IF THE BLIND LEAD THE BLIND…

DAILY WORD

5/17/23

6. “It was the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron,” Samuel continued. “He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt.

7. Now stand here quietly before the LORD as I remind you of all the great things the LORD has done for you and your ancestors.

1 Samuel 12: 6–7 NLT

Today’s Passage is intentionally brief, touching only on the perimeter of The Chapter’s Subject Matter. I separated these two Verses to highlight The Theme of the entire Story of Samuel. Contained within this one Chapter is the entirety of God’s Message to Israel, and as Samuel delivers it, we’ll see that God doesn’t pull His punches when it comes to admonishing His Chosen people.

At the same time, as is always the case, God, even in His Wrath, displays His Tender Mercy. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we get to the meat of the matter, let’s look at the Duty of a Leader and what we are all called to do if we are Summoned to lead God’s people today.

Samuel has seized the moment of Saul’s triumph to solidify and unite the people under the banner of his authority, but before he can do that, he has something God wants them to hear. Samuel harkens back to his Origin Story to present his Message in the most effective light.

Every Israelite, whether they were Saul’s supporters or not, would have known and valued Samuel’s reputation because the prior Judge and Priest, Eli, had allowed corruption to proliferate under his tenure. Given Eli’s past activities, Samuel’s efforts to reform the Office’s Integrity would have been both well-known and highly appreciated.

It is not easy to find an individual who has God-ordained Power over an entire nation who can keep that Power in check, not allowing their authority to corrupt them. Just look at Samuel’s own words, and you can perceive the dangers inherent to the office. Even though his own sons bent to immorality and dishonesty, Samuel never did.

He resisted theft, greed, fraud, bribery, exploitation, iniquity, and oppression. Looking back through the annals of the Judges, how many of them got it right? Well, there was no doubt in the people’s minds that Samuel was beyond reproach, a standing few could embody. Because of his Integrity, Samuel was the perfect individual to deliver God’s Message to the people, bringing us to Today’s Lesson.

As Leaders, we must remain above reproach to deliver God’s Message effectively. Imagine if Samuel had seen his son’s depravity and ignored it like Eli had. Suppose he’d perceived his Power and taken advantage of it? Do you think he’d have been able to present The Message successfully?

Obviously not! The whole reason for Samuel’s presence was that the last set of Priests couldn’t be trusted. So, God removed them and established Samuel. Then the people rejected God by rejecting Samuel. It was all part of The Plan, but that didn’t mean God was happy about it, and in the coming Verses, we’ll see just how unhappy He really was.

Until then, consider this: How is your witness perceived? Are you an effective deliverer of God’s Message of Love and Salvation, or are your attitude or actions destroying your efficacy?

We cannot receive God’s Call and then disregard our subsequent actions! To be effective and accepted Messengers for God, we must be like Samuel, above reproach, or risk our Message being discounted because of our transgression. The Power God Provides can unquestionably be abused as all Power can. We must remain vigilant and never misuse it or forget that our actions are being watched.

The moment we stray from the Proper Path, you can be assured our witness is damaged. And once that happens, can you be an Effective Leader? Because even if you are still Leading God’s people, you’ll be steering them into the ditch right along with you! To be Successful Leaders, we must be men and women of Integrity, or we’ll all end up defeated!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday, And Remember, If The Blind Lead The Blind, They’ll Both End Up In The Ditch!

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