Throughout Israel's history with God, godly leadership was often in short supply. While figures like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and David emerged as commendable leaders, Ezekiel 34 highlights that Judah's shepherds, or leaders, prioritized their own well-being over that of the citizens. Such self-centered leadership yielded poor outcomes. In a broader sense, leadership extends beyond religious ministry to include roles in government, education, business, entertainment, media, and even parenting within the family. Humans, much like sheep, are inherently dependent and require quality guidance in critical areas of life. Without it, due to satan's influence on the carnal mind, community life often devolves into a survival-of-the-fittest scenario, where many are reduced to living as slaves to the more powerful, trapped in a hopeless existence. Isaiah 3:12, written over a century before Ezekiel 34, reveals the decline of community life in Judah, with leaders causing the people to err and destroying their paths. Isaiah 59 further depicts a culture in collapse, where self-centered leadership fostered widespread immorality and chaos. Despite the people's appeals to God for relief, He provided no immediate answers or righteous shepherds to guide them, as the very individuals crying out were guilty of the same sins contributing to the crisis. God awaits a sincere change, led by the people, to begin obeying His Word and restoring justice. Leadership remains crucial for those in the church, as God's spiritual focus has shifted to this body, preparing Christians for future responsibilities. Revelation 5:10 and 14:3-4 indicate that Christ has appointed His followers to serve as a kingdom of priests with rulership roles, requiring leadership training now for duties after His return. Similarly, I Peter 2:5 and 2:9 affirm that Christians are being trained for spiritual responsibilities. The example of Moses illustrates the profound need for clear leadership across various national roles—prophet, priest, political leader, governor, judge, and military leader—always under God's guidance. His humility and fairness set a standard for leadership. Joshua, too, exemplifies leadership through steadfast service and humility, leading Israel to serve the Lord during his lifetime. Likewise, the apostle Paul, transformed from an enemy to a zealous servant of Christ, demonstrates the impact of godly leadership through his abundant labor by God's grace.

The overwhelming evidence shows that poor leadership in government, business, religion, education, and family life greatly contributed to the Israelites' repeated departures from God. This same deficiency appears to drive the confused and immoral condition of nations today. The pressure to choose how to respond to this building calamity is increasing as societal conditions deteriorate. Options include doing nothing and going with the flow, joining others to change the system, or focusing on personal change to avoid contributing poor leadership to the present system. God illustrated the enslaved condition of humanity through His rescue of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from bondage in Egypt, aiming to free them to determine the quality and outcome of their lives. However, the Israelites never truly learned the lesson of what having the liberty to choose required of them. God is now creating righteous leadership in His children to prevent the leadership failures of the past from being repeated in His Kingdom under Jesus Christ. This process involves calling, training, and fitting individuals into the Body to follow Christ faithfully wherever He leads. The ultimate destiny of those called into the church, who remain faithful and grow in the image of Jesus Christ, is to be given rulership with Him in His Kingdom. Developing quality leadership suitable for serving with Christ requires meeting the challenges of living God's way in this evil world, following the perfect example of Jesus, who humbled Himself and lived faithfully according to the course laid out by His Father. God is expanding His Family, the church, and filling positions of responsibility to be faithfully performed by the elect, ensuring that each one has the potential to fulfill their role if they submit to the training He assigns.