Leadership Morality & Slaves:

Leadership Morality & Slaves:

There was a popular post floating around Facebook for a while. It read something like, "If your holy book tells you how to treat your slaves, your holy book is disqualified as a source for a moral code."

I would agree. The Bible is neither "a source for moral code," nor does it tell us how to treat slaves. Instead it tells us we are slaves. We can either choose to be slaves to sin or slaves to the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. There is not a third option.

The book of Nehemiah was originally a single unified book along with Ezra. The setting of the book is approximately 50 years post-Babylonian exile (c.538 BC). As Ezra opens, King Cyrus of Persia is compelled by God (Ez 1:1-2) to rebuild Jerusalem’s temple and invite Jews to return under Zerubbabel. Ezra 7-10 details a second group of Jews returning to Jerusalem (c.458 BC) to rebuild God’s community under Ezra’s leadership. Lastly, in Nehemiah we read of a third group returning to Jerusalem (c.445 BC) under Nehemiah’s leadership to rebuild its walls.

In Ezra-Nehemiah you’ll find a common theme throughout: 1) A foreign king (Cyrus, Darius, Artaxerxes,) 2) issuing a decree/order to assist in the rebuilding of Jerusalem (temple, community, and walls), 3) a Jewish leader stepping up (Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah), 4) some form of opposition (disunity, blended marriages, foreigners) resulting from 5) misguided leadership repeatedly excluding people from participation (non-exiles, blended marriages, and non-Jews) in God’s community (all of humanity), and finally 6) an anti-climax (lame temple, broken community, and legalism) centered around a ranting leader who has come unglued and unhinged.

The book of Nehemiah opens with a group of men returning from Jerusalem with a dismal report: “The remnant that returned from captivity is there in the province enduring great affliction and reproach. Also, the wall of Jerusalem remains broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

Nehemiah was literally devastated. Scripture tells us that it caused him to sit and weep for days. During that time Nehemiah rightly recalled God’s blessing and curses from the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy:

I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. I myself will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled. I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. -Leviticus 26:31-33

Then we read that Nehemiah fasted and prayed a selfless prayer (1:1-11) to the “God of heaven;” a prayer that seems perfectly aligned with God’s heart, character, promises, and plan for the restoration, reconciliation, and redemption of both humanity and the nation of Israel. But in reality Nehemiah’s understanding, prayer, and leadership ultimately falls short.

The point is that a partial understanding (which is really a misunderstanding) of God’s promise, plan, and mission is not constructive, but rather destructive. Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah all failed as leaders because of an incomplete understanding of God’s promise, plan, and mission. There is a profound difference between a leader and a servant.

In Mark 10:45 Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." We don’t serve and give our lives as a ransom - Jesus already did that perfectly. We serve, give, and lay down our lives for God and neighbor because that’s the epitome of faith in Christ. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.”

If you’ll recall, Moses was denied access into the Promised Land (Canaan) because of his fit of rage (Num 20:10-11) directed toward the Israelites: “‘Listen, you rebels, must we (Moses and Aaron) bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff.” Moses fell into the dead end trap of leadership. Leadership leads to forgetfulness (or our origins as depraved sinners redeemed exclusively by God’s grace) and misguided frustration (“Why don’t these rebellious idiots act more like me!”).

At the close of Nehemiah, Nehemiah reveals his misguided approach as a leader (rather than a humble servant) and his misunderstanding of God’s heart when he physically and verbally abuses the Jews for working on the sabbath, setting up shops, and for intermarrying with foreigners. In 13:25 we read, “So I (Nehemiah) confronted them and cursed them. Some of the men I beat. Others, I ripped out their hair.” Then Nehemiah speaks of King Solomon to God in saying, “Nevertheless, foreign women caused even him to sin.”

The “problem” was never foreigners. The problem was, and continues to be, the hardened hearts and stiff necks of humanity - born into sin, separated from God by rebellion, and hopelessly lost without Him.

God’s command not to intermarry with foreigners was not a permanent command. The book of Ruth confirms it. It was issued to the Israelites during a specific time (their conquest of Canaan) in order to reveal a specific problem (the infiltration, assimilation, and perversion of worship to the one true God - Yahweh Elohim) because of Israel’s immaturity and proclivity for idolatry (remember the Golden Calf in Exodus 32?).

It was intended to reveal Israel’s role as a kingdom of ambassadors of God and His grace. It was to reveal their uniqueness, distinction, separateness, i.e. “holiness,” as a beacon of life and redemption in an utterly depraved world of oppression and hopelessness. It was never intended to prevent or EXCLUDE foreigners from reconciliation with God.

Today we see misguided church leaders across the globe. Some are blatant thieves raping the lost and broken-hearted - luring them into financial “indulgences,” lining their pockets in exchange for lies. Others are bitter and angry legalists causing divisions and splits in their churches over trivial things (music style, the great “grape juice controversy,” etc.) compared to the grand scheme of God’s plan, providence, and mission - “through you all the families, tribes, clans of the world will be blessed” (Gen 12:3). Heresy and division always stem from majoring on the minors and minoring on the majors.

Leaders are readily led astray by their own plans, visions, and philosophies. Contrastingly, servants of the gospel of Jesus Christ are unwavering and steadfast.

In the book of Romans the apostle Paul uses the word δούλους (slave) about ten times. Nearly all of those occur in chapter 6, where Paul reveals that, in Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin, but are now slaves (δούλους) to God, and His righteousness.

Paul wrote about this in a letter to his friend Titus In Titus chapter 2 we read, “You (Titus), however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine… Teach slaves (δούλους) to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not pilfering, but with all fidelity, adorn the teaching of God our Savior in all things.”

As slaves (δούλους) to Christ, the only leader you should be following is Christ. He is our Anchor and Great High Priest (Hebrews). The ultimate authority you should submit to is the authority of God as revealed in and throughout Scripture - not the “cut and paste” theology of human leaders, which serves human agendas.

Undoubtedly “Christ Himself gave us apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors-teachers” (Eph 4:11), but these, like Christ, are given as slaves/servants (δούλους) “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph 4:12).

The chief servants of the church are not leaders - they are akin to spigots through which Christ's life-giving water flows; or skylights through which the love and grace of Christ shine through.

Where Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah failed is where many church leaders fail today. Church leaders operate with a hybridized, syncretic, intermingled blend of personal goals and biblical principles. This ultimately reveals, like Nehemiah, a greater desire for personal recognition for the things we’ve accomplished (see Neh 13:31) rather than submission and obedience to - and thankfulness for - our unmerited invitation and privileged participation ushering in Christ’s Kingdom.

Here is Jesus’ barometer for church leadership: “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (διάκονος), and whoever wants to be first must be your slave (δούλους)--”

Is that what your church looks like? Or does it look more like a the pristine, disconnected, elitist structure of a Fortune 500 company? Executive restrooms, reserved parking spaces, personal body guards...

God’s plan has been the same from before Genesis, i.e. “The Beginning.” Revelation 13:8 tells us the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the cosmos. The promise in Eden has been fulfilled in Christ. His invitation to participate in His blessing to all the families, clans, and tribes to the ends of the earth comes through regular folks, like you and me, graciously blessed with the gift of faith and subsequently serving as slaves (δούλους) to Christ’s gospel.

Leader or Servant? One always leads to a tragic anti-climax of disappointment and failure, the other always serves to reveal God’s glory.

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisicple.com

PS Thank you for liking, sharing, and reposting! :)