Dealing With Moral Failure

598 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 19:8-10, “ Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, "There is the king, sitting in the gate." So all the people came before the king. For everyone of Israel had fled to his tent. 9 Now all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, he delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because of Absalom. 10 "But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king?" (2 Sam 19:8-10) This is a mess. Joab has snapped David out of his mourning for his son Absalom with some very strong words, so David responds by setting up shop in the city gate. This was a strong message to the rebels and David's loyal followers that he was ready once again to govern. But the people aren't so sure they want him to govern. All the people were in dispute about it! Some reminded others that it was David who had delivered them from the Philistines, others were saying, Yea, but, what about this Absalom thing, which was a direct result of all of David's moral failures? Still others were saying, well Absalom is dead. It's over and done, let us move on with David returning as king. Like I said...it's a mess. Moral failures of spiritual leaders always are....a mess. So David waits in the gate to see what the people will do. Maybe it would be better to head to the temple and see what the Lord will do! As the prophet Isaiah says, “To the law and to the testimony! Let's see what the Word of God says about handling the moral failures of their leaders! Unfortunately, in this case, it seems more to be a matter of popularity among the people. This is dangerous to say the least. When popularity wags the tail, spiritual leaders are not held to the standard of 1 Tim 3:2, which states they must be without reproach. I pray that no church ever has to deal with the moral failures of their leaders, but if they do, I also pray that they will first of all seek the restoration of the fallen leader to the kingdom through repentance, and then, search the Scriptures prayerfully for follow-up procedures. Father, guard our leaders from moral failure, and if it occurs help us to clean up the mess according to Your Word.