“The good ruler should not speak falsehood; he should be as great as his responsibilities. Each word should be weighed before spoken, for it is accepted as gold and not as thistledown. He should take heed of his own judgments, for the judgments of eternity draw near. He should be, above all, an example to all men. The gardener of wickedness waters his land with deceit, and it brings forth falsehood. The good ruler should be above every deed of meanness; he should be the father of the orphan and the husband of the widow. A true leader of the people should be free from every kind of avarice, a man above every kind of pettiness. He should be a man of wide vision. He should be like the rising waters that feed the fertile fields. He should be swift and sure to execute judgment on him, to whom punishment is due. O where does he sleep today, in what generation will he come forth?”
-The Kolbrin Bible (MAN:34:70)
A good leader does not speak lies. That doesn’t just mean that he refrains from telling stories that are complete fabrications; it also means he doesn’t tell partial truths, which is another way to lie. There are exceptions to this rule, as there are to almost all rules. You don’t tell a person they are ugly or stupid, even if it is true. Sometimes, good manners override the need to tell the truth. It is also necessary, especially today, for governments to keep some things secret, as revealing them to the general public can be dangerous. The quote says should weigh every word before it is spoken, “for it is accepted as gold”. In other words, it is assumed that the leader doesn’t lie. Once that assumption is proved false, the leader may never be trusted again.
While in a sense, it is only God who can judge us, a leader must judge people who behave poorly, or appoint judges to do it for him. As the quote indicates, the leader will die one day and be subject to the judgment of God’s Law, so he must judge others fairly.
A good ruler doesn’t act one way while expecting others to act differently. The good ruler acts as he expects others to act. If a ruler is frequently looking for ways to mistreat certain groups of people because of their religion, race, color, etc., He should not be surprised if people look on him the same way. If a ruler looks for ways to steal the natural resources of other nations, he should not be surprised when other nations try to steal the resources of his nation. If a ruler tries to find reasons to start wars, he should expect others to do the same to his land.
There was a time when kings and other leaders did not deal in avarice. In the past century, we have seen several leaders overthrown or assassinated because of their avarice. Yet that has not stopped modern leaders in several countries from being full of avarice. The good leader also avoids all forms of pettiness and does not react with anger when someone disagrees with him or makes a joke about him.
A good leader should be a man of wide vision. That means more than just a wide vision of what is happening in the world on the physical level, but also he must have vision of the spiritual. This means that the good leader must be spiritually developed, or at least must have trusted advisors who are spiritual leaders.
“Hepoa went before Pharaoh, and there, in the midst of his court, he denounced him. These were the words issuing from the mouth of Hepoa, as set down by the attending scribe: “O great and mighty Pharaoh, where once the stormwind raged, there is now a gentle breeze. Where once the diligent shepherd stood, now a musician sits and idly plays. The land is no more as it was, and no man remains content within his dwelling. The northwind has ceased to enter the land, and the south wind eats it up. A heavy hand lies on the hearts of men, and their limbs are sluggish; they are languid and move no longer, as once they did. Wherefore has all this come about, the people ask, and I answer them truly, it is because the protective power has departed from the blood of the Pharaoh; it is because of the iniquity in the palace. This is a time of woe. These things I have spoken before the eyes and ears of Pharaoh, beyond the palace gates. Yet, it is not in me to leave them unsaid before the face of the king himself. Where is the great one, who sets goodness in the place of wickedness? Where is he, who replaces injustice with justice, who hears the cry of the lowly? Who causes right to prevail in the land? Where is He? I look, and I look in vain. I see only one, who has defiled the protective treasures, the glory of Egypt, with iniquity. I see only one, who has polluted the pure stream with the sewage of evil, who has
succumbed to the ultimate in wickedness. This I see, as all men see it, but I am one, who sees more. I see an Egypt gone down into dust. I see plague and death stalking the streets. I see the fertile, black waters turned back on themselves. I see the black land buried beneath the sand. I see grim-faced men coming from out of the East to stamp the land flat in blood. I see the dread things of the past recurring. I see desolation spread out on every side. Woe to you, great Pharaoh; woe to the land of Egypt! Goodness lies dying beneath the triumphant foot of evil. Virtue is betrayed into the foul hands of
loathsome lust, her despairing cry unanswered by any coming to her aid. Wickedness walks unhampered through the cities, and wrongdoing is seen on every side. Woeful are these days, and doomed are those who endure them. What does the great light shining forth from the palace conceal, sacred mysteries or secret sins?” Then, the arm of Pharaoh stretched forth to stop the mouth of Hepoa, and it was stopped. He was led forth, and whips were laid on his back, and he was placed within a dungeon.”
-the Kolbrin Bible(34:63)
We are not told who Hepoa is, but from his actions, we can assume that he is a high priest or leader of a spiritual temple. What he says to the Pharaoh sounds mild by today’s standards, but it is obvious that the Pharaoh didn’t see it that way. When Hepoa says, “ where once the stormwind raged, there is now a gentle breeze,” he is saying that the once strong pharaoh has become weak, at least in his handling of the wickedness spreading throughout Egypt. As a shepherd, the Pharaoh was the caretaker of the people, but when Hepoa says “ now a musician sits and idly plays,” he is saying that the Pharaoh is not doing his job as caretaker of the people.
It is not stated how the land has changed, but this whole section of the Kolbrin Bible is about the spiritual leaders and mystery schools leaving Egypt for another land. The land itself is not changing, but the people are. It is curious that the author of the quote seems to equate a north wind with good things and a south wind with evil. Again today we now say that things have gone south when they are headed in the wrong direction.
A good pharaoh treats all people with equality. This pharaoh is no longer doing that. We can assume he is favoring the rich and powerful, something we see a lot of today. Hepoa asks, “ Where is he, who replaces injustice with justice?” He is accusing the pharaoh of not ruling with justice and fairness. He says this to the pharaoh himself.
Here, Hepoa is saying that because the pharaoh has opened the door for evil to enter the land, as a result, there is death and disease everywhere. The waters are polluted, and the fertile black soil has been buried in sand. In short, evil spreads everywhere like a plague.
As might be expected, the pharaoh was not happy with this criticism, and he had Hepoa whipped and thrown into a dungeon. Hepoa probably expected that to happen, yet he felt he had no choice but to speak up against the evil. We could use more people like Hepoa today.
