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Daniel Karczewski Biblical Leadership Themes of
the O.T. Assignment
Biblical Foundation of Christian Leadership (Liberty University)
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Biblical Leadership Themes of the Old Testament Assignment
Daniel Karczewski
LEAD510: Biblical Foundations of
Leadership November 14, 2022
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Contents
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3
Godliness.........................................................................................................................................3
Priesthood…...................................................................................................................................5
Humility…......................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion…..................................................................................................................................7
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Introduction
In leadership, there are a plethora of different ways to lead in this world from a biblical
viewpoint and from a secular viewpoint. In the Old Testament there are three major viewpoints
that help believers to walk with God and lead effectively as holy arbiters of righteousness, truth,
and justice. There is a form of godliness, priesthood, and humility that the Old Testament
leaders, writers, prophets, kings, and mighty men of God utilized and implemented into their
character.
The Old Testament has an infinite amount of knowledge when it comes to these three subjects.
Pastors, preachers, evangelists, and missionaries have attempted to exhaust its resources since
time of their writings, and it seems like it is afresh every time it’s preached. In the kings,
prophets, and regular lay people of the Old Testament it’s clearly seen that godliness, priesthood,
and humility is wrought out of a genuine faith, obedience, and love in Almighty God; for without
these traits, it is impossible to worship the Father and Jesus in the correct sense. Without
godliness the people are godless, without Jesus as the High Priest and every saved believer now
becoming priests in the Kingdom of God, leaders can’t lead effectively, and God resists the
proud so they cannot even have fellowship with God or others if self-righteousness, interests,
and pride get in the way.
Godliness
Within the framework of the Old Testament, we see God’s hand in everything. One of the
major themes of the Old Testament is the concept that Christians and followers of God must be
godly. 2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn
away.1 While this Scripture quote is taken from the New Testament portion of Paul’s writing and
letter to Timothy the principle remains the same for everything in the Old Testament. The Old
Testament starts out with the godless sin of pride from Lucifer and then onto Adam and Eve
1All Scripture references taken from the King James Version
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committing the sin of disobedience, pride, selfishness, and lying directly to God’s face. It isn’t
until Abel comes on the scene that he presents the readers of Scripture with an alternative to sin
and that is obedience to God through his sacrificial giving of that which he could not create by
his own hands but by the blood of the lamb which he gave unto the Lord. Humility, obedience,
trust, and faith all work together to create in someone a godly nature. Genesis 4–11 recounts the
growing cancer of sin. A wrong choice led to the entrance of sin in the life of the first man and
woman (Gen. 3), and sin began to develop, first within the family, and then within all of human
society. And society became so evil that God sent a world encompassing flood to judge
mankind.2 This is the opposite of godliness. God ordained that man should not sin and because
he did he suffers the consequences of a ruined relationship with his Creator, God almighty.
There are all kinds of problems that arise from ungodly living and relationships. Lives are
destroyed, mankind is slaughtered, disease is brought on, pain and suffering ensue because of
sin. The only way to fix all of that is to get right with God. In the Old Testament Noah was a just
and righteous man, being counted faithful towards God for his obedience unto Him. Leadership
is clearly implied in the various aspects of the covenant that Yahweh made with Abraham.3
Abraham followed God even when he didn’t know where God was leading. There is a sense that
godly leadership flows from Abraham because he first followed and listened to God by faith.
Abraham was a godly man and there are seemingly infinite great examples of godliness and this
theme of leadership in the Old Testament.
Priesthood
2Ellis Brotzman, Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, Biblical Theology for the Church, 42.
3Ibid, 42
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There is a special place in the Old Testament for the principle and theme of the
priesthood of God, man, and the believer. God has always been the high priest regardless of man
but in the Old Testament, God, through man, specifically the Levites and Levitical priests
became the conduit through how the Jews could have their sins forgiven and dwell with the
presence of God. As first was covered through Abraham and his godly leadership in the Old
Testament, the very first mention of a priest in the Old Testament is Melchizedek. Whatever the
conceptual antecedents, Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18) seemingly appears out of the biblical blue as
the first actual mention of a priest. Yet, Abram’s lack of surprise over this priestly encounter
signals that he must have previously known Melchizedek or other priests like him. The narrative
indicates that Abram knows how to best interact with priests through such things as bringing a
tithe.4 The priesthood theme found in the Old Testament has several different principles found
within it. First, the priesthood serves a sovereign universal God. Second, the people of Israel
were to be a kingdom of priests. Third, Israel was to be a holy nation. There was then an order of
the priesthood written in Exodus 28 and 29. The very first priest in the nation of Israel was
Aaron, and he was the high priest. There is then a sacrifice the people and the priest must both
make. There were certain qualifications that one had to make before they were made a priest no
different than the qualifications of a pastor in today’s day. Then there was the Levites who were
singled out for service unto the Lord and that would be their portion amongst all the tribes. God
blesses them and affirms them through a series of Scriptures and commands in Numbers.5
Ultimately the theme of priesthood in the Old Testament is clearly seen from Genesis to
Malachi. There are good priests and there are bad priests. Priests were to serve God and bring
unity to the
4Ibid, 56
5Ibid, 64
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people and to God and ultimately proclaim the glory of God. There job was the most serious job
in the Old Testament as they were the direct representative to the people from the Lord.
Humility
All throughout the Old Testament humility, specifically in the form of meekness, is
found as one of the highest and most coveted traits regarded by God but also one of the most
underutilized. Man, in his simplified and finite life and understanding oftentimes neglects this
trait and theme because of pride, selfishness, and a desire for raw power. The kings in the Old
Testament rarely exuded this trait but nonetheless, the theme is found in and out of the Old
Testament. The prophets of the Old Testament surely had humility. Joseph and Daniel were two
men in the Old Testament where nothing negative was said about them in the Bible. With Daniel
being captured at just a young age he found favor in the sight of God because of his humble
spirit. Daniel found power that prevails through humility and was able to serve and lead 3
different kings in Babylon amongst a pagan, wicked nation, and people. Darius, the third king,
confesses that the God of Daniel “performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth” (Dan.
6:27). Here we see that the God of Israel has power over the inanimate world (fire), the animal
world (lions), and the human world (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and wicked royal officials). If
we wish to see raw power, that power belongs to the God of Israel.6 With Daniel being able to
interpret dreams and prophecy the future he received much clout with the kings of the times. He
did not utilize this unforeseen power in him by God with pride but with absolute humility. He
had so much humility that he was able to preach and lead many to the Savior through his ability
to maintain his faith in the trials of life. He lived through a burning fire and a den of lions with
6Ibid, 237
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absolute grace and humility. Humility is a major theme in the Old Testament and those who are
of Christ today should put this great biblical trait for it is so needed today.
Conclusion
The biblical leadership themes in the Old Testament of godliness, priesthood, and
humility are essential to serving and worshipping God. Christians ought to study these traits out
and put on these biblical traits. For in so doing, they will glorify their Father who is in heaven by
choosing ultimate righteousness. Abraham was a godly man, Aaron was a godly priest, and
Daniel was a humble servant of God. All three were used mightily for His sake and His glory.
Leaders should not compromise in order to get ahead in this world’s political, professional, or
religious kingdoms. If they dedicate their lives to God, he has the power to promote and protect
them—in his time, in his way, and for his eternal purposes. 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. If a leader finds himself in a threatening
situation where he might feel powerless, he should not grasp for illegitimate power but continue
in faithfulness to God, whatever the cost. He should trust that, in time, there will be a
resurrection to eternal reward for those leaders who persevere in faithfulness to God. At times, a
leader must confront those with the power, for God must always be honored and glorified. A
leader’s first commitment is to God. Leaders should be students of prophecy. Like Daniel and
Jesus, leaders are interested in the future of men’s kingdoms and of God’s kingdom. According
to biblical prophecy, God’s powerful kingdom prevails. Leaders must so closely identify with
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God’s people that they are willing to confess the sins of their people and to plead the case of the
people according to God’s promises. Leaders take the long view and patiently await the end of
all things for God is the one who will make all things right. They become a model for others of
how to endure everything by hopefully awaiting the consummation of all things.7
7 Ibid, 244-247
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Bibliography
Mark Allen and Dickson Ngama, “Power That Prevails: Leadership in Daniel,” in Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, Biblical Theology for the Church (Grand
Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2017).
