WARNING PREACHY…
1 Samuel 8:7b
“It
is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”
The
Children of Israel used to be governed by God though the direction of Judges
and Prophets. But they decided they
wanted to be like the other nations around them and demanded that the prophet
appoint a king to rule over them. The prophet Samuel was not happy about this but God said to him to not fret it because
it was not him that the people rejected, but rather it was God Himself.
During
this past presidential election cycle, I have heard many people claim this
person or that was God’s chosen person to lead America, I have heard the rhetoric that God specifically
loves America, because America is God’s new chosen people, and I have heard
that no matter what, whomever the person is that sits in the White House , that
God is actually the one in control.
While I am not seeking debate on any of these points, I am pointing out that God’s intention was for Himself to directly rule his people, but we
men had rejected that.
Then
I am reminded of Jesus’s words when the Pharisees came to test him about the
issue of divorce in Mark 19. They wanted
to know if divorce was legal.
Mark
19:7-8
7 “Why
then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of
divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus
replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were
hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
It seems to me that if we American’s
experience any despair or extreme comfort because of the results of the presidential
election, then we are forgetting that our current system is not exactly
as it should have been, or should be. God might have allowed our political system to be, but originally it is not as it ought to be.
And the words of Samuel that echo in
my head the most are the words that he spoke after he warned the people exactly
what would happen when a King would rule over them and they still wanted one anyway.
1 Samuel 8:18
”When
that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but
the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
Please
don’t think I am trying to force the ancient texts into being a direct
response to the current American experience, I'm not, I am simply trying to point out
that sometimes God will give us exactly what we want. And sometimes there are very real
consequences for getting what we want.
And
in the spirit of full disclosure, it is important to state that I did vote, and
no I’m not going to disclose for whom I voted.
And I trust that no matter the results of elections, that I may keep God on His throne all the days of my life, even if I am subject to other rulers and authorities.
This was in my devotion this morning. It is from a study on Romans 13:1. A slight different take on your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAunt Bea
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Romans 13:1
When Paul refers to governing authorities, he uses a phrase that can best be translated "the powers that be." He is not just talking about heads of state; he is talking about all levels of authority, all the way down to the local police. He tells us that the thing we must think about these governmental offices is that they are, in some way, brought into being by God himself.
We Americans would love to think that democracy obviously is the most God-honored form of government. But I don't think you can establish that from the Scriptures. In fact, the Scriptures reflect various forms of government. So when you ask, "Which government is the best kind? Is it a monarchy? An oligarchy? Is it a republic? A democracy?" The answer of Scripture is not necessarily any of these. It is whatever God has brought into being. That is best for that particular place and time in history. God has brought it into being, considering the makeup of the people, the degree of truth and light which is disseminated among them, and the moral conditions that are prevailing. For that condition, for that time and place, God has brought into being a particular government.
Now, that government can change. God doesn't ordain any one form of government to be continued forever. If the people grow toward understanding of truth, and morality prevails in a community, the form of government may well take on a democratic pattern. Where truth disappears, government seems to become more autocratic. But, in any case, the point the apostle makes is that whatever form of government you find, God is behind it. Don't ever think of any state or any government as something that in itself is opposed to God, because it isn't.
This truth is not confined to the New Testament. In the book of Daniel, Daniel stood before one of the greatest monarchs the world has ever seen, one of the most autocratic of kings, and said to him, "God changes times and seasons, God removes kings, and he sets up kings," (Daniel 2:21a RSV). There it is made clear that God definitely has a hand in whatever is going on on the earth at any particular time. Sometimes we are tempted, or even taught, to think of God as being remote from our political affairs, that he is off in heaven somewhere turning a rather morbid eye on us human beings struggling along with our political problems down here.
My point is that when we American's have Christ as our King, the result of elections cannot make us despair.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for your contribution.