What does it take to be a good king? More personally, what does God think of your leadership?
There is a steady rhythm throughout the history of Israel’s and Judah’s kings in 1-2 Kings and1-2 Chronicles. The authors repeatedly summarize each reign with a simple, searching evaluation: the king either “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” or “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
For instance, “And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because Jehoida the priest instructed him” (2 Ki. 12:2). Or, “And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin” (2 Ki. 15:28).
How can a season of leadership be so simply reduced to a single sentence? Scripture does it again and again. The ultimate measure of a leader is not popularity, innovation, intelligence, or visible success. It is this: did he do what was right in the eyes of the Lord? Leadership is assessed vertically before it is ever assessed horizontally. As Proverbs 21:2 reminds us, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
42 kings reigned over Israel and Judah (3 before the kingdom was divided, 20 in the southern kingdom, and 19 in the northern kingdom). Of those, only 11 did what was “right in the eyes of the Lord.” Even more striking, a scant 6 (14%) remained faithful to the Lord until their death (see a helpful chart here). That ought to make any leader pause. Finishing faithfully is rare.
What distinguished those who endured in faithfulness? A significant clue appears in how each king responded to false worship. Many kings who “did what was right” still tolerated the high places. For example: “Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places” (2 Ki. 12:3). The “high places” were unauthorized worship sites - altars constructed by the Israelites to worship foreign gods such as Asherah and Baal. Israel’s perennial sin was worshiping Yahweh alongside other gods. But the Lord had made His command unmistakably clear, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). “You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim” (Ex. 34:13). Josiah, a king who finished well, confronted false worship directly by removing the high places and then purging the land of idolatry (2 Kings 23:4–20). God does not accept divided worship. He is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14).
You might wonder why a king would hesitate to remove false places of worship. Put yourself in his sandals. Tearing down high places meant disrupting cultural norms, challenging family traditions, and risking public backlash. If you were inclined toward people-pleasing, you would avoid touching those altars. You might say to yourself, “I’ll do what’s right before the Lord, but it’s not my responsibility to make them do what’s right.” If you were pragmatic, you might reason, “There are more pressing political and economic issues to address.” But God does not measure leadership by popularity or pragmatism. He measures it by faithfulness.
Gideon’s calling gives us a vivid picture of the cost. The Lord’s first command to him was not to fight Midian, but to purify worship, “Pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of the stronghold here” (Jdgs. 6:25-26). The people were immediately furious and hostile toward Gideon, “When the men of town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down…” (Jdgs. 6:28). “Then the men of the town said to Joash, ‘Bring out your son, that he might die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it” (Jdgs. 6:30).
Tearing down altars was not the pathway to popularity. It still isn’t.
There are many wicked leaders in this world who do what is right “in their own eyes.” There are fewer who do “what is right in the eyes of the Lord.” And there are very few who both pursue obedience (do what is right in the eyes of the Lord) and tear down false worship.
As a pastor, I feel this tension regularly. It’s not particularly difficult to preach a text that calls people to God while leaving their idols untouched. It’s far easier to condemn the false worship out there than to confront the altars in our own congregation or our own hearts.
It begins with my own heart. What altars am I constructing: approval, comfort, reputation, or success? Like Gideon, I must tear those down first. But I cannot stop there. Love compels confrontation. If I truly love God’s people, I cannot leave them enslaved to false worship. Faithful leadership means bringing the axe to cherished idols.
And that is costly.
There is sometimes a pit in my stomach as I prepare to preach a hard word because I fear it will result in pushback. Some may leave for places where their altars remain undisturbed. But my goal ought not be to be admired or even liked. My goal ought to be that I am found faithful (1 Cor. 4:2).
May our leadership be measured by this: that we did “what was right in the eyes of the Lord” not only in how we lead, but how we lead others. May we build up true worship and tear down false worship. I pray that we would be faithful to the end. And on that final day, may our Master look upon us beaming with joy and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21).
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Photo by Emmanuel Acua on Unsplash