II Samuel 23:3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
Like you, I am fascinated by capable leaders, and I am fascinated especially by those who can lead capable people. I think about George Patton. I have a couple of friends, both of whom are in Heaven now, who fought in World War II under General George Patton.
These friends of mine were fighting men, capable men, and dangerous men, yet George Patton led them. It takes a mighty man to rule mighty men. It takes a powerful leader to govern capable people.
II Samuel 23 is the story of David’s mighty men. The tales of heroism here are astounding! They fought against great odds and did amazing things, yet David was the man who commanded them. David was the leader over these leaders. He was the warrior over these warriors. He was the mighty over these mighty men.
At the end of his life, the last recorded words that David spoke were in II Samuel 23:3. He says, “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” A leader should be just toward men and reverent towards God. These two should go together. So, though David was the ruler over these men, he himself was ruled. King David ruled best when he remembered this.
You see, it doesn’t matter how hard you work, how far you go, how much you do, or how strong you are, you will never be at the top of the food chain. We rule best when we realize that we too are under authority. The moment you forget that, you are in trouble. The best example of this kind of just ruler is the Messiah. David says in verse 5, “Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant.” He goes on to say, “This is all my salvation, and all my desire.”
In the following verses we have examples of both David’s success and failure as a leader. Let me start with the failure. His failure is shown in verse 39 where it is briefly mentioned that one of the mighty men of David was Uriah the Hittite. How astounding! These men had risked their lives for David, yet this man lost his life to David. How incredible! What a horrible wrong David had done. Yet this man Uriah is included not just as one of David’s soldiers but as one of his mighty men.
What happened when David had Uriah killed? David had been living in selfishness. He forgot that he himself was ruled. He did not govern himself because he did not remember that God was the king of Israel and he was merely the under regent. David forgot, and sometimes we do the same.
When we forget that we are ourselves under authority, we forget that we are accountable, and that there is a God in Heaven Who will judge us for how we have judged others. That doesn’t mean we don’t take responsibility or lead, but it means we do so with a humble frame of mind. It is not a timid frame of mind, but one that realizes that we too are under authority. Every leader you can think of is under some authority, and quite frankly, is under some kind of human authority. If you cannot point to some human through whom God is exercising leadership in your life, then you are in a very dangerous position.
Now, look at a success of David. There is a brief story retold of when David was in a hold and the Philistines were in Bethlehem. He longed for a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate. Who knows what memories this water conjured up for him. He could see and taste it. He could envision it, and he longed for that water that was guarded by his enemies.
The Bible tells us that when he voiced his longing, maybe even absentmindedly, three of his men launched a covert operation. They went through the lines of the Philistines, drew water from that well, and brought it back to David. The Bible says, “Nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD. And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy for their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.”
So when he sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba, David said, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,” and when these men risked their lives, he poured that water unto the Lord. In both cases he realized there was a higher authority. There is a God in Heaven.
Today, if you are in a position of leadership, remember that you are in a chain of authority. Lead well and follow well because the two are one in the same.