Day 35: Seven Characteristics of a Good Leader (Psalm 18:25-36, Matthew 23:1-39, Job 33:1-34:37)

Psalm 18:25-36

²⁵ To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
   to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
²⁶ to the pure you show yourself pure,
   but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
²⁷ You save the humble
   but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
²⁸ You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
   my God turns my darkness into light.
²⁹ With your help I can advance against a troop;
   with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect:
   The Lord’s word is flawless;
   he shields all who take refuge in him.
³¹ For who is God besides the Lord?
   And who is the Rock except our God?
³² It is God who arms me with strength
   and keeps my way secure.
³³ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
   he causes me to stand on the heights.
³⁴ He trains my hands for battle;
   my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵ You make your saving help my shield,
   and your right hand sustains me;
   your help has made me great.
³⁶ You provide a broad path for my feet,
   so that my ankles do not give way.

Psalm Commentary

Confidence

David was a leader who had confidence. However, it was not self-confidence but confidence in God: ‘With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall’ (v.29). David recognised that he needed God for:

1. Protection

‘He is a shield for all who take refuge in him’ (v.30b). ‘You protect me with salvation-armour’ (v.35, MSG).

2. Strength

‘It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights’ (vv.32–33).

3. Training

‘He trains my hands for battle’ (v.34a). It was as I was reading this verse back in 1992, that I realised the need to train our small group hosts and helpers before each Alpha began.

4. Guidance

‘You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light’ (v.28). ‘As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is flawless’ (v.30).

Prayer

Lord, I need your help. I pray for your protection, strength and guidance. Lead me in your perfect way.

Matthew 23:1-39

A Warning Against Hypocrisy

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶ they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. ^[14]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁴ Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. ³⁵ And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

New Testament Commentary

Character

Jesus attacks the religious leaders of his day with strong language: ‘You snakes! You brood of vipers!’ (v.33). This language would have come as a complete shock. They were highly regarded, respectable people.

The scribes were lawyers. They preserved and interpreted the law. They were authorised to act as judges. They had been ordained after a course of study. They were experts in the Scriptures. They were teachers who gathered pupils around them.

The Pharisees were laypeople. They tended to come from the middle classes (unlike the Sadducees who were more aristocratic). They were much respected for their piety. They prayed and fasted often. They attended the services. They gave regularly. They led ‘upright, moral lives’. They had a big influence in society. They were much admired by ordinary people.

Yet, Jesus criticises them for being hypocrites: ‘They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behaviour. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer’ (v.3, MSG).

Jesus’ ‘Seven Woes’ challenge me to aspire to seven characteristics of a good leader:

1. Integrity

Jesus attacks the hypocrisy of the religious leaders (vv.3–4). He says, ‘They do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them’ (vv.3b–4). Integrity is the opposite of this, it means practising what you preach and making sure that your words lift people up, rather than weighing them down with guilt or other burdens.

2. Authenticity

Jesus attacks their superficiality (vv.5–7). He says to them, ‘Everything they do is done for others to see’ (v.5a). But what matters is who you are when nobody is looking. Jesus speaks about your ‘secret’ life with God. Seek to develop an authentic private life with God.

3. Humility

Jesus warns against loving titles and recognition (vv.8–11). Be on your guard so that you are not enticed by ‘prominent positions’, ‘public flattery’, and being given titles of one sort or another (vv.6–7, MSG). Jesus warns, ‘Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that’ (v.8, MSG). This is such a temptation but Jesus says, ‘For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted’ (v.12). Always seek to exalt Jesus, rather than yourself.

4. Compassion

Jesus attacks the religious leaders for putting stumbling blocks in the way of others (vv.13–15). He says, ‘You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to’ (v.13). Leaders need to have the opposite spirit – one that is open and welcoming to everyone.

Jesus himself sets an example of compassion. He says, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings’ (v.37).

5. Vision

Leaders should have big vision. Jesus attacks the small-mindedness and pettiness of the religious leaders (vv.16–22). The ‘ridiculous hairsplitting!’ (v.19, MSG). They could not see the wood for the trees. Concentrate on the important issues, pray for God’s vision, and don’t be sidetracked. Ask God to give you a vision that is so big that without him it is impossible.

6. Focus

Focus on what really matters (vv.23–24). Avoid getting caught up with minor details and becoming legalistic. Jesus says, ‘You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel’ (v.24). Rather focus on, ‘The more important matters… justice, mercy and faithfulness’ (v.23). Fight against racism and every other kind of injustice, champion the poor, and demonstrate ‘faithfulness’ in your relationships with your family and others.

7. Generosity

This is the opposite of the greed and self-indulgence, which Jesus decries (vv.25–28). Their inner life is so different from the outer life. Jesus calls you to be yourself – for the inside to be like the outside (vv.27–28).

These are extremely high standards and very hard to attain. Jesus’ words here, as the ‘woes’ come to a climax (vv.29–36), are some of the strongest to come from his mouth. It is important to note that they were not addressed to ordinary people. Jesus was criticising powerful leaders who were seeking to ‘exalt themselves’ (v.12), and who ‘shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces’ (v.13).

Don’t use the words of Jesus as an excuse to berate ordinary people, or even leaders who are genuinely seeking to point people to Jesus. I need to direct them at myself. These are challenging words – but the challenge should not be directed at the wrong people!

What is so amazing about Jesus’ words is that humanly speaking he was in a position of great weakness, and yet he was not afraid to take on the powers of his day.

Prayer

Lord, forgive me for the times when I have failed in these areas. Help me to lead a life of integrity, authenticity, humility, compassion, vision, focus and generosity. Help me to have the same concern for my city as Jesus had for his.

Job 33:1-34:37

33 “But now, Job, listen to my words;
   pay attention to everything I say.
² I am about to open my mouth;
   my words are on the tip of my tongue.
³ My words come from an upright heart;
   my lips sincerely speak what I know.
⁴ The Spirit of God has made me;
   the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
⁵ Answer me then, if you can;
   stand up and argue your case before me.
⁶ I am the same as you in God’s sight;
   I too am a piece of clay.
⁷ No fear of me should alarm you,
   nor should my hand be heavy on you.

⁸ “But you have said in my hearing—
   I heard the very words—
⁹ ‘I am pure, I have done no wrong;
   I am clean and free from sin.
¹⁰ Yet God has found fault with me;
   he considers me his enemy.
¹¹ He fastens my feet in shackles;
   he keeps close watch on all my paths.’

¹² “But I tell you, in this you are not right,
   for God is greater than any mortal.
¹³ Why do you complain to him
   that he responds to no one’s words?
¹⁴ For God does speak —now one way, now another —
   though no one perceives it.
¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night,
   when deep sleep falls on people
   as they slumber in their beds,
¹⁶ he may speak in their ears
   and terrify them with warnings,
¹⁷ to turn them from wrongdoing
   and keep them from pride,
¹⁸ to preserve them from the pit,
   their lives from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹ “Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain
   with constant distress in their bones,
²⁰ so that their body finds food repulsive
   and their soul loathes the choicest meal.
²¹ Their flesh wastes away to nothing,
   and their bones, once hidden, now stick out.
²² They draw near to the pit,
   and their life to the messengers of death.
²³ Yet if there is an angel at their side,
   a messenger, one out of a thousand,
   sent to tell them how to be upright,
²⁴ and he is gracious to that person and says to God,
   ‘Spare them from going down to the pit;
   I have found a ransom for them —
²⁵ let their flesh be renewed like a child’s;
   let them be restored as in the days of their youth’ —
²⁶ then that person can pray to God and find favour with him,
   they will see God’s face and shout for joy;
   he will restore them to full well-being.
²⁷ And they will go to others and say,
   ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right,
   but I did not get what I deserved.
²⁸ God has delivered me from going down to the pit,
   and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’

²⁹ “God does all these things to a person —
   twice, even three times —
³⁰ to turn them back from the pit,
   that the light of life may shine on them.

³¹ “Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;
   be silent, and I will speak.
³² If you have anything to say, answer me;
   speak up, for I want to vindicate you.
³³ But if not, then listen to me;
   be silent, and I will teach you wisdom. ”

34 Then Elihu said:

² “Hear my words, you wise men;
   listen to me, you men of learning.
³ For the ear tests words
   as the tongue tastes food.
⁴ Let us discern for ourselves what is right;
   let us learn together what is good.

⁵ “Job says, ‘I am innocent,
   but God denies me justice.
⁶ Although I am right,
   I am considered a liar;
   although I am guiltless,
   his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.’
⁷ Is there anyone like Job,
   who drinks scorn like water?
⁸ He keeps company with evildoers;
   he associates with the wicked.
⁹ For he says, ‘There is no profit
   in trying to please God.’

¹⁰ “So listen to me, you men of understanding.
   Far be it from God to do evil,
   from the Almighty to do wrong.
¹¹ He repays everyone for what they have done;
   he brings on them what their conduct deserves.
¹² It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
   that the Almighty would pervert justice.
¹³ Who appointed him over the earth?
   Who put him in charge of the whole world?
¹⁴ If it were his intention
   and he withdrew his spirit and breath,
¹⁵ all humanity would perish together
   and mankind would return to the dust.

¹⁶ “If you have understanding, hear this;
   listen to what I say.
¹⁷ Can someone who hates justice govern?
   Will you condemn the just and mighty One?
¹⁸ Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’
   and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’
¹⁹ who shows no partiality to princes
   and does not favour the rich over the poor,
   for they are all the work of his hands?
²⁰ They die in an instant, in the middle of the night;
   the people are shaken and they pass away;
   the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹ “His eyes are on the ways of mortals;
   he sees their every step.
²² There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness,
   where evildoers can hide.
²³ God has no need to examine people further,
   that they should come before him for judgment.
²⁴ Without inquiry he shatters the mighty
   and sets up others in their place.
²⁵ Because he takes note of their deeds,
   he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.
²⁶ He punishes them for their wickedness
   where everyone can see them,
²⁷ because they turned from following him
   and had no regard for any of his ways.
²⁸ They caused the cry of the poor to come before him,
   so that he heard the cry of the needy.
²⁹ But if he remains silent, who can condemn him?
   If he hides his face, who can see him?
   Yet he is over individual and nation alike,
³⁰ to keep the godless from ruling,
   from laying snares for the people.

³¹ “Suppose someone says to God,
   ‘I am guilty but will offend no more.
³² Teach me what I cannot see;
   if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’
³³ Should God then reward you on your terms,
   when you refuse to repent?
   You must decide, not I;
   so tell me what you know.

³⁴ “Men of understanding declare,
   wise men who hear me say to me,
³⁵ ‘Job speaks without knowledge;
   his words lack insight.’
³⁶ Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost
   for answering like a wicked man!
³⁷ To his sin he adds rebellion;
   scornfully he claps his hands among us
   and multiplies his words against God.”

Old Testament Commentary

Criticism

As Rick Warren has pointed out, ‘Criticism is the cost of influence. As long as you don’t influence anybody, nobody is going to say a peep about you. But the greater your influence... the more critics you are going to have.’

Poor Job, who was in a prominent position of leadership (see chapter 1), has to put up with a constant tirade of abuse from his so-called ‘friends’. Criticism is always hardest when it comes from those who should be our friends. It is sad when unjustified criticism of Christian leaders comes from within the church itself – from the so-called ‘friends’.

It must have been extremely galling for Job to have to listen to Elihu, who was much younger and yet convinced of his own experience, arrogantly saying to Job, ‘I will teach you wisdom’ (33:33) and ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight’ (34:35). And to suggest that, because he disagreed with his critics, ‘To his sin he adds rebellion [against God]’ (v.37).

Elihu, like so many critics, claims to be ‘carefully thought out’ and to ‘have no ulterior motives’ (33:2–3, MSG). He claims that others agree with him: ‘All right-thinking people say – and the wise who have listened to me concur – “Job is an ignoramus. He talks utter nonsense”’ (34:34–35, MSG).

I too can easily fall into the trap of judging God’s people on a superficial basis, just as Elihu does. Beware of the dangers of criticising others.

Although it has been pointed out that no one ever built a monument to a critic, it does not stop us all wanting to be critics. Be very careful of what you say about other people. And if you are on the receiving end of criticism, don’t be surprised.

Prayer

Lord, help me to avoid passing superficial judgments on other people. Give me wisdom and sensitivity towards those who are struggling with life. Help me to fix my eyes on the one true leader, Jesus, to come under his Lordship and follow his example.

Pippa adds

Psalm 18

As I don’t have much physical strength, I love all these verses that say: ‘With my God I can scale a wall’ (Psalm 18:29); ‘It is God who arms me with strength’ (v.32); ‘He enables me to stand on the heights’ (v.33b); ‘He trains my hands for battle’ (v.34); he gives us his saving help which is my ‘shield’ (v.35a); his ‘right hand sustains me’ (v.35b). All these verses in Psalm 18 help me when I am feeling weary and physically not on top of things. These words are really encouraging.

Verse of the Day

Psalm 18:32

‘It is God who arms me with strength’

References