19:24), God chose Deborah to lead. Jephthah, another judge, had been a social outcast, the leader of a gang of outlaws, before God chose him to lead.
And the pattern is found not only in Judges. Throughout the Bible, God used cast-off material. Israel was not chosen because of its great size or sophistication. (In fact, archaeologists report a drop in the culture of a city after the Israelites captured it.) God did not seek the most capable people, nor the most naturally "good." He chose a small, weak slave tribe, unculured, with a short memory for his kindness to them. Time and again the Israelites proved themselves faulty. So did their leaders. With this unlikely material God did great things so the world could see that the glory was his and his alone.
Paul took up this theme when he wrote, over a thousand years later, "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential' not many were of noble birth. But God chose the fooling things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong . . . . Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord' " (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
Life Questions: Do you picture yourself as a leader? Why or why not? What would God have to change to make you a leader? |
