David's theology was well-develooped even as a young man, and he had incorporated that theology into his life and worship. See his use of a musical instrument for worship, which was also enjoyed by others, and his humble attitude toward receiving the anointing to be the next king. I Samuel, chapters 13, 15-. But what about his theories on the policy of rulership?
We catch glimpses of his attitude toward rulership as he flees from King Saul and accepts the kingdom after Saul's death. However, what was his attitude after going through 40 years of ruling the kingdom of Israel? His theology would have been through multiple tests, establishing his beliefs in forges of suffering and practicality at the end of his life. The bible gives a record of that in I Kings.
I saw a movie in the 80's starring Richard Gere as King David, and I know that Hollywood uses artistic license to enhance (in their minds) the entertainment value of movies based on the bible. However, I thought, "There's so much action and intrigue and just plain good storytelling in I and II Samuel about David; surely they wouldn't need to change much?!" How wrong I was. Perhaps the most egregious scene in the movie was the final instructions David gave to Solomon before his death. In the movie, David basically tells Solomon to follow his heart and be a nice guy, which is practically 180 degrees opposite from what the scriptures tell us he instructed Solomon. The movie version was so full of emotion and gush that I thought the song "Feelings" might start playing in the background any second. Read the following from I Kings 2:1-9 and see if you can find any modernist reletavism, follow-your-heart gushiness in it.
"Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood."
I don't see what the movie makers created out of whole cloth. I see David charging Solomon to a commitment to obedience to God's law not his own heart, a commitment to loyalty to God instead of being nice to people, a commitment to justice even if it meant justice for a loyal general of David's (Joab), a commitment to those who were loyal to David at his most difficult hour (Barzillai when Absalom lead the revolt against David), and a commitment to someone who cursed him as King, a capital offense under the law of Moses. So what was most important to David - with respect to general principles of rulership?
1. The law of God is the sole and central key to prosperity and God's blessing. 2. Justice, even if it means the death of friends, is fundamental and central to rulership. 3. Loyalty to those who stand with the ruler and with God's will is also fundamental and central.
I Chronicles provides more information on David's instructions to Solomon just not long before David's death: "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it." I Chron. 28:9-10. He also offers a prayer before the congregation which reveals much about his attitude toward the religion of the people, rulership, and his son Solomon:
"Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision." I Chron. 29:1-19.
David's principles can be expanded to: 1. The importance that religion be sincere in the heart of the ruler and the people. 2. God is more important than the ruler or the people. 3. The visible demonstration of who the God of a society is - the temple in the old covenant period - is very important. 4. A perfect heart before God is evidenced by obeying God's commandments.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
What is politics?
The ideal personality from scripture for modeling a biblical view of politics is King David - noble, serving, not self-promoting, courageous, humble, pleasing God instead of man, willing to lose versus displease God, seeking the will of God in all he did. Thus, by his example, you have a biblical view of the ideal politician. But before we answer the question as to the ideal politician, perhaps we should answer the question: What is politics?
The bible doesn't even mention civil government in the first few chapters, wherein we quickly get an understanding of the creator God and his attitude toward humans, marriage, sin, procreation, work, rest, etc. However, there's no mention of any government, except for God's government over all things and the family government. Does that make civil government and its accompanying politics invalid? Not necessarily. But it might mean its importance shouldn't be played up, like it is today. The national news media revolves around politics, as if what happens in Washington, D.C. is always important, no matter how banal or trivial the actual event or words may be.
There is discussion of cities, even a kingdom, being founded in the early chapters of Genesis, but nothing about government of those cities. Unless we're to infer some type of government in Gen. 10 being established just after the worldwide flood by personalities like Nimrod, a descendant of Cain who had a kingdom involving Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, there's really little to no mention of civil government until the tower of Babel. At that time, people organized to build a tower with some sort of religious purpose, so there must have been some form of organized leadership. But God was not impressed with their building of the tower of Babel to the point that the scripture doesn't even mention the leaders.
Perhaps we could infer that a lack of civil government was one of the reasons that the earth was "full of violence" before the flood. Gen. 6. Or that evil civil governments were the cause. The fact the bible doesn't say may mean that both lack of government and evil in what government that existed contributed to the violence.
As you read the New Testament of the bible, you find very little mention of politics by Jesus. In fact, you'll look long and hard to find any thing of substance at all. Students of His words have culled meaning from his comment about Caesar's coin and giving to God what is God's. Advocates of taxation use his comment to support their view that higher taxation is always justified, but that is clearly not his intended meaning, as if he were some sort of advocate of tyrannical taxation of the citizenry. He simply showed that he was not an advocate of paying nothing for the services provided by civil government. In other words, he is not an advocate of the "free ride." But beyond that he had little to say on the subject. Perhaps that should give us an idea as to how important it should be to us; Jesus Christ did not think civil government was the cure-all for what ails us as individuals or our society. It goes without saying that He did not bow down to the idolatry of Caesarism; His followers died to show their loyalty to Him versus that of Caesar. His apostle John wrote a prophetic work on what civil government looks like without Christ; it's a monstrous beast, defying God and devouring humans for opposing its policies. The new testament cannot legitimately be used to support high taxing, big government without taking verses out of context and distoring its meaning beyond recognition.
Noah Webster's first dictionary, the 1828 edition, defines politics as: "The science of government; that part of ethics which consists in the regulation and government of a nation or state, for the preservation of its safety, peace and prosperity; comprehending the defense of its existence and rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of its strength and resources, and the protection of its citizens in their rights, with the preservation and improvement of their morals. Politics, as a science or an art, is a subject of vast extent and importance."
I found more modern definitions less specific and more general, thereby leaving open too much room to expand what politics might govern. Even Webster gives too much power to politics when he says it is for "the improvement of their morals." He should have said, "the improvement of their standards of morality within the confines of the laws governing behavior." That's a power for God alone. In our day, it seems like politics devours too much of our lives - in the news, our financial system, in the regulation of our everyday lives.
Rare in the bible is the magistrate who acts in a godly fashion. It seems that political power poses a great danger for those who wield it to wield it wrongly. It seems a great danger to the most godly of men, like King David, and it is a deadly beast to every citizen in the case of those who do not pretend godliness, as in the case of King Ahab and Jezebel. The religious hypocrite uses its power for purposes of self-advancement and illicit ends to the point of receiving the greatest condemnation from Christ Himself. See Matthew 24 and 25. In his rebuke to Simon Peter in Matthew 16:23, Christ implied that those who place their interests in line with that of humanity as opposed to God are aligned automatically with Satan. Therefore, to take the root Latin word of politics, polis, and assert that the science of politics is all about people, as modern humanistic definitions do today, would place it in the realm of Satanic activity.
There has to be a godly definition, or one would have to posit that there is an area that the God of all things does not govern. That would be a serious error and contradiction - to say that an area of human life on earth is not governed by the God who created and governs all things. Finding a godly definition and practice of politics is the end to which this particular blog is devoted.
The bible doesn't even mention civil government in the first few chapters, wherein we quickly get an understanding of the creator God and his attitude toward humans, marriage, sin, procreation, work, rest, etc. However, there's no mention of any government, except for God's government over all things and the family government. Does that make civil government and its accompanying politics invalid? Not necessarily. But it might mean its importance shouldn't be played up, like it is today. The national news media revolves around politics, as if what happens in Washington, D.C. is always important, no matter how banal or trivial the actual event or words may be.
There is discussion of cities, even a kingdom, being founded in the early chapters of Genesis, but nothing about government of those cities. Unless we're to infer some type of government in Gen. 10 being established just after the worldwide flood by personalities like Nimrod, a descendant of Cain who had a kingdom involving Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, there's really little to no mention of civil government until the tower of Babel. At that time, people organized to build a tower with some sort of religious purpose, so there must have been some form of organized leadership. But God was not impressed with their building of the tower of Babel to the point that the scripture doesn't even mention the leaders.
Perhaps we could infer that a lack of civil government was one of the reasons that the earth was "full of violence" before the flood. Gen. 6. Or that evil civil governments were the cause. The fact the bible doesn't say may mean that both lack of government and evil in what government that existed contributed to the violence.
As you read the New Testament of the bible, you find very little mention of politics by Jesus. In fact, you'll look long and hard to find any thing of substance at all. Students of His words have culled meaning from his comment about Caesar's coin and giving to God what is God's. Advocates of taxation use his comment to support their view that higher taxation is always justified, but that is clearly not his intended meaning, as if he were some sort of advocate of tyrannical taxation of the citizenry. He simply showed that he was not an advocate of paying nothing for the services provided by civil government. In other words, he is not an advocate of the "free ride." But beyond that he had little to say on the subject. Perhaps that should give us an idea as to how important it should be to us; Jesus Christ did not think civil government was the cure-all for what ails us as individuals or our society. It goes without saying that He did not bow down to the idolatry of Caesarism; His followers died to show their loyalty to Him versus that of Caesar. His apostle John wrote a prophetic work on what civil government looks like without Christ; it's a monstrous beast, defying God and devouring humans for opposing its policies. The new testament cannot legitimately be used to support high taxing, big government without taking verses out of context and distoring its meaning beyond recognition.
Noah Webster's first dictionary, the 1828 edition, defines politics as: "The science of government; that part of ethics which consists in the regulation and government of a nation or state, for the preservation of its safety, peace and prosperity; comprehending the defense of its existence and rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of its strength and resources, and the protection of its citizens in their rights, with the preservation and improvement of their morals. Politics, as a science or an art, is a subject of vast extent and importance."
I found more modern definitions less specific and more general, thereby leaving open too much room to expand what politics might govern. Even Webster gives too much power to politics when he says it is for "the improvement of their morals." He should have said, "the improvement of their standards of morality within the confines of the laws governing behavior." That's a power for God alone. In our day, it seems like politics devours too much of our lives - in the news, our financial system, in the regulation of our everyday lives.
Rare in the bible is the magistrate who acts in a godly fashion. It seems that political power poses a great danger for those who wield it to wield it wrongly. It seems a great danger to the most godly of men, like King David, and it is a deadly beast to every citizen in the case of those who do not pretend godliness, as in the case of King Ahab and Jezebel. The religious hypocrite uses its power for purposes of self-advancement and illicit ends to the point of receiving the greatest condemnation from Christ Himself. See Matthew 24 and 25. In his rebuke to Simon Peter in Matthew 16:23, Christ implied that those who place their interests in line with that of humanity as opposed to God are aligned automatically with Satan. Therefore, to take the root Latin word of politics, polis, and assert that the science of politics is all about people, as modern humanistic definitions do today, would place it in the realm of Satanic activity.
There has to be a godly definition, or one would have to posit that there is an area that the God of all things does not govern. That would be a serious error and contradiction - to say that an area of human life on earth is not governed by the God who created and governs all things. Finding a godly definition and practice of politics is the end to which this particular blog is devoted.
Monday, October 7, 2013
The Choice of People for Political Office
I Samuel 16:1-13 states that God chose David to be king in place of King Saul before Saul died, before Saul knew he'd be replaced, before even David knew he was being considered to be king. It is not ambition that should govern a politician. Governing power is not something to be grasped, for the grasper will lose what he takes or attempts to take. Even after being king for many years and facing the loss of his kingdom, he had little ambition to be king. When his own son had lead a revolt and was seeking to kill David, David said, "And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation: But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him." II Samuel 15:25-6.
King Saul was the opposite; he was so intent upon retaining what he had already lost - the kingdom - that he was willing to kill the priests of the Lord for suspicion of helping David lead a revolt against Saul, even though David had not done so. See I Samuel 22. Thus, the loss of the kingdom was not based upon lack of ambition, and the gaining of the kingdom was not based upon ambition. "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another." Psalm 75:6-7.
It is arguable that it is immoral for men to seek political office as a career. A position in civil government is a position well described as "public servant." However, just as important is the term "minister of God." Romans 13. Position in civil government is a gift from God, an entrusting with service to the public and to God. Early Americans looked upon public service as voluntary, part-time, even unpaid service. They served their country as a service. Many were wealthy and were not paid for their service. Thus, today, when so many politicians seem only intent upon advancing their own careers, enactment of term limits is a legitimate way to prevent ambitious office-seekers from creating a career out of political service.
King Saul was the opposite; he was so intent upon retaining what he had already lost - the kingdom - that he was willing to kill the priests of the Lord for suspicion of helping David lead a revolt against Saul, even though David had not done so. See I Samuel 22. Thus, the loss of the kingdom was not based upon lack of ambition, and the gaining of the kingdom was not based upon ambition. "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another." Psalm 75:6-7.
It is arguable that it is immoral for men to seek political office as a career. A position in civil government is a position well described as "public servant." However, just as important is the term "minister of God." Romans 13. Position in civil government is a gift from God, an entrusting with service to the public and to God. Early Americans looked upon public service as voluntary, part-time, even unpaid service. They served their country as a service. Many were wealthy and were not paid for their service. Thus, today, when so many politicians seem only intent upon advancing their own careers, enactment of term limits is a legitimate way to prevent ambitious office-seekers from creating a career out of political service.
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