SAUL:
Saul was anointed King over Israel by the Prophet Samuel.
After Saul’s ordination as King, God gave him a TEST: “Go and destroy the Amalekites: all of them! Do not spare anybody or anything!”
He went on the assignment as instructed. But he spared Agag the Amalekite King and the best sheep, goats, and cattle to sacrifice to God.
When he returned from the mission, Prophet Samuel went to see him. King Saul told him, “I have carried out God’s assignment!”
The Prophet asked, “what is this sound of goats and rams and cows I am hearing?”
King Saul replied, “we kept these animals to sacrifice to the Lord!”
In God’s eyes, Saul FAILED the Test of Leadership.
DAVID:
David was also anointed King of Israel by Prophet Samuel.
After his anointing, he also faced a TEST: Goliath of Gath, the Philistine Giant.
His father, Jesse sent him to the Army Camp to give provisions to his three brothers who were in the Army: Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah.
Then he heard Goliath drop the gauntlet. He decided to take him on! David was just seventeen with zero battle experience, Goliath was a veteran soldier who had fought in several wars.
At the end of the day, David killed Goliath.
He PASSED the Test of Leadership.
SOLOMON:
Solomon was anointed King of Israel by Prophet Nathan and Zadok the Priest.
After his coronation, he went to Gibeon and offered a thousand burnt offerings to God. Then God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask me for anything you want, I will give it to you”, God practically gave him a Blank Cheque.
Solomon asked for Wisdom, God gave it to him.
Not long after, Solomon faced a test: two women claimed to be the mother of a child. There was no DNA Testing Procedure in those days, Solomon had to resolve the impasse with Wisdom.
He passed the Test.
ABSALOM:
Absalom was ambitious: he wanted to be King after his father, David.
He didn’t want to wait for his father to die or wait for God or any Prophet to anoint him King: he decided to take the Kingship by force. He planned a coup against his father and took over the throne. His father ran away for his life, escaping with his most loyal men.
So, Absalom became King without Divine Approval. God did not choose or call him into that Office, he simply got there through greed, subtlety and unbridled ambition.
After taking over the Kingdom and sitting on the Throne of his father, he faced a test.
Just like Solomon, he had to decide between two options. He was King, but he was not comfortable sitting on the Throne: for as long as his father David was alive, he knew his reign would always be in danger. He knew his father was a fighter and his men were hardened warriors with loads of experience. He knew until he took out his father, he wouldn’t be able to sleep with his eyes closed. So, he needed counsel on how to go about doing just that.
He had two Special Advisers: Ahitophel and Hushai. Absalom asked both men for counsel, they had different takes on how to take out David.
Absalom took the WRONG counsel; it led to the end of his short reign as King over Israel. He was killed by one of David’s men, Joab and David returned to take back the Kingdom and was restored as King.
JOSEPH:
Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers.
He was transported to a foreign land as a slave. But he was destined for greatness: he had a Leadership Capacity in him.
He worked for Potiphar who noticed that capacity and made him Head Slave.
He was later sent to Prison wrongly, but that Leadership Capacity showed in the Prison and the Prison Wardens made him the Head Prisoner.
From there, he rose to become the Prime Minister of Egypt.
He passed all the Tests of Leadership he faced.
The point here is, if you ever get into a Position of Authority (or yearn for one), you WILL face a Test of Leadership. If you do not have the capacity for the Position, it WILL show.
The CAPACITY (or lack thereof) will always reveal itself: it is just a question of time.
WISDOM or FOOLISHNESS cannot be hidden for long…
Shalom,
Haruna Daniels