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Biblical leadership in OT
Biblical Foundation of Christian Leadership (Liberty
University)
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Biblical Leadership Themes of the Old Testament
David Miller
LEAD 510: Biblical Foundations of Leadership
February 2023
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Introduction
It is far more common for modern day believers to observe the New Testament in search
of principles and lessons that can be applied to their own lives over the Old Testament. After all,
Christians are under a “new covenant” with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But
it is often forgotten that the writers of the New Testament only had eyewitness reports and the
Old Testament to base their faith off. Meaning most of the godly leadership skills found in the
New Testament can be attributed to what the writers learned from the Old Testament. There are
many Old Testament references throughout the New Testament which clearly makes it
necessary for believers to take both into account when looking for leadership qualities.
Leadership in the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament, opens up by displaying the
work of the perfect leader, the One who created everything, God. He created the world and
everything in it and as a result He is the omnipotent, divine leader. Because He is the Creator of
everything, it all belongs to Him and so His Creation is designed to do as He says. David Pettus
in his book Biblical Leader: Theology for the Everyday Leader says “God’s rule and sovereignty
over all his creation gives him the right of leadership over everything he has made. The Lord’s
leadership is absolute, and his directives must be followed. His dictates must be obeyed by both
man and the rest of his creation.”11 As ruler over the world and all mankind, God continually
appointed leaders to help shepherd His people back onto their path to redemption, and many of
these leaders are found in the Old Testament.
This essay will look to examine biblical leadership in the Old Testament by covering
three themes found throughout. The three themes chosen to be explored are leadership in
the midst of fear, wisdom in leadership, and the humility of a godly leader.
11 Pettus, David, “A Concept Study: Leadership in Old Testament Hebrew,” in Biblical Leadership: Theology for
the Everyday Leader, Biblical Theology for the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2017), 30.
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Leadership in the midst of fear
Daniel is a prominent example of how to lead by example in the face of fear. He was
given a position of power by Nebuchadnezzar after revealing the meaning of his dreams to him.
Shortly after, the king builds a statue for all government officials to bow to and Daniel and his
Jewish friends draw a line. They serve the king faithfully until they are asked to go against the
command of the Creator of the universe and they choose death over disobedience to the one, true
God. Daniel and his friends are thrown in the furnace of fire but remain unsinged because their
God is mightier. The king pulls them out in disbelief, promotes them, and then makes a decree to
kill anyone who speaks against the God of the Jewish people. Daniel leads the Jewish people by
his example and helps pave a way for the Jewish people to openly worship the Lord.
Joshua is another example of a leader who does not let fear dictate how he leads the
people of God. He has been given the very important task of leading the Israelites into the
Promised Land, but before they make it there, they have several obstacles in their way. One of
those obstacles was Jericho, a mighty fortress which God promised to deliver into the hands of
the Israelites. But rather than attacking with military forces, the Lord wanted Joshua to march
around the wall and play trumpets. Rather than operating in fear, Joshua trusted in the Lord
and did as He commanded. And as a result, the walls of Jericho fell on the seventh day of
marching and they were able to capture the city.
This theme of leading in the face of fear is important and shows up throughout the Old
Testament, but it applies today more than ever. The people of God are in the minority and
standing up for your faith in God is far more important than gaining the world’s version of
acceptance. By reading the Old Testament, we understand how important it is to the Lord to
have a people that trust Him with every fiber of their being, even in the face of death.
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Wisdom in leadership
Solomon, son of David, is the most profound example of a leader who utilized wisdom in
ruling over the people of God. When approached by the Lord to receive anything at all that he
asked, Solomon simply asked for wisdom to rule the people and as a result he was the wisest
man on earth. Proverbs, an entire book of the Bible, is full of Solomon’s wisdom in how to be a
successful, godly leader. Ekaterina Kozlova wrote about the anatomy of Solomon’s wise
leadership in which she said that Solomon has a “hearing heart.”2 This means that Solomon did
not feel the need to constantly use his eloquent speech to lead the people, but rather the power of
listening to his people in order to make wise decisions. Leaders in this current day and age
could use more of this listening style of leadership whether that be government leadership or
church leadership. Daniel Estes says, “The good leader values truth, even if it hurts, because he
knows that falsehood inevitably harms. He takes care to surround himself with those who speak
truthfully.”3
We see a different kind of wisdom in the leader of Nehemiah. His wisdom and
administrative skills combined allowed him to use half of the people to rebuild the wall of
Jerusalem while the other half kept watch for those attempting to attack their work on
Jerusalem’s wall. His wisdom allowed people to respect and confide in him as a prominent
leader. His commitment to the very best for the people of God reinvigorated the Jews about the
future the Lord had in store for them.
Humility of a godly leader
22 Kozlova, Ekaterina. “King Solomon and the ‘Anatomy’ of Wisdom.” Journal for the Study of the Old
Testament, vol. 46, no. 2, Dec. 2021, pp. 249–68. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1177/03090892211012439.
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Estes, Daniel J. “Proverbial Lessons: Leadership in the Proverbs,” in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the
Everyday Leader, Biblical Theology for the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2017), 165.
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The story of Moses is full of humility. He seems to be one of the least capable humans to
lead the people of God, and yet the Lord sends him to free the Israelites from the captivity of the
Egyptians. Even though he does not see himself as fit to fulfill this role, he humbly sets aside his
desires and listens to the voice of God. Benjamin and Jennifer Noonan speak of Moses’ humility
saying, “…a good leader is humble and does not overreach or take the role of God; rather,
leaders accept the support that God sends, and serve out of a strong sense of calling and gifting
while allowing and encouraging others to also exercise their God-given gifts.”4
Esther is a story of great humility and bravery as she lays down her role as queen to help
save the people of God even though it could have meant her death. Haman, the king’s official,
convinced the king to allow him to execute all the Jewish people for not observing the laws of
the king. Esther’s response is to set aside her position as queen and approach the king to stand in
for the people of God. Esther 4:15-16 says, “Esther replied to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews
that are found in Susa and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, both night and day. I
and my young girls will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king, which is not according to
the law; if I perish, I perish.” Her humility to lay down her title of queen in order to save the
Jewish people demonstrates powerful leadership.
Modern day leaders, especially in the church, require humility in order to be successful
in carrying out the commands of God. They must lay aside their title and be willing to listen to
those the Lord has placed around them in order to lead gracefully. Leaders who lack humility are
easy to spot and hard to respect because they come across as having God complexes and having
all of the answers. It is easy to fall into this trap as being in an ordained position to lead the
44 Noonan, Jennifer E. and Noonan Benjamin J., “Jethro, Moses, and Humility: Leadership in the Pentateuch,” in
Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, Biblical Theology for the Church (Grand Rapids, MI:
Kregel Publications, 2017), 75.
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people in the ways of the Lord. But it is necessary for church leaders to continually check their
level of humility with the people God has placed around them for support.
Conclusion
The New Testament is often used by Christians for the use of application where the Old
Testament is seen more as history and less application. When looking at leadership, there are
numerous examples of godly leaders and believers can learn a lot from their style of leadership.
This essay examined leadership in the face of fear, leadership with wisdom, and leadership with
humility. These themes do not simply show up once, but several times throughout the Old
Testament. Modern day leaders should make it a point to view these leaders and their
leadership styles because they were ordained by God to lead His people. Clearly, they had
certain qualities needed in order to be sufficient leaders.
Bibliography
1. Pettus, David, “A Concept Study: Leadership in Old Testament Hebrew,” in Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, Biblical Theology for the Church
(Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2017), 30.
2. Kozlova, Ekaterina. “King Solomon and the ‘Anatomy’ of Wisdom.” Journal for the Study of
the Old Testament, vol. 46, no. 2, Dec. 2021, pp. 249–68.
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3. Estes, Daniel J. “Proverbial Lessons: Leadership in the Proverbs,” in Biblical Leadership:
Theology for the Everyday Leader, Biblical Theology for the Church (Grand Rapids,
MI: Kregel Publications, 2017), 165.
4. Noonan, Jennifer E. and Noonan Benjamin J., “Jethro, Moses, and Humility: Leadership in
the Pentateuch,” in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, Biblical
Theology for the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2017), 75.
