Isaiah 56:9-57:2 – In need of great leadership

From the prophecy of the Messiah’s mission and the impact in Isaiah 53-54, to a series of invitations to enjoy the effect of His work, Isaiah now turned to a series of warnings for Judah. He began with the leadership in Isaiah 56:9-57:2. Though God is in control, human leadership matters. They are the ones who should guide, guard, and care for the people to ensure their wellbeing. Unfortunately for Judah, she had deficient leaders. Isaiah described them as blind and ignorant. In the impending attack of Judah’s enemies referred to as beasts of the field and forest, the leaders of Judah did not even sound a warning. The leaders of Judah were described as blind watchmen, mute dogs who could not bark, and ignorant, self-serving shepherds with no clue on what to do for the people. Here we see a series of indictments pronounced on them. 

The first indictment was that they were slumbering dreamers. Such leaders had grand ideas that only existed in their dreams. But in terms of doing something to accomplish their dreams, they were passive and nonchalant. The second indictment was that they were self-serving, like a greedy dog that was never satisfied. The third indictment was that they were self-aggrandizing, ignorant shepherds. Their one activity was to grab more and more for themselves. Their routine would be the same every day. These leaders did not warn the people but instead were indulging in their self-aggrandizement. Hence the nation became dull and insensitive to what was happening. Isaiah 57:1 said that the righteous among them were perishing and not even one person was aware of what was happening. The devout were disappearing yet no one took notice. The righteous ones were removed so that they need not succumb to evil. Isaiah 57:2 shows that instead of allowing them to suffer the evil of persecution and violent death, God granted them rest in their death.    

The quality of the human leaders in the church matters. To a large degree, the well-being of her members depends on the quality of the leaders who are assigned to look after their welfare. Here God decries slumbering and self-serving leaders who are not fulfilling their commission. They failed to warn of evil and were ignorant of impending dangers. The pertinent questions to ask if we are a leader are: (1) what sort of a leader am I? (2) Am I a responsible leader? (3) What am I lacking that I need to do so that I can be a more effective leader? Let us raise the standard of our leadership for the sake of God’s people and His kingdom! The Kingdom of God deserves the best leadership we can offer.