Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Exodus 22:28 KJV
No one can stand the sight of a bad leader; however, a good leader is everyone’s favorite. Whether we like it or not, leaders will always have different characters.
The children of Israel enjoyed Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh who made Joseph a prime minister, but the situation of things changed when another Pharaoh took over. The new king disregarded the relationship between the former Pharaoh and the prime minister.
If twins from the same womb, born on the same day, have different characters, leaders from different families will, definitely, behave differently.
One may be bad while the other is good. The Bible recorded the history of different leaders to teach us a lesson about leaders. Whether the leader is good or bad, the word of God remains the same.
In the Bible text, Exodus 22:28, for this post, it reveals an important section of the law of Moses which states God’s stand against reviling or cursing one’s leader. That law of Moses must not be discarded like the ceremonial laws. It is part of the moral laws that all gentile Christians must obey.
I was amazed when I saw Facebook posts of a lot of people, including Christians, who insulted leaders from different walks of life. You may not know that it is wrong to insult leaders. Truth be told, if you’ve insulted any leader, you’ve sinned against your maker. You need to ask God for forgiveness — God is always ready and willing to forgive.
Paul Insulted the High Priest, Ananias
1.Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?
5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people
Paul, a student of Gamaliel who is one of the most notable rabbis in history, obeyed one of the moral laws of Moses, which was against insulting leaders.
He had insulted the high priest before he was told that Ananias was the high priest. Thereafter, he felt remorseful. Had he figured out that Ananias was the high priest he would not have insulted him. Being a man who is conversant with the law of Moses, he quoted Exodus 22:28 to show he was wrong when he insulted the high priest.
Paul made himself a good example for us Christians. Tradition, based on the Jewish Talmud, revealed that the aforementioned high priest was a violent man. Even though Paul didn’t know the kind of ruler Ananias was, he obeyed the word of God.
The personality or character of a Leader does not matter when the word of God says we should not insult the leader of our people.
We are not to judge any leader; all judgements belong to God. We can’t afford to bring the wrath of God upon ourselves as we insult leaders. Of course, we can rebuke a Leader when he or she is wrong, but insulting a Leader is wrong, and it is against the word of God.
A King Who Insulted God
After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,
10 Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem?
11 Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The Lord our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?
13 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand?
14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand?
15 Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?
16 And his servants spake yet more against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah.
17 He wrote also letters to rail on the LordGod of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand.
18 Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city.
19 And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.
2 Chronicles 32:9-19 KJV
The Bible verse Paul quoted when he appeared before the Sanhedrin was against followers insulting their rulers. But in 2 Chronicles 32, a ruler insulted another ruler and the God of Israel.
Even though Sennacherib was a ruler, the law doesn’t exempt him. Rulers must not insult other rulers as Sennacherib did during his reign as the king of Assyria.
He was not an Israelite; so, no one expected him to obey the law of Moses. However, rulers are not suppose to insult other rulers, they are to lead by example.
Sennacherib did not only insult Hezekiah the king, he also insulted the almighty God. The consequences of his action will never be forgotten in the history of mankind. God sent an angel, after Hezekiah and prophet Isaiah cried to God, to kill all his soldiers and captains (about 185,000 people) in one night.
After the incident, Sennacherib returned to the house of his gods where he was eventually killed by his children. God will always judge people who go against his word. You must not insult leaders. Even leaders must not insult other leaders. No one is above the law.
What to Do When You Are Insulted
Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
Matthew 26:67-68 KJV
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
1 Peter 2:21-23 KJV
Jesus Christ, who is the author and the finisher of our faith, made himself an example to us. When he was insulted by the people who witnessed his crucifixion, he did nothing.
They spat on his face, smote him with their hands, yet he remained quiet and committed all to God. As a leader, you are to follow the footsteps of Christ; more so, as a follower, under no circumstance must you insult a Leader.
I’m quite sure that the people who insulted Jesus when he was on his way to Golgotha would blame themselves on the day of judgement.
Insulting a leader will not change anything; it will rather set you against your creator. If everyone insults any leader, you don’t have to be a partaker — do not partake in any activity that belittles any leader. Take heed to the word of God so that you won’t miss the kingdom of God.
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:10 KJV
Paul in his letter to the Corinthians revealed the kinds of people that will not inherit the kingdom of God. Everyone knows thieves, fornicators, adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God, but do you know the kingdom of God will never allow revilers — these are the people who insult other people.
I feel sad whenever I see Christians on social media insulting their leaders like Miriam and Aaron insulted Moses when he married an Ethiopian woman. 1 Corinthians 6:10 keeps popping up my mind as I scroll reading all sorts of post against leaders. It seems a lot of people are ignoring the word of God in our generation.
Desist from insulting the leader of your own people so that you won't miss the kingdom of God.
Praise the Lord
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