Learn to think about politics from a Biblical perspective.
1 Samuel 8:7-20 (NIV)
CONTEXT: Samuel had been ruling over God's people, but he was getting old and the people were demanding a king like their pagan neighbors had, so Samuel consulted the LORD.
7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 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.”
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 36: The Civil Government
We believe that
because of the depravity of the human race
our good God has ordained kings, princes, and civil officers.
He wants the world to be governed by laws and policies
so that human lawlessness may be restrained
and that everything may be conducted in good order
among human beings.
For that purpose he has placed the sword
in the hands of the government,
to punish evil people
and protect the good.
And being called in this manner
to contribute to the advancement of a society
that is pleasing to God,
the civil rulers have the task,
subject to God’s law,
of removing every obstacle
to the preaching of the gospel
and to every aspect of divine worship.
They should do this
while completely refraining from every tendency
toward exercising absolute authority,
and while functioning in the sphere entrusted to them,
with the means belonging to them.
They should do it in order that
the Word of God may have free course;
the kingdom of Jesus Christ may make progress;
and every anti-Christian power may be resisted.
Moreover everyone,
regardless of status, condition, or rank,
must be subject to the government,
and pay taxes,
and hold its representatives in honor and respect,
and obey them in all things that are not in conflict
with God’s Word,
praying for them
that the Lord may be willing to lead them
in all their ways
and that we may live a peaceful and quiet life
in all piety and decency.
And on this matter we denounce the Anabaptists, other anarchists,
and in general all those who want
to reject the authorities and civil officers
and to subvert justice
by introducing common ownership of goods
and corrupting the moral order
that God has established among human beings.
Summary
God knew this day was coming - this day when His rebellious people would formally reject His divine kingship and trade it in for a cheap royalty like what everybody around them had. Last time we looked at how even before Israel had taken possession of the Promised Land, God had laid down strict limits designed to constrain kings' ever increasing appetites, but God's prescriptions have never been a match for man's sinful nature. In today's passage God warns them that the 'security' a king might provide would come at a steep price.
It's interesting that in our day and age, we measure cost in financial terms like how many dollars a proposal will cost or how a certain policy will affect the interest rate or the stock market. In conveying the LORD's words to the people, Samuel does use one financial term, stating that kings will take a tenth of their produce, but everything else is meted out in much more personal terms.
Samuel tells them, speaking on behalf of the LORD, that the king will take the people's sons and daughters into his service. He'll conscript them into his armies, to reap his harvest and to provide for himself the finest things. In other words, the king will do much more than just than levy exorbitant taxes. He'll suck up the peoples' entire future.
Dig Deeper
Lots of people think there needs to be an impermeable wall of separation between the church and the state. Although it's been exhaustively demonstrated that the 'separating wall' metaphor Thomas Jefferson referred to in a personal letter has been egregiously ripped from its original context, the concept that the 'church' ought not influence the state is deeply baked into American psyche.
So it might seem surprising that our Confession, which only addresses the most central Christian doctrines, includes a relatively long article about how the ideal state ought to function. Now as we begin our second week of studying God's design for civil government, maybe you're feeling a bit smarmy. After all, there's no shortage of political analysis on the internet... what have we become here at Unfading Truth? Shouldn't we spend our Bible reading time on something that's purer?
But the fact of the matter is that politics are an inseparable part of your life, so like every other realm of life, you need to understand politics theologically and from a Biblical standpoint. Like nearly every other topic, the Bible holds politics in tension. On one hand, there is no authority except that which God has established. On the other, passages like today's show us that governments continually grow and demand more and more of us.
Let's take two primary lessons from our passage today. First, as a voter, always be wary of government encroachment into people's lives; it will take your sons and daughters if left unchecked. But most importantly, know what a blessing it is that we have a divine King who gave of Himself rather than ripping it from His people!
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who calls us to put our hope and trust in Him;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be a good subject of the one true King even as you submit to governments here and now that are far less than ideal;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Revelation 3
