What good does it do as a country or a body of believers (as a whole) for the people in it to personally repent but not the leaders? Or as leaders, is it good enough for you only to repent personally, or within your leadership group? When there are country/corporate issues, do the leaders need to repent publicly? If it is a moral failure, do they need to repent publicly? If it is a “little white lie” type of sin, is there a place for our leaders to publicly repent to show themselves as human?
What if they won’t? What happens to the rest of us? Do we desire to repent ourselves? Do we see a need? On the mission field we had a pastor ask us why he should discipline after those under him when his partners weren’t being rebuked and corrected for their indiscretions. He didn’t think he needed to--why would they listen to him when another leader wasn’t being disciplined?
Daniel 9 is all about Daniel fasting and seeking God in prayer and supplication for Israel, on behalf of Israel. I would assume there were others praying as well, it just doesn’t say that though. I would have to believe many of the Israelites were crying out (but maybe not in as much knowledge as Daniel-see verse 2). But in Daniel, we have this one man-a leader- (for Babylon the country, but also for the Jewish community there) crying out, repenting on behalf of the nation. Really, check out verses one to nineteen; it’s our story too. We have rebelled, transgressed Your laws-and we got what GOD said we would get if we didn’t repent (v 11-13). Daniel then petitions that God would turn away His wrath from Jerusalem (v 16). The last part (v. 20 and following) is God’s response through the angel Gabriel and in this we see some prophecies of the end times.
But where I want to go to is this-if Tom, Dick and Harry were praying and praying for Israel, but the leadership of Israel wasn’t, then…
What are the responsibilities of those who lead? Of those who follow? How do they intertwine?
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