Isaiah 32:1-8

¹ Watch, a king is going to rule righteously, and princes will rule administering justice. ² And each one will be like a hiding place from a strong wind and a covering from a rainstorm, like streams of water in a dry region, like a large rock shading a weary land. ³ And those who see will not be blinded and those who hear will listen with their ears. ⁴ And their hearts will understand what they know and their tongue which formerly stuttered will be in a hurry to speak clearly. ⁵ A fool will no longer be called noble, and a scoundrel will not be considered prominent. ⁶ Because a fool speaks foolishness, and his heart commits sin: to practice atheism and to speak wrong things about Yahveh, to leave hungry people with an empty throat, and he deprives thirsty people of drink. ⁷ And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil; he plans evil strategies to ruin a poor person with words of deception even when the needy speak of their plight honestly. ⁸ But a true nobleman plans noble things, and he stands for noble ideals.

betrayed by false leaders

Isaiah describes the transformation that will happen when the Messiah rules. The leadership will undergo a transformation, all false leaders being discovered and removed. The false leaders currently plaguing the society he calls fools, scoundrels and atheists. They are characterised by deficiency in three areas:

• Their spiritual life is bankrupt. They are either formal or practical atheists. When they are not trying to live without God, they are condemning him and things others have done in his name.
• Their compassion is a sham. The poor and needy are only seen as people to exploit.
• Their sense of justice only applies to themselves. They cannot see beyond their own desires and goals for advancement. They do not see themselves as a refuge for others.

God actively seeks to remove such leaders, because they betray their positions and their people.

LORD, make us leaders who lead nobly. Make us people of integrity, whose relationship with you is real, whose concern about others is genuine, and who protect the needy, and do not exploit them.