July 9, 2026

Business by the Book

1 Chronicles 12:27 And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him were three thousand and seven hundred;

In Scripture only two people are identified with the term leader.  One is Jehoiada as we read in today’s verse, and the other is David in Isaiah 55:4. The word leader is used only three times in Scripture, the word leaders is also used only three times.  God uses the word sparingly, yet every book of the Bible has stories of leaders and leadership in them. 

A motivational speaker once gave an illustration that has an excellent lesson about leadership in it.  He took a five-gallon clear container, one like those cheese balls come in at the wholesale club, and filled it about two-thirds full of balls.  Some were ping pong balls, which were the biggest, some were BB’s, some were marbles, some were small rubber balls, and various other balls of different sizes and weights.  After filling the container he began his motivational speech, it was on “Be Big”.  The speech was about leadership, and he used the term that many snowboarders use “Go Big or Go Home”.  As he spoke he would shake that container.  As he placed the balls into the container he started with the largest, the ping pong balls, putting them on the bottom.  The last to be put in were the BB’s, they began on top. 

His speech was about being big, thinking big, performing big, accomplishing big things, and dreaming big dreams.  He said that such was the way with great leaders; they come across as big, sometimes bigger than life.  As he shook that container, the ping pong balls worked their way to the top and the BB’s worked their way to the bottom.  His illustration: big always winds up on top. 

The lesson was made clear by the motivational speaker.  Leaders are big deals.  They are important because God designed people to respond to leadership.  We know that King David did big things and he is among the greatest leaders in the Bible.  Jehoiada must have also performed big things because he is the only other person specifically named as a leader in the Bible.  His bigness is just not recorded in Scripture.  If anyone desires to have influence as a leader take the advice of the snowboarders: “Go Big or Go Home”.  Not big in ego, pride, or being the biggest rat in the rat race, but rather being the bigger person.  Be big and work your way to the top.  

Dr. William Howe