question this as Saul won some battles, as he seemed to overcome some of his reluctance by taking charge. So, we could wonder, why would God disqualify him? Well, what was it? It had nothing to do with his giftedness, but it had to do with his character, as he was disobedient to what the Lord had clearly told him to do. And when we think about good leadership ourselves, we would likely overlook a personality flaw or even an unwise decision. But when we start to question someone’s character, his honesty, or love, or purity, or contentment, then we may have some doubts about his leadership.
So, what we have when we come to our story today in 1 Samuel 14 is all about Saul’s son Jonathan, who seems to be motivated to battle against the Philistines. And what Jonathan does is secretly leave the camp of Saul, and who takes his armour-bearer and they head out on their own. And what we see first off, is the faith of Jonathan (vs 6):
“Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, ‘Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps Yahweh will work for us, for Yahweh is not restrained to save by many or by few.’”
1 Sam 14:6 (LSB)
And secondly, we see the good reputation Jonathan had with his armour-bearer (vs 7):
“And his armor bearer said to him, ‘Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your heart.’”
1 Sam 14:7 (LSB)
Obviously, the importance of leadership gaining trust with people. For who would want to follow someone who had a reputation for bad decisions. Well, Jonathan devises a plan to determine the Lord’s direction in his approach, and we see his confidence in the lord’s leading him (end of vs 12):
“And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, ‘Come up after me, for Yahweh has given them into the hands of Israel.’”
1 Sam 14:12b (LSB)
And then we see victory (vs 14):
“And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land.
And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.”
1 Sam 14:14 (LSB)
So, what we have is two young guys who not only kill about twenty Philistines but set off a panic among the whole Philistine camp. Now, we may not be surprised that Jonathan did all this without telling his father (vs 1), as we get from the narrator here a hint that the relationship between father and son was not so great or at least was fragile. At this point one of Saul’s watchmen notices the Philistine retreat (vs 16), and Saul’s first reaction was, “Who did this?” And they quickly discover that Jonathan and his armour-bearer were missing from the camp. Saul’s first response was to get the ark of God, but then (vs 19) he saw the further commotion in the Philistine camp, so, he quickly told the priest to leave the ark. We are not told why. It may have been that Saul did not want to waste any time as he saw that the Philistines were in trouble and therefore he felt he didn’t need the ark (vs 20):
“Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.”
1 Sam 14:20 (LSB)
This was prime time for Saul as they came into the battle only to find that the Philistines had turned on themselves. Hard to ascertain everything that is being related to us by the narrator, but we do have a few things to consider. One, we were introduced to the disobedience of Saul last week where, admittedly, he was placed in a very difficult position. And it is always how God is sovereign, as it just so happens that Philistines are on the horizon, many of Saul’s men are leaving, and Samuel is late, all orchestrated by God. And we are good at picking that out in the story, but not so good at seeing these things in our own life. And then of course, we see the breakdown of Saul, who, because of all these events, last week disobeyed God.
Now in chapter 14, we see Jonathan emerging as the new hero, who throws the Philistine army into a panic. And all the while, Saul is unaware of what is going on. In fact, he didn’t even know that Jonathan had left. And we see Saul ready to grab the ark of God, but seems to assume certain victory, so he changes his mind and charges in with his men to victory (vs 23):
“So Yahweh saved Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven.”
1 Sam 14:23 (LSB)
Now if we did not know in the coming chapters of the further actions of Saul, of his further disobedience and how he envies David later on, but at this point, what are our thoughts about Saul? There is some human sympathy extended to Saul, his decision last week to go to battle without waiting for Samuel could be justified in our eyes, and because his son Jonathan took off without telling his Dad. Yet that cannot really be blamed on Saul? Remember near the beginning of our study we tended to feel a little bad for Eli, it was easy to pity Eli because of the evil of his two sons. Yet remember what John Woodhouse reminded us of when the Lord condemned Eli, he said:
“The trouble with all this is that Eli is not being judged by us. It is the Lord who said that his sons were blaspheming and that he did not do what he should have done. It is not for us then to sit in judgment over the Lord. He is the God of knowledge, by whom deeds are weighed. There is a certain arrogant absurdity in responding to this passage as though we know more about Eli’s innocence (from the few pages that we have!)—and have a keener sense of justice—than the Lord does!”
John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader 80
So, I believe we could say the same thing here when we consider God’s judgment of Saul for his disobedience, that Saul is not being judged by us, it is the Lord who is passing judgment on him, and therefore, we cannot sympathize with Saul, for then we sit in judgment on God. Woodhouse wrote here:
“We sympathize with Saul because we know all too well how difficult obedience to God can be. We find Samuel’s judgment harsh because we are not always persuaded that obedience to God is the wisest course of action. [For] if we were always so persuaded, we would always obey.”
John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader 247-48
And this failure by Saul is now contrasted with the faith of Jonathan, who believed that it would only require a few to bring victory with the Lord’s strength. But our issue is that we often do not react as Jonathan did here, but we go right back to the problem in the Garden of Eden, where we question God’s wisdom, as Eve believed that disobedience to God, in her case, was wiser than obedience. That is exactly what Satan led her to believe. So, we have a conflict between what we believe to be wise and what God determines is best. Think of your marriage. What should I do in this situation? Well, in many cases, God has already said what to do. In other words, God has already declared much of His wisdom and instruction.
That ethical decision at work. That decision of what to watch. That decision of how to spend the money the Lord has entrusted to me. The character as a Dad or Mom. How I act at home. That obedience to my parents as a teen. In many of these areas God has already spoken, yet we often want to attach human justification of why we chose to do otherwise. The abortion decision, purity before marriage, and honesty with the government. Yet these are all areas in which we may choose to doubt our complete confidence in God, as God has already given us His wisdom. But we still disobey. Why? Because the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. Again, this verse we looked at last week from Psalm 14 is not only speaking about the atheist that does not believe in God, but also, of the guy who actually believes in his head that God exists, but he makes decisions like God does not exist.
Now as we read this story it does make me smile at some of the further contrasts here. I know it may not be good to be naïve, but there is something to be said about positive leadership. I mean if you are leading a Sunday School class or youth ministry or any group, positive rather than negative is likely going to carry you further. If you are going to enjoy your holidays with your kids, good to be a little on the rah-rah side, right? We have already seen Jonathan’s outlook; God can win this with many or with few. Being positive that the Lord will work for us, I mean who wants a Debbie Downer on your team? Now we read that the men of Saul were hard-pressed that day, and so, Saul is going to do his best to cheer them up (end of vs 24):
“And Saul had put the people under oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food before evening and until “I” have avenged myself on my enemies.’ So none of the people tasted food.”
1 Sam 14:24b (LSB)
Then (vs 25), “Now all the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground.” Boy! If you were starving, that honey would look pretty good. I always say to Oakie even when I’m stuffed, the only thing I could eat now is another raspberry filled doughnut. And if you have read the story you know that Jonathan was not aware of his father’s command. And so when some of the soldiers saw Jonathan eating honey they were horrified! And look at Jonathan’s response (vs 29-30):
“Then Jonathan said, ‘My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.’”
1 Sam 14:29-30 (LSB)
In other words, he says if my Dad had allowed the soldiers to eat, the defeat today over our enemy would have been that much greater. And the story continues as sort of a comedy-of-errors. As after the victory Saul has them slaughter some of the spoils and these starving men hurriedly eat and give no thought to God’s command not to eat blood, which they did. Saul is quick to tell the men they have acted treacherously (vs 33). He takes none of the blame upon himself, and in the morning, he tells the men to do to the Philistines (vs 36) whatever seems good to them. Interesting again, it is a priest and not Saul who reminds him to seek the Lord’s direction in this, which he does, but the Lord does not answer him. It seems like what could go wrong, went wrong. Why was Saul king? Well, it started because the people asked Samuel to give them a king, and Samuel certainly gave them enough warning of what problems could arise with a king. So, again notice (end vs 37) when he inquired of the Lord, it says, “But the lord did not answer him on that day.” Turn back to 1 Samuel 8. Interesting when Samuel was warning them of a king, look what he said (vs 18-19):
“‘Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Yahweh will not answer you in that day.’ Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, ‘No, but there shall be a king over us.’”
1 Sam 8:18-19 (LSB)
Saul knows something is wrong, as he senses that someone must have eaten something, before he said they could eat. So, he comes up with another great plan (vs 38):
“And Saul said, ‘Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see how this sin has happened today. For as Yahweh lives, who saves Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.’”
1 Sam 14:38-39 (LSB)
And of course, the men were afraid to tell Saul that Jonathan had eaten the honey. And when they divide between the men on one side and Saul and Jonathan on the other side, the lot falls on Saul and Jonathan and eventually on Jonathan alone (vs 43):
“Then Saul said to Jonathan, ‘Tell me what you have done.’ So Jonathan told him and said, ‘I indeed tasted a “little” honey with the end [or tip] of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I must die!’ And Saul said, ‘May God do this to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan.’”
1 Sam 14:43-44 (LSB)
And fortunately, the men stick up for Jonathan, as Saul seems to be turning into this raving madman just because he is not getting his own way and feeling he has lost the faith of his troops to his son. Sort of the foolishness of when an adult throws a temper tantrum and the great downfall of envy. And fortunately, the men remind Saul of the Lord giving them victory, and he gives in to their wish to save Jonathan. Not that he really had a choice, and his men probably could see the foolishness of his efforts. Woodhouse wrote:
“Saul is one of the great tragic figures of world history and of world literature. We sense his tragedy because we know his weaknesses very well indeed. Saul failed as I have failed, as you have failed. We know what it is to forget God, to not really trust God, and to disobey God.”
John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader 256
So, good to be reminded here as we come to a time of lessons from the story that Woodhouse admits his own shortcomings in trusting God, as we might admit our own shortcomings. As we find in this story some good lessons around the topic of leadership, and the challenges that come against us when we desire to be good leaders. As we cannot look at Saul and say, boy, I’m glad I am never like that as a leader. No, we really need to look at Saul and be warned by his behaviour. Lesson #1:
- Obedience to God is our greatest degree of wisdom, but the problem is our emotions.
If any of us were asked, do you desire to be wise? We would all answer “yes.” If it meant finances, education, dealing with a family issue, or trying to work out something at work. I mean we would all desire to make wise choices and be known as someone who is wise. And we would all agree that much of our decision-making can be directed by Scripture, as many of the things we must decide are already found in the Bible. Yet not all things, for the Bible doesn’t tell us to buy the red car or the blue car, or choose the office job, or the factory job, or the sales job. But there are certainly principles in the Bible about dealing wisely with our money, dealing with people, how to live within our families, and there are times when the Lord presents choices to us. And through prayer and asking good people around us, we must make a choice.
So, it is not only can we find great wisdom in God’s Word, but it is also wise to go to God’s Word and wise, godly people. Yet what we often fight when leading is our own human emotions, which may lead us to the wrong choice. In other words, life is not like a multiple choice where we wisely think about the right answer. For we all have emotions, and we all have selfish desires leading us to the wrong choice. And we may be praying Lord which to choose the red car or the blue car, but the problem is that both are over your budget. But I want either car! But I want to do this! But I want to go there! But I want to do that thing. And I don’t want anyone telling me what to do, not even God. And besides, if I go the completely honest route, somehow, I will miss out or it will end up costing me too much. So, if obedience to God is the greatest degree of wisdom, and yet I allow my emotions to choose otherwise, I truly do not desire to be wise and end up being a fool. Lesson #2:
- Good to turn the ship around if you are going in the wrong direction, but the problem is our pride.
What we see in this story is a leader who consistently buries himself in a hole but refuses to get out. There may be times when we find ourselves heading in the wrong direction. Maybe we have been warned by others, but we have already defended our position. And boy, it is really hard to admit defeat, isn’t it? Or maybe I made the wrong choice from the start. I am sure that many people over history have done some really dumb things simply because they would not admit their mistake and therefore bullheadedly kept going in the same direction. And admitting saying the words, I was wrong, can be really hard. Often if we get close to those words, I was wrong, we usually try to surround them with a number of excuses because of our pride. Lesson #3:
- We know that extreme anger is the result of not getting one’s way, but the problem is our selfishness.
We sometimes we will use the term “righteous anger.” And I suppose we have been there, where we found ourselves in the middle of something where someone acted way outside of love or kindness, and we became angry. We see Christ entering the temple where the people were using it to try to make a profit for themselves, and His righteous anger caused Him to turn over the tables. Times when we might be in a situation where we need to confront someone who has done something wrong, and we need to directly address the problem with them. And this may be difficult and not always pleasant. But there is some goodness in this, not behind their back, not in an Internet post, but sitting with them directly. And say, listen, what you did was not good. And this can be viewed very positively. Proverbs 3:11-12:
“My son, do not reject the discipline of Yahweh
Or loathe His reproof,
For whom Yahweh loves He reproves,
Even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.”
Prov 3:11-12 (LSB)
And it is good when someone who loves you speaks to you about something. For Proverbs goes on to say, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is senseless.” Proverbs 27:6 says:
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”
Prov 27:6 (LSB)
In other words, if someone really loves you, they will be honest with you. Better that, than having someone just praise you all the time. Yet, when we usually think of most of these situations, we are thinking of a time when someone who cares is sitting down with someone they love and carefully and lovingly confronting them with an issue that is a burden on their heart. But anger, yelling, irritation, and impatience are often because something didn’t go our way. As most times in the Bible when it speaks of anger it is used in a negative sense. Screaming at your children or your spouse, or your parents, or slamming the door or walking out at work, are likely not listed under the heading of righteous anger. We might like to compare it with the time Nehemiah pulled out the hair of those sinning against God, but it is more often than not, it is just an indication of our own anger and impatience. This is why much of the Bible speaks about a slow answer, as manifestations of anger include bitterness, wrath, brooding and seething because they cannot get what they want. Paul wrote:
“Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
Eph 4:31 (LSB)
You know, bitterness is a long-lasting resentment which wreaks havoc on our relationships. James 1:19-20:
“Know this, my beloved brothers. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”
Jas 1:19-20 (LSB)
Ecclesiastes 7:9:
“Do not be eager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the heart of fools.”
Prov 15:1 (NASB)
Proverbs 15:18:
“A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.”
Silly to think that a louder voice will make others think that my opinion is right, or even when you say the right thing but in the wrong tone. Proverbs 29:11:
“A fool lets out all of his spirit,
But a wise man holds it back.”
Prov 29:11 (LSB)
Obviously, it is better to be quiet, for this is God’s wisdom. And good before we speak to think to ask ourselves, is this just me wanting my own way or is this actually God’s wisdom. And if it is something that needs to be addressed, we get the proper tone of that dialogue from the Bible. And if we end up turning over tables or slamming doors, or tearing out someone’s hair, we first want to consider what God has said about anger. Lesson #4:
- Positive leading motivates those we lead, but the problem is our negativity.
We saw throughout the story today the contrast between Saul’s leading versus Jonathan’s. And all these lessons are somewhat tied together, as Saul would be viewed as negative and Jonathan as positive. There is a skill set that needs to be developed when leading, that we learn how to motivate people, and not discourage people. For the Bible speaks much about encouraging others and prodding each other along in the faith. I mean we could get more frustrated with a child. And I do not want to take any responsibility off a teen who is behaving badly, but we could also look to see how we might become better at encouraging and directing. Sometimes, parents who think of themselves as strict do so because they yell a lot. And they themselves may not be all that easy to get along with. But other parents who can keep their children within a good safety zone, positively surrounding them with biblical guidelines, but also providing great encouragement and instilling confidence in their children.
And I know we talked about this in our parenting series, but we want to be very careful that we do not nag at our children or our spouse. And whatever kind of punishment we use, it is done quickly and without anger. So that joy continues in the family. I know I am a proponent of spanking as it does not mean yelling or nagging, but it is something that can be done without anger, so that after a few moments, little Johnny is back with the crew having pizza. And as our children get older, as best we can, to deal with the issue, but do not hold onto it. To be forgiving and instill in that 14-year-old or 18-year-old that they are loved, and that they are a joy to have in the family. And therefore, direct times of praise to those you lead. Direct times of discipline without anger and impatience, which is a great investment in the joy and the love of your family, that is seen first in the relationship between Mom and Dad.
There are some things in pastoring that I could get negative about. But there are so many joys. The same with your families. The same at your workplace. I am sure there are many things that you could get negative about at work, but God has also placed you there with the ability to work hard and with the privilege of showing forth Christ to others, and that is a joy! That in whatever situation the Lord has placed you in leadership, it is often the perspective of that opportunity which He has given us. And good to see it as a positive opportunity and a great delight.
Human emotions, pride, selfishness, and negativity will always fight against the Lord’s wisdom in leadership. And if we lose that battle, the result is that we will always act foolish. Let’s close with reading Paul’s wisdom in Colossians 3:
“So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Col 3:12-17 (LSB)
And all God’s people said, amen.