I wanna share an interesting anecdote with you.
One time a company president who was participating in a management seminar posed the following question to the management consultant who was leading the class:
“In order to be successful at managing a corporation, what should I read? There are so many books out there that I don’t know which one to choose.”
In response, the management consultant unflinchingly stated…
“The Bible is the only book you need to succeed in business. If you have that one book, it is not necessary to read any other book.“
Now, I gotta be honest with you.
When I first came across that story, I was a bit confused.
Exactly what parts of the Bible would help a corporate executive succeed in business?
On an abstract level, I can understand how having faith and trust in God can give one a strong mindset to persevere in a competitive marketplace.
However, I failed to understand how the stories of Adam and Eve in the garden, Moses splitting the Red Sea, and all of the Levitical laws and sacrifices etcetera had any relevance to the business world.
This confusion continued until I began studying the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel.
Once I dove into 1st Samuel, I finally realized just how important the Bible can be to a businessman or even a politician.
Why?
Because these books give you deep insight into human politics, and how and why humans behave the way they do within any sort of organizational structure, whether that structure be a nation or a corporation.
To that point, here are seven insights we get when examining Israel’s current political situation as it existed during the time of 1st Samuel Chapter 13.
INSIGHT 1: Political Favoritism Always Guides A Leader’s Decisions
Saul may have been the undisputed King of Israel.
But his main support came from the 8 northern Israelite tribes and to a lesser degree the 3 tribes to the east of the Jordan River.
The 2 southern tribes of Judah and Simeon didn’t openly defy Saul, but they weren’t excited about supporting him either, and Saul knew it.
That’s why most of the soldiers whom Saul recruited came from the loyal group of 8 northern tribes.
INSIGHT 2: Your Enemy’s Most Formidable Weapon Is To Offer Peace
When Saul defeated the Ammonites led by Nachash, the gentile threat on Israel’s eastern front had been neutralized.
But on the western front, the Philistines had established a strong military presence on Israelite land.
How were they able to achieve that?
By offering “peace” to the southern Israelite clans and tribes in the area who preferred to be left alone rather than fight.
Unfortunately, the price the southern tribes had to pay was to do the Philistines’ bidding when called upon.
They had to pay taxes to the Philistines, provide labor for Philistine projects, and even fight alongside them if necessary.
They might as well have been slaves of the Philistines.
Yet, they preferred to remain slaves rather than take up arms against this foreign presence.
INSIGHT 3: Lack Of Political Strength Is The Reason Why Transgressors Remain Unpunished
There were two reasons why Saul didn’t take vengeance against those Israelite tribes who entered into a “peace” agreement with the Philistines.
First, for the most part, it was only the southern tribes and clans who kissed up to the Philistines because they lived right next to them, and were in the most danger.
Saul understood this.
He knew they were acting more out of fear and self-interest than a deliberate desire to oppose his leadership.
Nevertheless, what they were doing was a betrayal, and they needed to be corrected.
This leads to the second reason why Saul didn’t address this wrong.
Saul simply didn’t possess enough political strength at this time to convince the other tribes to punish the highly esteemed Judah for their traitorous behavior.
INSIGHT 4: Leaders Will Usually Clash With The Public When It Comes To War
This one shouldn’t surprise you.
The leadership will usually be anxious to wage war against its enemies.
But more often than not, the people will not share their enthusiasm.
Saul was correct in understanding that the Philistines had to be stopped or Israel would end up a colony of the Philistines.
But convincing the common citizens who didn’t want conflict, and preferred to continue to farm while peacefully tending to their animals was another issue altogether.
We’ve seen this pattern all throughout history with Hitler being a prime example.
Dictators who seek world domination are allowed to pillage and plunder until a more powerful nation wakes up, smells the coffee, and finally after much hemming and hawing rises up to defeat the tyrant.
And even after that, there will still be folks who continue to voice opposition against the war.
INSIGHT 5: Nepotism Decides Who Gets Power
This one also shouldn’t surprise us.
All the senior army officers in Saul’s entourage were Saul’s sons with Jonathan leading the bunch.
This will also explain why Saul goes insane with rage and jealousy when God decides to raise David up from another tribe to be Israel’s next king.
INSIGHT 6: A Leader’s Personality Will Significantly Impact The Outcome Of Events
Saul had begun a campaign to push the Philistines back towards the sea.
To achieve that goal, he had stationed soldiers at Giveah with Jonathan leading the charge, and Saul had positioned himself and his men at Mikhmas (strategically a very important spot).
Yet, the campaign wasn’t making much headway.
Why?
Because as I said, the common Israelite citizens weren’t interested in battling the Philistines at this time.
On top of that, the Philistines were careful not to get too aggressive lest they trigger anger amongst the common population that would lead to rebellion.
However, what they didn’t count on was the impulsive nature of Saul’s personality.
One way or another Saul was gonna find a way to get Israel to back him in his fight against the Philistines.
This leads us to our final insight.
INSIGHT 7: One Bold Action Is More Effective Than Thousands Of Hours Of Strategizing
I touched on this yesterday, but Jonathan, who was part of the royal family, and one who shared his father’s ambitions, when he killed the Philistine governor, set into motion exactly that which Saul desired.
That assassination was something the Philistines would not take lying down.
The result was that the Philistines would go after Israel and force the reluctant Israelite citizens to take up arms and join Saul in his war against the Philistines.
So out of these seven insights, which ones are applicable to an organization you belong to?
Love to hear your thoughts.
See you all next time.
Having worked retail, I would say that favoritism and nepotism can be VERY common. That’s not to say that the people in question don’t universally NOT deserve, say, a promotion to a certain position, but there are times where more qualified individuals ARE overlooked in favor of a different agenda. I guess, to connect it with Philistines’ deal with the Israelites, one comparison I might make is making changes that benefit the customers but harm the employees (such as carding for certain products, business hours, that sort of thing).
On the other side of the coin, some of the leaders I’ve had I’ve disagreed with based on personal opinion, but I still can’t be too critical of them because: 1. They’re not as strict as they could be in certain company policies. 2. My bosses have tended to have their own superiors that can give them an even harder time. Even today, I still feel bad for how I reacted to my boss scheduling me on the Sabbath once. She didn’t do it to give me a hard time and I acted like she did it against my wishes. It turns out there was just a glitch in our system that automatically switched my availability. I learned that day that snap assumptions about someone else can lead to a lot of unnecessary conflict in a workplace too, similar to gossip.
Great example about the boss accidentally scheduling you to work on the Sabbath…
We automatically assume that someone deliberately did something to give us a hard time when that wasn’t the case at all.
Thanks for sharing Justin.
Be blessed.