Word Live: Leaders We Deserve
Think of five qualities you would hope to see in a leader of your community.
Bible passage
Isaiah 1:21–31
21 See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her –
but now murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,
partners with thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
‘Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.
25 I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterwards you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.’
27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent ones with righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those who forsake the Lord will perish.
29 ‘You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,
like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.’
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
A feature of this passage is the way it shifts back and forth between references to the city leaders and to the society as a whole. It is as if the two are intertwined. The leaders came out of the community. The whole group is, in one sense, to be held responsible for the corruption of those in charge (v 23). Perhaps we should consider this reality when we grumble about our politicians! However, at the same time, it does seem that the powerful amongst wrongdoers are to be singled out as especially guilty. This is a theme of Scripture as a whole (eg Proverbs 16:10; James 3:1). A connected biblical truth is that God has a special heart for the poor and needy – and expects leaders to prioritise their care (vs 17,23).
The imagery in this chapter is both rich and frightening. God’s wrath is directed at the essentially moral failings in his city rather than particular policies or details. The Lord’s goal is spelled out in verse 27, and this is as true of our own cities today as it is for ancient Zion. Justice and righteousness are not affected by cultural or political movements. And God’s fire is eternal, whether it is to consume us at a terrible end, or to purge and refine us for a new beginning.
Author
Mike Hawthorne
Respond
Why not claim verse 26 for your own nation today?
Deeper Bible study
‘All my hope on God is founded; / all my trust he shall renew; / he, my guide through changing order, / only good and only true’1
Today’s verses are a microcosm of the whole of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah. They basically say to Israel, ‘You were, you are, you could be!’: you were fairly OK, you are almost universally dreadful, you could be either those who belong to Zion ‘the City of Righteousness’ (v 26) or those who belong to the ‘rebels and sinners’ (v 28), who will be completely burned up. Most of Isaiah’s writing explains what was needed to put them in the first or second category. It is tempting for us, looking back, to concentrate solely on the vision of a wonderful future that God will provide for his people, but we wouldn’t be taking Scripture seriously if we ignored the larger context of the disastrous future that Israel, or at least most of them, were heading for.
Most teachers know how hard it is when speaking to a whole class to make sure the message gets to the right students. If you say, ‘Some of you will fail unless you work much harder’ it is likely that those who are lazy will say, ‘Oh, it doesn’t mean me, it is only “some”’ and those who are really overdoing it will start thinking they have to work even harder. If you say, ‘Some of you are working too hard, you will improve if you ease up and relax’ the reverse happens! Isaiah wants to make sure that those who are continuing to follow God wholeheartedly don’t lose sight of the great hope that does lie ahead, while also ensuring that the majority, who are not, realise the terrible seriousness of their situation. New Testament writers faced the same problem of making sure that believers understood the extent of their freely given future security while also realising that their current attitude and behaviour were extremely significant!
Are you more inclined to doubt your security or to underestimate your responsibility in Christ? Set your hope on God’s grace and ‘be holy in all you do’.2
1 Robert Bridges, 1844–1930 21 Pet 1:13–15
Author
Mary Evans
