Who Will Be Your Leader?

How does a nation decline? Look at Israel. We come to the final chapter of the second book of Chronicles having examined from 1 Samuel to now that people very rarely got it right when it came to picking leaders. It started with Saul, then David was God’s choice, and after him a series of good, not so good and evil kings (not necessarily in that order) reigned over Israel and Judah. But if we look closely at the final days of the southern kingdom, we see a wide-angle lens view of what went wrong. 

2 Chronicles 36:1 (ESV) The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem.

Notice who put Jehoahaz on the throne? The people. This is how Israel got into this mess. They asked for a king and God gave them one who enslaved their sons and taxed them. Reprieve and greatness came when David was selected to replace Saul. Then there was the pinnacle of the kingdom under Solomon followed by Rehoboam and the secession of the northern tribes. But the over arching theme moves from God’s choice of king to the people’s choice followed by one final level - the enemy’s choice. Consider what happens shortly after the people make Jehoahaz king.

2 Chronicles 36:3-4 (ESV) Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. [4] And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.

The nation of Judah is a picture for us of national and/or personal decline. Whoever leads you is going to affect you. And Judah has forsaken the Lord’s leading by repeatedly rejecting the Godly reforms of God’s chosen kings. They often replaced them with kings of their own choosing (not a great idea). Their preference typically led them further into decline. And the last stage is evident here. The enemies of Israel do the choosing for them. This is the beginning of the end: When God’s chosen people let the enemy choose who will be the influence over their lives. 

This begs the question for us as a nation. Are we getting it right in our choice of leaders? How can anyone say yes? America swings from left to right in their leadership and corruption continues to grow. It may just be a matter of time before this nation no longer really picks its own leaders, but rather, our enemies do.

Personally, we can address this topic as well. Who is leading you? Are you letting God and His Word be the influence? Or have you decided you know better and want leadership from someone you already agree with? I think Judah provides proof that though picking your own leadership seems right, it may end you up enslaved to an enemy who wants to steal kill and destroy you. 

Now God sought to turn them back:

2 Chronicles 36:15-16 (ESV) The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. [16] But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

They keep rejecting God and His ways, ignoring His messengers and despising repentance. It gets so bad the scripture has to admit, there was no cure. 

The final kings of Judah in 2 Chronicles 36 go from bad to worse as Babylon encroaches on their freedom and autonomy. And it all started when Israel rejected God’s leadership and influence and began to seek a leader of their own liking. May we learn this lesson in our lives and nation. May we seek god for the leader He gives. May we repent and turn to the author of our lives. He knows us and loves us. He will never lead us astray.