Isaiah 22:20, 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:… Governments always drift into the control of the most energetic, or most gifted, man. They go astray unless ruled by some master-spirit. It is said, with as much truth as satire, that "committees are always committees of one." They are the comfortable agencies by means of which some strong-willed man gets his own way. And it may be urged that at least as much good as evil attends the arrangement. Eliakim is raised up as a master-spirit, in a time of national anxiety, and he is to prove a "father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah." There recur times in our national history when public ministrations on such a theme as this may wisely guide public opinion. Such topics as the following are suggested. I. THE GENIUS OF THE PUBLIC LEADER. As much a Divine endowment and trust for the world's use as the gifts of the orator, the artist, or the poet. II. THE EVIL INFLUENCE OF THE UNPRINCIPLED PUBLIC LEADER. In his permission of wrong things. In his securing of right things by wrong methods. In the public example which encourages unprincipled dealings in private life. III. THE POWER OF THE GODLY PRINCIPLED LEADER. He elevates the tone of society. Avoids causes of offence to neighboring nations. Aims at the permanent well-being of the whole people. Puts the moral progress of the nation before its material prosperity. Such leaders were Moses and David. IV. THE DUTY OF THE GIFTED INDIVIDUAL TO TAKE PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY. Illustrate by Cincinnatus. A true man finds a sphere of service for his God in the common affairs of the nation. Joseph served God through years of famine in Egypt. Daniel served his God through important national changes and revolutions. The history of each age in nations is really the biography of the leading individual of the age. The world curses or blesses the memory of its public leaders. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:WEB: It will happen in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, |
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