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Biblical Leadership Themes of OT
Biblical Foundation of Christian Leadership (Liberty
University)
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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
A Report regarding Biblical Leadership Themes of the Old Testament
Submitted to Dr. Daniel Austin,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
LEAD-510
Biblical Foundation of Leadership
by
Leanne Joy Reid
September 13, 2020
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Introduction
Leaders young and old, new to leadership, and those with decades of experience, look for
definable elemental principles to apply for making leading more effective. The Old Testament
gives a realistic idea of essential elements that define an empowered leader. Although these
elements are not simply outlined or charted they are worthy of unearthing in order to understand
the characteristics and themes that are beneficial and detrimental in leadership. There would be
enough principles to create volumes of books, in this paper only three basic themes will be
addressed.
Three essential elements for all leaders in the Old Testament that will impact this
generation of leaders are, all leaders are in the position of authority by God’s divine appointing,
leaders will only be valuable and beneficial if they are servants first, and leader’s individual tasks
are each specific and different.
God’s authority over any leader and leaderships is stated at the beginning of the Old
Testament, “From the beginning, God vested humanity with the authority to rule over
creation.”1 The book of Proverbs teaches God authority.2“By me kings reign and rulers make
laws that are just:” (Prv 8:15 [NIV])2
Leaders are called into their role throughout the Old Testament to be servants, The
Levites were clear examples of servants (Nu 1:50 [NIV]) Forrest points out that Nehemiah does
not take advantage of high position but rathe help God people with it.3
How one leads and how one serves is dependent on the time and place they are in. The
verse in Ester so clearly illustrates this point. (Est 4:13-14[NIV])
1 Forrest, Roden. Bibilical Leadership Theology for the everyday leader. Grand Rapids,MI: Kregel Publications, 2017,30.
2 Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2011). 3.Ibid,281.
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God’s Divine Appointment of Leaders
Understanding the basic elements of strong effective leadership is important both to
ignite new leaders and also to encourage and recharge ongoing or difficult leadership tasks. I
can think of nothing more empowering to myself and to others in our generation than to
understand the principle that God calls and set up all leadership for His purposes. This theme is
stated in chapter one of Forrest’s book,” 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.” 4
The early leader and father, Abraham was chosen by the Lord to lead his descendants in
the way of the Lord. (Gen18:19[NIV]) Josephs’ leadership began with a divine revelation in the
form of a dream and Forrest points out that Godly leadership depends on more than just human
perceptions; it must be informed by a clear sense of knowing God’s will in and for a certain
situation.” 5 God called Moses with a supernatural sign of a burning bush and when Mosses
doubted God assured him that He was I Am and would be with him. (Ex 3[NIV]) Moses is
instructed to appoint Joshua (Num27:12-23 [NIV]). Following Joshua’s time Gideon recruited
for leadership by God; it was not Gideon’s idea to step into leadership. In fact, he rejected
God’s call and required signs and assurance which God did give him to take the leadership role
that God had assigned him.6 As God transitioned leadership from Judges to kings, Samuel is
literally called to God as he was laying down. (1 Sam 3:1-10[NIV]) National repentance is seen
in Nineveh after they are warned by Jonah who so vehemently tried to escape God’s call yet
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submitted to the divine appointment. 7 Forrest describes Nehemiah as a man of responsibility and
that he had been prepared by God to be in a place of responsibility and influence.8 When
Mordecai exhorted to Esther – for such a time as this, it illustrated that God places us in a role
and setting for His purpose and calling. (Est. 4:13-14[NIV])
Leaders will do great thing if they believe there is great purpose. It is empowering for our
current and future leaders to truly understand the role they are called to is by divine appointment.
There is no mistake and no chance to leadership. God appoints and calls each leader to their task.
A leader will lead because of God calling, whether they lead selflessly and to His Glory or
whether they are prideful and to godless glory is another element of leadership.
4 Ibis,30.
5 Ibid,43.
6 Ibid,102.
7 Ibid, 211.
8 Ibid, 267.
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Leaders as Servants First
As God divinely calls individual to be leaders He also call them to accountability. Throughout
the Old Testament there is a theme of God chosen leaders being humble servant themselves and
putting the needs of those they serve ahead of their own needs.
In chapter one Forrest draws our attention to the fact that Jethro told Moses to select men from
the people who fear God (Exod. 18:21). 9 One of the earliest leadership criteria was to select
individuals who served something greater than themselves. Moses later ordained the Levites for
service to the Lord. (Ex 32:29[NIV])
“On the surface, the Levites’ duties may look merely custodial in nature and could imply a
subservient priestly role. Yet, by their encampment around the tabernacle, they guard more than
just the tabernacle. They prevent God’s wrath from falling on the congregation.” 10
The significance of the housekeeping duties protected, blessed the people, and gave the Levites
favor. Joshua demonstrates the servant leader role by first serving under Moses and then
becoming the servant of Yahweh.11 All through the reign of the Judges we see that leaders who
choose pride and selfish goals caused negative consequences and those that were grateful and
committed to God brought blessings.12 King David had his early training as a shepherd boy. The
shepherd in leadership is presented in Psalm 23. Chapter 10 the first line in the Psalm is
highlighted,
Shepherd leaders, of course, do not come on the scene fully formed; every shepherd must at
some point recognize that at first they were followers under the care of a previous shepherd and
mentor.13
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In Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel we see the different between leader who are self-serving and
those who are true servants.
In the world, leaders often reap the rewards of their self-promoting and exploitive styles of
leadership in terms of financial benefits and career advancement, but the Lord reserves the
greatest honor and reward for his faithful Servant and servants. As the exalted king over all,
Yahweh alone is “high and lifted up” (rum/nasa’) (Isa. 6:1; 33:10).14
A self-serving leader tries desperately trying to stand on their own shoulders and failing while a
servant leader finds he or she can mount on the willing shoulders of those they serve.
In current times leaders often are faced with questions of social injustice and disparities. How
will leaders today address these situations? The answer is in servant focused leadership. Servant
leader are leaders that give voice to those who don’t have a voice, who defend, and have
compassion for the disadvantaged. They are not above those they lead rather they serve them
properly and with justice.
Leading with justice also means having the courage to rectify injustice (Isa. 1:16–17; 58:6–7;
cf. Matt. 25:31–46). Finally, leading with justice means doing good, rewarding justice
practiced, and injustice reversed within the group or organization—not withholding good from
those to whom it is due (Prov. 3:27). 15
9 Ibid, 39.
10 Ibid,62.
11 Ibid,86.
12 Ibid,111.
13 Ibid,155.
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14 Ibid,198.
15 Ibid, 225.
Leaders have Specific Tasks
Leaders are presented with different tasks and they accomplish the task in different ways. There
is no one method for all situations. Examples of different and specific tasks that leaders have are
David’s relocation of the ark, Jeremiah’s calling to warn Judah of their sins, and Nehemiah
rebuilding Jerusalem. This is significant to anyone studying leadership because it is clear that
godly leadership cannot be formulaic and that it requires wisdom and discernment.
As leadership task vary from situation to situation the principle of relying on Gods guidance
remains constant.
Leaders must depend on God for wisdom, understanding, power, and courage in difficult
situations. It takes great courage to advance God’s kingdom while serving in a human
kingdom that is opposed to God’s purposes, and great wisdom to know how to excel in
supporting the good in an evil kingdom while not compromising our commitments to God’s
ways.16
The need for discernment in leading various tasks is illustrated through Proverbs in Forrest’s
chapter 11
To get the full picture of wisdom, multiple proverbs must be read together and applied
judiciously, because each individual saying speaks about only part of the story. For this reason,
the sage can exhort both to not answer a fool according to his folly (Prov. 26:4) and to answer
a fool according to his folly (Prov. 26:5), and the wise person will understand which approach
must be taken in the specific case at hand.17
No leader will be able to follow perfectly in the footsteps of another. Each leader is given
specific task for a specific time that requires them to lean on godly discernment and wisdom.
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16 Ibid, 244.
17 Ibid,163.
Conclusion
Foundational principles of leadership help individual become better leaders. As one takes on
Godly leadership one must know that in His divine power only God appoints leaders to lead, in
taking on this awesome appointment a servant’s heart and actions are critical in accomplishing
the specific tasks set before each leader.
As one studies the Old Testament God sovereignty over people and the earth are undeniable.
This can give confidence to a leader that they are in place by God’s perfect will. The
empowerment of knowing a call to leadership is by God must not create pride but rather a
servant attitude that is grateful and humble. In serving others with this attitude a leader will hear
and have understanding from even the weakest. This leader will represent the people with
compassion and in their best interest. Each leader must draw wisdom and discernment from God
as the serve for each leaders’ task and response will be specifically different.
Realization of these three basic principles would create leaders that have a focus on God and
people they serve, and on the specific purpose that they fill. This is a paradigm shift is needed for
leaders to build trust and faith in the communities they serve. This shift would create leaders that
teach relationship with God, build trust for authority, and teach others to rely on God’s wisdom
and power for their given situation. The current climate of our culture would greatly benefit if
leaders would acknowledge God’s call and truly serve people in the specific setting and
circumstances they are put in to.
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Bibliography
Benjamin K Forrest (2018). Biblical Theology for the Church: Biblical Leadership: Theology for
the Everyday Leader.
New International Version, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011.
