Friday, April 1, 2016

The paradoxical Kingdom


“Give us a king like all the other nations have.” 1 Samuel 8:4, 7

 

What is a theocracy?  How does that relate to the Kingdom of God and are we in a theocracy as believers? 


This year is an election year and people get pretty fired up about politics. Why?  Israel’s government was based on God being their political ruler, a theocracy.  The problem was a spiritual one.  In that Israel wanted something more tangible, a king with skin.  So they opted to follow after the world and vote for having a human king rather than God as king.  You should read the whole story in 1 Samuel 8, but in verse 7 God says, “For it is me they are rejecting, not you. (speaking to Samuel)  They don’t want me to be their king any longer.”  Israel was in a crisis because Samuel was old and his sons were not godly and they needed good leadership. Crisis creates anxiety and we grab at what we think will bring security and certainty.  As we often see in the Old Testament narratives Israel often does not find security or comfort in the spiritual, in fact they seem oblivious to the fact that God will provide all they need, if they seek Him with their whole hearts. In all trials God is looking for us to turn to Him and find Him and His will.  We are to spiritualize, look for the spiritual first.  Israel looked to the world first, the material and social systems of this world for answers and help. There is no dualism here, no either/or, spiritual or material, just the preeminence of God in all things.  The world is always in some sort of crisis and people anxious about being saved and taken care of by others. However as the chapter reads when Israel chose the worldly instead of the spiritual it created harsh consequences in their lives. That caused them to be dependent on the wrong thing and brought their sins of laziness, and fear to light.  Choosing a king in the worldly form, looking for security outside of God, was their chief sin of idolatry. They wanted someone else to take care of them and provide comfort and safety, sounds like the political promises of today. This brought very negative consequences to their lives, because they were trusting in worldly kings who were sinful and would use and abuse their authority over them.


The framers of our Constitution knew that people are sinners and that checks and balances to deal with depravity had to be put into the political system or evil would reign.  James Madison (a framer) writes, “There is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust.”  Israel did not take into account this doctrine and their naïveté hurt them.  Hope without an understanding of the fall of man will always bring disillusionment.  So Madison said, “A constitution that acknowledges this fallen nature of humanity and constructs ‘checks and balances’ to ameliorate its negative consequences can hope to avoid political oppression of one sort or another.”  (pg. 36 & 37 Godly Republic) God uses governments as a part of His plan and rule in that it is His servant, but His reign is to be preeminent not political systems or leaders.  Too many Christians define faith politically today rather than spiritually. Keller says, “…Christians should never identify too closely with a particular political party or philosophy.” (pg 163 Generous Justice)  I received a criticism from a fellow believer just lately as I was sharing about the poor in our city, he called me a liberal and questioned my faith assuming that true Christians are politically conservative, rather than Biblically sound and Kingdom obedient. 

           
When we depend on external things like kings, political leaders or political systems to govern us as Israel was asking, the natural consequence is that we are externally controlled rather than having self-control. We lose autonomy and freedom without really counting the cost. God grants self-control as a fruit of His Spirit as we submit to His will and His reign in our lives.  That grants us freedom and form through His truth, grace, and goodness. 


God is redemptive and even though He was not pleased that Israel rejected Him as their king He made a plan of redemption that graciously provided for them. God understands our lack of faith and spirituality and makes provision, but still calls us to faith and obedience. David the second king of Israel set up a line where Christ would become our king, a deity with skinEmmanuel, so we could trust and obey His leadership in our lives, a spiritual theocracy, the Kingdom of God among us.

 

Prayer – Lord help me not to be seduced by the empty promises of the world that seem so much more tangible and comforting than the spiritual promises that in difficult times seem ethereal.  Let us seek You and Your kingdom and grant us the faith to see that what is unseen is real and powerful, where the seen is often powerless and an illusion.

No comments:

Post a Comment