A KING TO FOLLOW

"He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

"After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples feet...

"So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

"Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

"For I have given you and example, that ye should do as I have done to you." (John 13:4-15)

"And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be the servant of all." (Mark 10:44)

How easy it would have been for the Saviour to wash his hands of the children of Israel when they rejected Him and asked for a king to rule and preside over them. How easy it would have been to turn his back on them and to walk away, but Jesus who is full of 'grace, equity and truth' (Alma 13:9), did not forsake the children of the covenant and sought to still be their king through the best men He could find, that His watchful eye might be over them 'with a stretched out arm; for his mercy endureth forever' (Psalm 136:12). 

Because they disregarded the power and might of the God who delivered them, and put their trust in the arm of the flesh, Israel faltered and stumbled in its prosperity and spiritual welfare. Worst of all, they lost unity as a nation. Following the death of Solomon, under the leadership of his very unwise son Rehoboam, who sought to increase the burdens of his people rather than decrease the oppression which his extravagant father afflicted Israel with, the house of Israel became divided, never to be the same again. Rehoboam refused to heed the counsel of wise old men who were counselors to his father, 'to serve the people and be their servant, then they will be thy servants for ever' (1 Kings 12:6,7). Rather than serve, he sought to elevate himself even further and because of this 10 tribes of Israel broke their alliance with the House of David and appointed Jeroboam as their king. And thus begins a new nation referred to as the Northern Kingdom consisting of 10 tribes while the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained under the reign of House of David, a house which was preserved by the hand of the Lord to ensure the prophesied lineage of the Messiah.

Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, had been a military leader in the army of Israel under King Solomon. He was made an administrator over all the house of Joseph, that is, over the territorial districts of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, two of the most powerful tribes in Israel. Ahijah, a prophet of that day, revealed to Jeroboam that he would become the ruler of 10 tribes which would be 'rent' from the house of David. He demonstrated this by rending Jeroboam's robe into 12 pieces and giving him 10, saying: "...thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee" (1 Kings 11:31). When this prophecy was made known to Solomon, he sought to kill Jeroboam who fled into Egypt and lived there in exile until Rehoboam ascended the throne and the 10 tribes who were dissatisfied with Rehoboam's 'attitude' brought him back and anointed him king. And thus began a history of darkness for the Northern Kingdom of Israel as Jeroboam established a state religion of idolatrous worship. (1 Kings 12:25-33). I imagine he was a man of great insecurity and floundering faith in God because he feared that he would lose the kingdom to Rehoboam if his subjects traveled to the temple in Jerusalem and decided to defect. Instead of securing his position by endearing the people to him, he used religion as a state engine to serve his political purposes. The question begs to be asked, why would his subjects want to go back to Rehoboam and his oppression which they rejected? You cannot help but wonder if Jeroboam at all possessed a logical mind. To keep the 10 tribes away from Jerusalem, he made 2 calves of gold, installed them in cities of Bethel and Dan and told the people: "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold they gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (1 Kings 12:28). He reasoned 'this is no new religion, but this was the form of worship which our fathers used in the desert, with Aaron himself leading the way' (Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings-Malachi, p. 44). And so the Northern Kingdom (now known as Israel) was led into idolatry by their very first king from which they never repented and which contributed to their downfall. Twenty monarchs ruled the Northern Kingdom from its beginning until its destruction by the Assyrians and all of them were characterized as evil or wicked by scriptural records (Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings-Malachi, p. 33).

Of the twenty rulers who reigned over the Southern Kingdom (now known as Judah) which consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, from the death of Solomon to the fall of Jerusalem and the Jews' captivity and exile at the hands of the Babylonians, twelve are characterized in the scriptural record as evil or wicked. Only four advanced their nation economically and religiously. One of these righteous kings stands as a perfect example of a true leader and a servant of all. His story is one of unparalleled inspiration. This king's name was Jehoshaphat. The scriptures record that he "sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance" (2 Chronicles 17:3-5). Jehoshaphat was presented with a big problem during his reign which he handled with immense wisdom. Instead of pushing his own agenda, the scriptures record that he 'feared and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah' (2 Chronicles 20:3,4). Upon hearing that the armies of Moab and Ammon and the inhabitants of mount Seir were coming against him, Jehoshaphat first declared a fast and then gathered his people and offered an incredible prayer acknowledging before the God of Israel that they knew not what to do 'but our eyes are upon thee' (2 Chronicles 20:12). In other words, 'we cannot solve this problem but we know that you can'. And here is where it starts to get weird and wonderful. In answer to that prayer, the Spirit of the Lord came upon a totally unknown man in the crowd who prophesied that Judah need not fear and that the Lord God of Israel will fight that battle for them, that they should do nothing when they confront the armies and that they should 'fear not, nor be dismayed but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord' (2 Chronicles 20:17).  Instead of questioning the sanity of this man, both Jehoshaphat and the whole congregation of Judah fell on their faces and worshiped and praised God accepting this as an answer to their problem. The following morning they rose early and went into wilderness as if to fight but when they got there, instead of sharpening their swords, the king assembled a choir and instructed them to sing and praise God. At that, the Lord stepped in and 'set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab and mount Seir' (2 Chronicles 20:22). How exactly that happened, the scriptures do not tell, but they do tell us that these armies turned on each other and slaughtered every man there so that there was nobody to engage in battle with Judah. Instead of slaughter, Judah collected the spoils of the attacking armies for 3 days, more than they could carry; riches and precious jewels (2 Chronicles 20:25). It makes you wonder why they would carry their precious jewels with them into battle, but that they did and the Kingdom of Judah was blessed for trusting in the God of Israel to bail them out. On the fourth day they assembled themselves and gave thanks to God and returned to Jerusalem with 'psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord' (2 Chronicles 20:26-28).

The above example of leadership teaches us some important things we can apply in our lives:

1. When called to lead, we should emulate Christ and seek to save souls rather than seek for power and personal gain.
2. At all times we should be striving to bring those in our care to God ensuring that we will not be responsible for leading anyone astray.
3. We should always have 'our eyes upon God' and seek His counsel in all things.
4. Accept an answer to any dilemma we are faced with, no matter how weird it may seem, for God's ways are not our ways. The Spirit will testify to us if that answer is of Him.
5. Act on the instructions the Lord gives us and believe in them, no matter how strange.
6. Always, always be grateful and express that gratitude to God for His guidance.

When Jesus washed the disciples' feet, Peter was horrified and would not allow Him to wash his. The Saviour said to him: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me". Peter, coming to understand, immediately replied: "...Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head" (John 13:8,9). I think what the Saviour was saying to Peter was this: "Peter, if you do not let me serve you, you can't be mine because I was sent for this purpose" and Peter, loving the Lord, replied: "I am yours". I am astounded that a God who created worlds without number could lower himself in such humility to wash the feet of those so much less than Him. Does He not love us with un-surpassing love? He gathers us like a protective father gathers his children, with everlasting mercy, to serve us through His power to save, waiting and always waiting for us to come to Him and be gathered home.