Zedekiah and Jeremiah; The Leadership Lessons (I)

My curiosity on why some nations are light years ahead of others or why some organisations succeed and others don’t, has deepened my enthusiasm and interest in leadership. The reason is in the words of John Maxwell, “everything rises and falls on leadership”.

The difference between a successful country, business or organisation and a failed or failing one is most times not the availability of good resources but the availability of good leadership. Take a look at Nigeria.

The interaction between King Zedekiah of Judah and Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 38 is quite profound for my leadership and life journey that I couldn’t help but make a note when I came across the passage.

The background picture of this chapter is that Jeremiah preached the sort of message Jesus Christ preached in his days (Matthew 16:25, Luke 17:33, Mark 8:35) that “whoever will save his life shall lose it and whoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it”.

Jeremiah preached at a time Judah was under siege of the Chaldeans. He said if the people would go out to surrender to the Chaldeans, they would live. But if they would remain in the city, they would “die by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence“.

This message was viewed by some highly placed people in government as counterproductive and demoralising to the people at the forefront of the war. They set out to exert their influence. These men of influence approached the King and demanded that the prophet is put to death for “ruining the resolve of the soldiers“. In the Nigerian context, we’d refer to them as “cabals“.

The following ensued after the demand. They are instructive as leadership lessons.

• The leader’s powerlessness

Verse 5

“King Zedekiah caved in: “If you say so. Go ahead, handle it your way. You’re too much for me.” (TMB)

This was the response of the King to their demand. However, Jeremiah was not killed. He was rather thrown into a muddy cistern. The king’s response showed the powerlessness of the King. The King had little or no control over his territory. This is bad for leadership. It reminds me of Yar’adua’s tenure as President of Nigeria, most especially when he was sick and rumours were rife that the First Lady was the one running the show in the company of a few other people.

King Zedekiah was reigning but the men of influence were ruling. In as much as leaders can and should listen to their people, they should be wary of the leadership being hijacked. Such leaders will be mere puppets.

In fact, Jeremiah 37:1 says:“King Zedekiah son of Josiah, a puppet king set on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the land of Judah, was now king in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim.”

This description settles everything. As a leader, listen to your people but never lose your control.

• The leader’s indecisiveness

Verses 7-10

In these verses, an Ethiopian and a eunuch, Ebed-melech, approached the King and convinced him that if Jeremiah is not released, he would die of hunger. The King told him to get a few men with him and get the prophet out of the dungeon.

In as much as this is a good move by the King to defy the men of influence and retrace his steps, I noticed another leadership defect in the King. King Zedekiah was prone to being moved by every convincing and argument. This is a personal challenge for many leaders.

A leader who is easily swayed by every opinion and argument will always find himself in bed with indecision!

A leader who is easily swayed by every opinion and argument will always find himself in bed with indecision. Decisiveness is a needed trait for every leader. One of the core responsibilities of leaders is decision making. A leader who fails at it or always finds it a herculean task betrays his calling.

There are three (3) more lessons in this series. Kindly click the “follow” button to be notified as soon as they are published.

Sunday Fadipe