Leaders are simply stewards of the resources God has given them. Read Luke 19:11-26.

During His public ministry Jesus often told stories that illustrated a principles for life. In one of these stories Jesus told about a landowner who, just prior to leaving on an extended trip, gave three men some funds to spend, save, or invest. Each had the freedom to use the money as they saw fit but each would be asked for an account of how they handled the money when the landowner returned. The landowner’s expectation was that these men would be stewards of the money he had given them and, in Jesus’ story, those who had been faithful stewards of the funds were rewarded for their efforts and those who did not steward the funds would be held accountable.

Each generation of leaders must help the next generation understand that no matter how much power they accumulate they are still accountable to the One True God. Read Nahum 1:1-10.

Just a little more than a century before Nahum’s prophecies, Jonah had taken God’s demand for repentance to the Assyrian capitol of Nineveh. The king and all the leaders had responded immediately by humbling themselves before God and God spared them from destruction. That generation failed to leave any legacy of humility or repentance and the nation returned to the wicked treatment of people that first brought God’s wrath. Unfortunately, children and grandchildren cannot inherit spiritual life so the attitude of repentance was not automatically passed on to the next generation of leaders.

God holds leaders accountable as a watchman to warn their team when they drift from God’s standards. Read Ezekiel 33:1-9.

God had established a remnant of Jews from the nation of Judah in Babylon. Even though they were captives exiled in Babylon their lives had been spared and they had been allowed to establish community. Ezekiel was assigned by God as their prophet to bring His words directly to the people.

Leaders will be held accountable by God for how they deal with justice and fairness in their leadership. Read Ezekiel 16:49-50.

While Ezekiel, speaking for God to those exiled in Babylon, was describing the ways Jerusalem had offended God he makes some comparisons to other cities God had destroyed for their evil practices. One of those cities the Jewish people in Ezekiel’s audience knew well was Sodom because it was directly tied to the father of their faith, Abraham, and his nephew Lot. Of all of Sodom’s sins (Genesis 19), notice which ones God singled out. Their arrogance and self-centeredness brought about a failure to use power and resources that gave justice to the poor and needy.

Every leader is accountable to someone. Read Jeremiah 52:1-11.

Judah is in their last days before the total defeat by the Babylonian army. Zedekiah is the king. He had served as a loyal “puppet” king since the last Babylonian attack on Jerusalem half a decade earlier but because of the high taxes and stiff regulations of the Babylonians, he rebelled against Babylonian rule. Zedekiah forgot that even the leader works for someone. His rebellion led to the downfall of Jerusalem.