Popular leaders quickly become unpopular when they push for reform. This is what is currently happening to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. And so it was with Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who was criticized for the peace with Egypt in 1979 and for the Lebanon war in 1982. Even Israel’s legendary state founder, David Ben-Gurion, came under heavy criticism in his final years and had to resign. Political reformers arouse criticism and protest. But when decision-makers stick to their missions and succeed, they go down in history as great minds. The stereotypical scenario can also be applied retrospectively to biblical politics.

Some important leaders of the people of Israel did not enjoy much sympathy during their lifetime. Only posthumously was their service acknowledged. For example, Moses: He led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and mediated between God and the nation. He endured much abuse during his tenure in the desert, even though he received the Tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai and formed a united and free people...