Good Leadership
an expression of God's love
(Read the Substack news after the devotional)
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 10:6-10
When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon she made an insightful comment. After hearing for herself the wisdom of Solomon, and hearing for herself how his kingdom had prospered; Sheba said it was “Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king.”
The Queen saw beyond the normal course of human events. She did not attribute Solomon’s reign to the good luck of the Hebrew people. She recognized that Solomon’s rise to power did not come about as a result of his cunning and smarts. With great insight, she acknowledged that Solomon was appointed to be king by Yahweh.
Of course, that is true of all kings and rulers. No one comes to power without the consent of The King of kings. Sometimes kings and presidents and prime ministers are allowed to reign as a means of judgment on a nation or people. God sets them up as a rod of discipline over a sinning and ungodly people. Their rule is not an expression of God’s love, it is an expression of God’s wrath.
In Solomon’s case, the Queen realized that he was king because God loved Israel.
Good leaders are an expression of God’s love for a people.
I have exciting news to share: You can now read First Light in the new Substack app for iPhone.
With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.
The Substack app is currently available for iOS. If you don’t have an Apple device, you can join the Android waitlist here.