God's Requirements for Righteous Leadership

Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.

(Exodus 18:19-22)

The context of the above quoted passage is that Moses was trying to govern the children of Israel on his own and was obviously not coping. Jethro, the priest of Midian and Moses' father-in-law, had watched him wear himself out by the way he was governing the nation, so he gave Moses counsel on how he should do it. Obviously, Jethro's counsel was from the Lord, and when Moses implemented his father-in-law's advice, things became much easier. Clearly, this example is given to us in scripture as a model of government structure.

However, the main point I want to highlight from this passage concerns the qualities that God deems necessary for an individual to govern effectively. The qualities listed are: able men who fear God, men of truth, and men who hate covetousness. Clearly, authorities who display these qualities will receive blessing from God, for these are the qualities He has ordained.

The Four Essential Qualities of Godly Leadership

Competency ("Able Men") When God refers to an "able man," He is referring to their competency. In other words, one who is placed in a position of authority must be able to competently perform the tasks required of the position they occupy. A competent governor will more often than not make correct decisions that prove beneficial to the societies they oversee. Too many times, people are placed in governmental positions for which they are completely unqualified, and this invariably leads to disastrous outcomes as a result of uninformed decisions being made by those individuals.

Integrity ("Men of Truth") When God refers to a "man of truth," He is simply referring to the integrity of the individual. In other words, God requires that individuals who hold positions of authority govern honestly and without partiality, upholding the principle of equal treatment for all people and refusing to allow themselves to be pressured into violating those principles. When dishonest people are placed in positions of authority, however, certain parts of society will inevitably benefit at the expense of others, as the dishonest governors begin to display partiality in the decisions they make.

Rejection of Corruption ("Hating Covetousness") When God refers to a man "hating covetousness," He is referring to the individual's rejection of any form of bribery. Wicked rulers, on the other hand, love bribes and are always willing to accommodate the highest bidder.

Fear of God Finally, when God refers to a man who fears Him, He is referring to the man who recognizes that he is ultimately accountable to God for the way in which he governs those whom God has placed under his authority. These men will always seek to govern in a manner that pleases God. Wicked rulers, on the other hand, have no fear of God—He is in none of their thoughts—and their viewpoint is that they will never be held to account for their actions. These men will always seek to govern in a manner that pleases themselves.

"You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

(Deuteronomy 16:18-20)

The above quoted passage once again confirms the qualities that God requires in those who govern. Although in this passage God is speaking about those placed in authority in the nation of Israel, these same qualities are also applicable to the authorities of all nations on earth. God says that those in authority are not to pervert justice by showing partiality or taking bribes.

Sadly, many leaders in the nations of the world display the exact opposite of God's requirements, showing partiality to certain favoured citizens and taking bribes from the same. In His Word, God tells us that if a ruler is dishonest, then all the members of his administration will themselves eventually become morally bankrupt (Proverbs 29:12). We see that nations which appoint to positions of authority people displaying these character flaws will begin to see an erosion of justice in their midst as more and more government officials begin to show partiality and take bribes.

I want you to notice the blessing that God pronounces on the nation that has governors who do not pervert justice by showing partiality and taking bribes: He says that nation will live. The word translated "live" also carries the meaning of living prosperously, so those nations can expect to become prosperous as God blesses them. The scripture goes on to say that they will inherit the land God has given them. This simply means that those nations will see their borders expand to the full extent that God intended for them, and that none will be able to diminish their borders.

Michael E.B. Maher

The Church and the State

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