God chooses Leaders
Numbers 27:15-21 Moses spoke to the Lord saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd. So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his outward appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you’ I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
Daniel 2:20-22 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
Daniel 4:17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’
John 19:11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God!
Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
1 Peter 2:13-15, 17 Be subject for the LORD’S sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. . . . Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood, Fear God. Honor the emperor.
It always surprised how often I read the Bible and then come across a verse that I have never read before. Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the Jews being persecuted often throughout time. Because I lived in Germany a number of years, and made several trips to Dachau, located just outside of Munich. In the early 1950’s my father was stationed just a few miles away at an Air Force base in Furstenfeldbruck. Dachau was located less then five miles away, so he visited the site. I am not sure it was truly open to visitors at that time since much of Germany was still rebuilding. But, it was clear to my father that there was no way the nearby residents had not known what was going on there. That bothered me when I learned my husband was going to be stationed there.
But when we moved there, we lived on the economy and not at the military barracks. I spoke some German, and enjoyed meeting the neighbors and interacting with the community. I found most of the residents nice, pleasant, warm, helpful and enjoyed the fact I got to learn more of the culture. I was able to introduce them to our holiday of Thanksgiving. On December 6, shoes were left outside of the home and they were filled with candy and small gifts. The Germans really celebrated the Christmas holidays over a three week period, ending in early January with a blessing of the animals–mostly farm animals, but pets were also blessed. It was a pleasure to be accepted into the community. One of our neighbors ran a Gasthaus and would call me when she needed a waitress for an event–usually a funeral. After the burial, instead of returning to a home, the Germans would together at a Gasthaus for a light meal or bakery offering, with either coffee or a beer.
While walking, I would always greet those out for a stroll–and almost all would respond with a smile and a good day. But folks who were about the same age as my mother–late 60’s early 70’s usually would not. Initially that puzzled me. But after some thinking about it, I realized that these people were the same age as my mother during WWII. My mother was 14-18 during those war years; as we all know full of teen hormones, and my guess many of these folks had lost people close to them–family, siblings, cousins, friends, and held Americans at least partially responsible. Hence, they did not want to be even the least bit courteous. I continued saying greetings–and as they became more comfortable seeing my face in the community, they began to answer.
But I had many questions. What did they think of Hitler–not just those my mother’s age, but those my age. What did they think of the history we had been taught? Were they taught the same? Did they find so many of the Reich’s activities deplorable? How could one justify killing six million people? Did they feel shame their country had and many of the people had committed atrocities? Could they justify any of what happened?
But, recent reading of my Bible showed me that God chooses the leaders. So, that means all sorts of heinous rulers–Nebuchadnezzar, Nero, Herod, Hitler and others. How could that be? I thought these miserable persons were acting of their own free will–the devil’s demons. Through their brute actions they got leadership positions and contributed horrific acts-by their own freewill. But according to the Word of God He chooses the leaders–good or bad. That had my mind thinking of things in a different manner. I must admit, I was all about the Rifleman, the Lone Ranger, Superman and all the other heroes. I was raised with the idea and belief that good always wins and conquers the bad guys. But having the verse permeate my brain. So then I went looking for other verses to verify. And I found them.
I had to work through this; and certainly did not like it. But I also know that things happen to let God work and through it He is glorified. With the world-wise stress and anxiety, unrest and hurtful mandates, it makes me wonder how things can turn around? But God knows far more than I ever will–the front, the back, and exactly what the next steps will be.
There were many heroes in Europe during WWII. And after many deaths–military, innocent persons who had tried to resist the evil, the imprisonment threats, being hunted, having a country invaded after promises to not invade–Netherlands, Holland and so forth. People moved forward to protect the targeted Jews–the ten Boom family, the family that hid Anne Frank’s family, and many others who are lesser known. But people stepped forward to try to do what is right, to protect others. Once the prison camps were freed near the end of the war, and many then were released–emotional and some physical scarring intact–but God could be glorified. The end of the tyranny, the invasions, the hunger of Germans, French and any who were not part of the German military.
Maybe that is why God chooses the leaders. He wants us to be fully aware of how hateful, torturous and diabolical man can be to man–for whatever crazy ideals there might be. Yet there keep being mean, hateful, persons who feel entitled to destroy others. Perhaps God is again trying to impress on our selfish, self-centered, tyrannical persons will be thrown over again–hoping that finally we will learn to be kind, gentle, patient, loving to others–not hurtful. Or maybe, we will soon see Jesus coming again on a cloud, ready to gather us up and bring us to the mansion He is building for us.
Lord, You have blessed me abundantly. I am trusting You as You ask and command. My fear is pushed aside–it does flit across my mind a couple times of day, but because I know Him, I am able to remind myself not to be fearful, anxious and that He is in charge. What a blessing and reassurance that is! I have peace even in this crazy time. Thank You that You chose me, and gave me the Word to help me and ‘mybellaviews.’
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