“Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.”
I Samuel 10:25 NKJV
America isn’t technically governed by royalty, but the above verse certainly has an easily extracted principle.
The servants of the Lord (be they prophets, pastors, or teachers) have a responsibility to instruct people how their rulers ought to act.
Israel had coronated its first king and while a case could be made to both Samuel’s and the Lord’s reluctance for such an office, here they find themselves.
It’s obvious at least to me that even though this new system of government would image other nations, there would be some important distinctions as well.
Samuel had to do some instruction for the people because they would not be importing all things heathen rulers might be accustomed to doing. This may be a monarchy, but it was to be a righteous monarchy. Samuel was going to punctuate that point.
My guess is that it was a preemptive moment to hopefully sensitize them to potential tyranny and unrighteousness. Of course, knowing the story we also know how well that worked.
But the principle remains.
The preacher has a responsibility to instruct the people how their rulers should “rule” and behave.
A couple of strong inferences present themselves…
1. Rulers actually have behavioral expectations.
2. Rulers have jurisdictions of authority. (I wonder if Samuel’s document was a type of “constitution”.)
3. Rulers are responsive to servants of the Lord, not vice-versa.
4. Rulers should be aware that this document is “before the Lord” and has the power and repercussions of a covenant.
Why is this important?
Because government and politics are not neutral.
It is not a law unto itself.
It doesn’t get an exemption slip to ignore the Scriptures or the ways of the Lord.
This is why pastors have the authority to remind people what their “government” should look like and how it should behave.
We too have a “book”. It’s called, “The Bible” (literally “the book”).
Check out Exodus 18:21 and Deuteronomy 17:14-20.
Good place to start.
No Comments