In this post I’ll look at what the bible has to say about fearing God in respect to leaders. As you can probably guess, leaders who fear God tend to fair much better than those who don’t. But I wanted to start out with talking about a group of followers who feared God rather than fearing their leader - who did not.
Exodus 1:15 - 1:22 (ESV)The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
This passage does not say anything about Pharaoh fearing God, but it does talk about those who Pharaoh was commanding. The midwives were given orders by Pharaoh to do things that they knew they should not do, and rather than obey Pharaoh and do what they knew was wrong, they feared God and did what they knew was right instead.
Since they feared God more than they feared Pharaoh, and did not destroy any Israelite families, God blessed them with families of their own.
The Bible tells us to submit to authority, but we have to be mindful of where authority comes from. It comes from the Lord. And we are to obey God before anyone else.
2 Samuel 23:3-4 (ESV) The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’
This passage is from 2 Samuel 23:1-7, which tells David’s last words before he died.
God said to David that one who rules in the fear of God is a blessing to his people, and one who does not is like thorns that are thrown away.
Nations prosper under upright leaders, and they crumble under corruption. Let us pray that our leaders would fear God and follow Him.
2 Chronicles 19:5-7 (ESV) He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
This passage is talking about Jehoshaphat, a God fearing king of Judah. He reformed Israel to stop worshiping other gods and pointed Israel back to God. As part of his reforms, he appointed judges in the fortified cities of Judah, and told them to fear the Lord and be just in their rulings.
It is not just those in the highest places of authority that should fear God, but anyone in any position of authority should be careful to fear God so that they do not become corrupt.
2 Chronicles 19:8-9 (ESV) In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. He gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord.
This passage comes immediately after the last one, but in this passage Jehoshaphat is talking to the priests rather than the judges. He is giving the Levites authority to administer the law, but he commands them to serve in the fear of the Lord.
It’s not just government officials that should lead in the fear of the Lord, but people in any position of authority or responsibility.
Nehemiah 5:15 (ESV) But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.
Nehemiah was overseeing the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem after the exiles returned from Babylon. There was opposition to the work from those living around Jerusalem, but there was also corruption among the Israelites living in Jerusalem because the nobles and officials were making themselves rich by exploiting the poor.
Nehemiah brought justice to the poor by ordering all their lands and possessions to be returned to them, and for the exploitation to stop. Then he pointed out that for 12 years he had not even taken the salary that would normally be afforded to him by the king because he feared God.
He led in the fear of the Lord and that made him give up what he could have normally claimed for himself, and even to sacrifice what he already had in order to provide for others. He was the opposite of corrupt. Rather than using his position to enrich himself, he used his position and authority to protect and enrich his nation, and he said he did it out of reverence for God.
A God fearing leader doesn’t need oversight because he not only does what is right and remains above reproach, but also gives above and beyond what is required of him.
Jeremiah 26:19 (ESV) “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’ “Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!”
Hezekiah was another God fearing king of Judah. This passage tells how he listened to the warning from the prophet Micah, rather than ignoring him or threatening him. Micah warned that Israel would be destroyed, and because Hezekiah feared God, he headed the warning and prayed to God.
God relented in answer to Hezekiah’s prayer, but then came another king who did not fear God, and Jeremiah is pleading with him to follow Hezekiah’s example or be destroyed like the prophecy said. And soon after Babylon invaded and took Israel captive.
God fearing leaders are a blessing to their people, but those who do not fear God are wicked at worst, or foolish at best.
Whatever you do, do it in the fear of the Lord and lead others to do the same.
με αγαπη,
BJ