Shepherd and Ruler
After a busy morning of some office work, I had an enjoyable lunch with Jose Valdes in Windsor. He is a community leader and college professor and will be joining us in supporting the efforts of the Larimer Energy Action Project. This evening we are looking forward to a visit from Abe and Debbie Koop, Wycliffe Missionaries and long-time friends.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood. Even when Saul was king, you led us out to battle and brought us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel and be ruler over My people Israel.’” 1 Chronicles 11:1-2 HCSB
As the history Israel is recounted for those returning to the land it begins with the end of the reign of King Saul and the establishments of David’s reign. The summary of Saul’s life is brief, no comments about victories in battles or great building efforts or expansion of his reign; it simply explains, “Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the Lord because he did not keep the Lord’s word. He even consulted a medium for guidance, but he did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.” (1 Chronicles 10:13,14 HCSB)
Above all else the Lord is looking for faithfulness. It is at the heart of God’s character as much as His love. The Bible says of Moses, the great leader, “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house…” (Hebrews 3:5 NIV) Paul says of Jesus, “….He remains faithful;He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13 NIV)
As David was crowned King, his rule was recognized as being ordained by the Lord. David would “shepherd” and “rule” God’s people. Those two duties are important and distinct. You can be a good “shepherd” but a poor “ruler” You can “rule” well, but if you aren’t a “shepherd” of the people you will need to rule with an iron fist and the hearts of the people will not be with you.
The role of the shepherd is to guide, care for and protect. That is something the comes across and is communicated more in “how” you perform your duties than what you do. People will recognize the genuineness of a leaders concern for others. They will be quick to recognize whether a leader is only concerned for himself or if he is concerned for those over which he has been given a trust.
A ruler establishes a structure under which the people live. God desires it to be one of fairness, justice and equity. The ruler governs through laws and edicts and acts as a judge. One of the condemnations of Judah’s Kings was that they were not just, they were open to bribes, they did not look out after the poor and the widow.
David knew what it was like to be a shepherd, but he needed to learn how to rule. He learned a lot about what not to do from King Saul. He realized that at the heart of being a righteous ruler, was being a righteous person. I believe the priorities and the order is of great importance. God can take a faithful person with the right heart and give them the skills of a good ruler. It is much more difficult to take a ruler, who is self-focused and to transform the heart.
For God’s people both functions were important for a righteous King. He had to be ruler with a shepherd’s heart. We see that personified in a son of David, the Messiah, Jesus Christ our King and the shepherd of our souls. Peter wrote, “For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.“ (1 Peter 2:25 NIV)