Most evil in the world is traced back to the time of the Bible. Most acts of sins that occur today have been addressed in one way or another in the Bible. Leadership in the Bible was laced with acts of misappropriations; among them corruption. Many leaders in both the New and old Testaments engaged in direct and indirect acts of corruption. In the book of Genesis 6:12, the Bible depicts how the earth was full of corruption and evil; Noah was the only exception. The Roman Empire leadership was probably the epitome of corruption in the Bible (Stepansky, 2011). The Roman Empire had many leaders, some of whom came before Christ. Caiaphas is notably one of such leaders who engaged in bribery and unlawful acts of taxation in favor of certain individuals. King Herod was also another corrupt leader. The appointment of Caiaphas into leadership was commandeered by Herod, with whom they engaged in treachery and bribery.
In the New Testament, as evidenced by the gospels, Jesus occasionally encountered the scribes, elders, Pharisees, and Sadducees. All of them were leaders at different places with different capacities. Most of these leaders engaged in corruption, and they could not stand Jesus questioning their acts and often criticized him (Mark 11:27, New International Version). Herod Antipas was another evil and corrupt leader. Even though he is famously known for his encounter with John the Baptist, Herod Antipas engaged in occasional acts of bribery. In Micah 7, leaders are portrayed as very corrupt. Despite the evil that had been sown in the country, the leaders are revealed to be self-centered and random engagers in acts of bribery and favors for individual gain. Paul is famously known for the letters he wrote addressing societal evils of people and their leaders. In Acts 20, Paul writes to address the corrupt Ephesian leaders. The leaders were so corrupt that other gospel writers like John, Peter, and Jude also wrote about their acts (Woolfe, 2002).
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Ezekiel 11 shows the adversity of corruption and other evils in the Bible. Leaders of this time were engaged in greed at the expense of their people. Glutton was rampant, and since the leaders were in a position of control of resources and privilege, they engaged in bribes and favors. Jaazaniah, son of Azzur, was a leader who is portrayed in the Bible as corrupted and one who engaged in many sinful acts. He engaged in multiple activities of corruption and plotted other evils in his city. In the same chapter of Ezekiel also, Pelatiah son of Benaiah is revealed as a community leader of the people (Stepansky, 2011). Like Jaazaniah, he also engaged in bribery and acts of sin in his city. In Luke 18- 19, Zacchaeus was a tax collector, and a leader tasked to collect taxes. He is portrayed as a leader who engaged in corruption before his encounter with Jesus. King Saul was also involved in several acts of corruption. When commanded by God to destroy King Agar and everything in 1st Samuel 15, he spared the finest animals and women. Apart from disobedience, this was an act of corruption since he engaged in acts of favor for his benefit.
References
Stepansky, R., J. (2011). Thoughts on Leadership from a Higher Level: Leadership Lessons from the Bible. CA: iUniverse publishers.
Woolfe, L. (2002). The Bible on Leadership: From Moses to Matthew: Management Lessons for Contemporary Leaders. NY: AMACOM Div. publishers.
