HOLY SPIRIT OR LOBBY SPIRIT?
In today’s modern era, many people are racing to pursue positions, titles, or influence by any means possible. We can see this in politics, business, and sadly, even in church ministry. Those who rely on the lobby spirit—the spirit of seeking human support, lobbying, compromise, and manipulation—often seem to rise faster. But is that God’s way?
In contrast, the Bible shows us examples of leaders who were appointed directly by the Holy Spirit, led by God’s will rather than personal ambition or political games. From the stories of kings and leaders in the Old Testament, we will study four contrasting stories about how God chooses and raises leaders, and what happens when humans try to take over the process using worldly methods.
SAUL
The Israelites first asked Samuel, the last judge of Israel, for a king because they wanted to be “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). They were not satisfied being led by God through prophets and judges but desired a human king who looked strong outwardly.
Samuel was displeased, but the Lord said to him: “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” (1 Samuel 8:7, NKJV)
God then chose Saul the son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, a young man “a choice and handsome son. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” (1 Samuel 9:2, NKJV). Outwardly, Saul looked ideal as a king.
When Samuel anointed Saul, the word of the Lord came: “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.” (1 Samuel 10:6, NKJV)
And indeed, when Saul met a group of prophets, “the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.” (1 Samuel 10:10, NKJV)
Sadly, Saul later desired to please people more than to obey God. In 1 Samuel 13, when Israel’s troops were scattering and Samuel had not yet arrived, Saul offered the burnt offering himself, though this was the priest’s role. Samuel said: “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.” (1 Samuel 13:13, NKJV)
Again, in 1 Samuel 15, when God commanded Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites and their livestock, Saul spared King Agag and kept the best animals.
Saul excused himself, saying: “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me… But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” (1 Samuel 15:20–21, NKJV)
But Samuel replied: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22, NKJV)
Thus, God rejected Saul.
Ellen G. White writes: “If it were possible, the enemy would clog the wheels of progress and prevent the truths of the gospel from being circulated everywhere. With this object he leads men to feel that it is their privilege to control the consciences of their fellow-men according to their own perverted ideas. They dismiss the Holy Spirit from their councils, and then, under the power and name of the General Conference, they invent regulations through which they compel men to be ruled by their own ideas and not by the Holy Spirit...”
From Saul we learn that, although initially anointed by the Holy Spirit, if we choose instead the lobby spirit—seeking human praise, yielding to public pressure, or justifying compromise—we can lose God’s trust.
DAVID
After Saul was rejected, the Lord sent Samuel to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, to anoint a new king. When Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse’s eldest son, he thought: “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” (1 Samuel 16:6, NKJV)
But the Lord said: “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, NKJV)
Finally, Jesse brought in his youngest son, David, who was tending the sheep. As David arrived, the Lord said: “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” (1 Samuel 16:12, NKJV)
Samuel anointed David, and “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” (1 Samuel 16:13, NKJV)
Yet even after being anointed, David did not use political momentum or seize the throne. Twice he had the chance to kill Saul but refused, saying: “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 24:6–7, NKJV)
David never relied on lobbying or conspiracies but waited for God’s timing—even though it meant years of hiding in caves.
ABSALOM
In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom, David’s son, tried to seize the throne. He did not wait for God’s appointment but relied on political schemes. “Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him… In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” (2 Samuel 15:2, 6, NKJV)
Through propaganda, manipulation, and rebellion, Absalom declared himself king in Hebron. But his coup, built on the lobby spirit, failed. During battle, his head was caught in a terebinth tree, and Joab killed him (2 Samuel 18).
Absalom is a vivid picture of a leader who depends on lobbying, manipulation, and ambition—a path that may succeed briefly but ends in destruction.
SOLOMON
In 1 Kings 1, when David was old and weak, Adonijah exalted himself: “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, ‘I will be king’; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.” (1 Kings 1:5, NKJV)
He lobbied key leaders like Joab and Abiathar but excluded Nathan the prophet and Zadok the priest.
Through prophetic intervention, David commanded Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet to anoint Solomon. Scripture says: “So Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, ‘Long live King Solomon!’” (1 Kings 1:39, NKJV)
Adonijah’s conspiracy collapsed, and he begged for his life at the altar (1 Kings 1:50).
Unlike Adonijah’s coup, Solomon’s kingship came by divine appointment through God’s chosen servants.
Conclusion
The great question is: Are we led by the Holy Spirit—or by the lobby spirit that relies only on human ways?
God’s Word reminds us: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6, NKJV)
And like David, may we pray:
“Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.” (Psalm 143:10, NKJV)
May this reflection help us examine our hearts, so that we will not be like Saul, Absalom, or Adonijah—but like David and Solomon, raised up by God Himself. Amen!
