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Kings & Citizens

 


Have you ever noticed that the New Testament gives no instruction to governors or kings on how to treat the citizens? There are instructions to the Christian masters, husbands, and fathers and instructions to Christian slaves, wives, children, and citizens.

In Deuteronomy 17, God gave this instruction to Israel:

"When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, 'Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,' be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite. The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel" (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).

Very few kings in the Old Testament followed this instruction: Saul, sometimes; David, sometimes; Solomon, very little; Rehoboam and many others, not at all. Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah followed it well. They were fairly obedient kings, but very poor fathers. Check out their sons who were kings.

We think that if we reached the people in power with the Gospel, we could turn this country around. I am not opposed to reforming the country, but I am not sure this is the way. If God had assumed Christian kings and presidents, He would have given instruction for them in the New Testament. If given the opportunity, I will vote for a Christian, but I will not put my trust in him.

*Excerpted from Being Christian. To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore. 

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